Temperatures take a leap on Leap Day
As February ends today (happy “Leap Day”), we’re closing out one of the driest months on record in terms of snowfall. On average, Lincoln sees about seven inches of snow this month as our snowiest month of the year. However, this snow season most of the snow came before this month.
It’s been a very dry, warm February overall. We did see good moisture at the very beginning of the month, but not much after. We’ve been so warm that this year will be one of the 12 February’s in history that Lincoln saw more rain than snow.
Thursday will be a very blustery morning and afternoon. Winds out of the south and southwest will be picking up to 20-25 mph through a majority of the day.
Wind gusts will be in and around 40 mph for the late morning and into the early evening.
It’ll be mainly eastern Nebraska that will experience these stronger wind gusts approaching 35-45 mph.
Those strong winds combine with warming temperatures and very dry air/dry vegetation for Thursday. Avoid whatever may lead to a spark as fires would spread very quickly today. The eastern half of Nebraska is under a Red Flag Warning for Thursday.
With recent fires down in Texas and strong southerly winds today, we may see more haze in the skies especially through central Nebraska. The potential is there for some lower visibility and worsening air quality into Thursday afternoon. Stormcast overdoes some of the concentration below, but it’ll be worth mentioning today.
Southerly winds will transport warmer air into the area for the end of the work week. Highs will be approaching about 60° today, and slightly warmer into Friday. Then it’s back to the 70s by this weekend.
Another cold front will come by the second half of Sunday, with temperatures dropping into Monday. There’s a slight chance for what would start as rain first, but as temperatures drop to around freezing overnight, a changeover to a wintry mix is possible with limited accumulations.
Meteorologist Jessica Blum
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