Small rain chances, otherwise mostly dry

UPDATE – 12:05 p.m. Tuesday:

The Storm Prediction Center has upgraded the severe weather risk for Tuesday evening in western Nebraska. A Level 3/5 risk is now in place along an axis extending from Trenton, through North Platte, and up toward Thedford. Lincoln is not under a severe weather risk – that part remains unchanged.

Storms that develop to the west late Tuesday afternoon will intensify quickly and will likely be at their strongest in the orange-shaded area. Very large hail (areas 2″+), gusty winds, and a tornado or two are possible.

These storms will decay as they push east. The severe weather risk fades away by the time the remnant showers near Lincoln.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Although clouds overspread the capital city early Tuesday, rain was hard to come by. There were two areas of rain overnight Monday that we were watching, one to the north and the other to the south.

A “dry gap” was nestled in between these two areas, immediately west of Lincoln. This suggests a decreasing shower chance in Lincoln on Tuesday morning. Nevertheless, a spotty shower or two cannot be ruled out into the afternoon.

These showers will not be widespread nor will they provide much meaningful rainfall. We’ll be otherwise dry with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Temperatures should be near normal or a few degrees below average, with highs in the middle to upper-80s across the area.

We will be watching more storm development in western Nebraska on Tuesday evening. These storms will push east, decaying as they arrive in eastern Nebraska. We’ll likely be dealing with these on a scattered basis.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed northern and southwestern Nebraska under a Level 2/5 risk for severe weather. Lincoln does not have a severe weather risk.

While we are not dealing with a widespread severe weather outbreak, there could be a few strong to severe storms (especially in the yellow-shaded region). Damaging winds and large hail are the primary concerns, although a tornado or two cannot be ruled out with initial storms.

Then, Mother Nature cranks up the heat on Wednesday. We could be dealing with upper-90s for highs in southern Nebraska. The humidity will return as well, perhaps producing heat indices in the 100°+ territory.

Meteorologist Malcolm Byron

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Twitter: @mbyronwx