Winter on hold; Temperatures remain above normal this week

Winter?  What winter?!  Sure didn’t feel like a February day on Monday with temperatures reaching the low 60°s across most of southeast Nebraska.  While it will be a bit cooler Tuesday, temperatures will remain much above normal through Friday.

Through the next 10 days the only sign of “winter” comes for the start of the weekend.  A cold front will pass through southeast Nebraska Friday night.  Behind the front, cooler air will drop down out of the north.  At this distance it looks like highs will be in the 30°s Saturday.  The cool off will be short lived as winds swing around out of the south-southwest Sunday afternoon, sending temperatures back to the 50°s.

At this point it appears this Valentine’s Day could be the warmest in 16 years for Lincoln.  Highs are currently forecast to reach the upper 50°s to lower 60°s around the region.

NO SNOW FOR YOU

It is amazing to see that Lincoln has only received 3.7″ of snow since October 1.  That is the lowest amount of snow for the city in 91 years!  1931 had a little under 2″ of snow.

It isn’t just snow that is coming up short.  So far for the year, Lincoln is running 0.67″ of precipitation below normal.  The same can be said for Grand Island and Hastings where those cities are running 0.63″ and 0.47″ respectively below normal.

Long range computer models are not showing much signs of precipitation coming to the area.  On average, models are suggesting less than 0.01″ of liquid.

– Chief Meteorologist John Dissauer