971
FXUS63 KLBF 060849
AFDLBF

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
349 AM CDT Sun Sep 6 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- A cluster of thunderstorms will move across western Nebraska
  into the Sandhills tonight into early Sunday morning.

- Above normal temperatures continue through the holiday
  weekend, with a chance of thunderstorms late Monday.

- Precipitation chances will decrease towards the middle of the
  week as high pressure works in and brings relatively cooler
  temperatures with it.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/...
Issued at 347 AM CDT Sun Sep 6 2026

Overnight showers and
thunderstorms will be the greatest concern. As the low level jet
intensifies overnight expect thunderstorms to increase across
southwest Nebraska. Moisture advection will keep PWATs fairly high
around 1.5 inches or more through the overnight. A flood watch was
issued across portions of southwest Nebraska to account for the
higher PWATs and expected slower moving storms, this watch will
expire at 4am CT/3am MT. Storm motion increases as the overnight
progresses and will start to see the chance for flooding decrease
early Sunday.

Showers and thunderstorms may linger through the late morning into
early afternoon hours across the eastern portion of the forecast
area. After storms exit Sunday temperatures will warm into the 90s,
which is around 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.


For Labor Day, the High Plains will remain under the influence of
the the upper level ridge and will see another day of hot
temperatures with highs reaching the upper 90s across southwest
Nebraska. Will see southerly winds strengthen during the day and
winds increase to around 20 to 30 mph sustained and gusts up to 40
to 45 mph. Strongest winds will generally be along and east of HWY
83. Expect most of the day will remain dry then a front will move
southward Monday evening and stall, where it stalls will become the
focus area for showers and thunderstorms Monday evening.

&&

.LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
Issued at 347 AM CDT Sun Sep 6 2026

Deep troughing will cross southern Canada which will flatten mid-
level flow for the Central Plains. High pressure aloft will park
across the lower Mississippi Valley with much warmer temperatures
focused across this area. In a post-frontal regime, surface high
pressure will settle south into western Nebraska towards mid-week.
This should favor slightly cooler temperatures with decreasing
precipitation potential. Upper ridging should develop across the
West Coast and return the area to more northwesterly flow before the
next disturbance dives southeast out of the Northwest Territories.
This will shunt the greatest height anomalies further south and
promote even cooler temperatures for the end of the week into early
next week. Heights will continue to fall as a more pronounced
shortwave trough takes shape over the Pacific Northwest sometime
over the following weekend. This feature will cross the Rockies and
approach the local area sometime towards the end of the forecast
period and should support increasing precipitation chances.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/...
Issued at 1243 AM CDT Sun Sep 6 2026

Ongoing convection across western Nebraska will be the primary
aviation concern over the next few hours.

Activity continues to approach KOGA with heavy rain producing
MVFR and even IFR conditions for brief periods along with strong
outflow winds. Activity will continue to push east though recent
high resolution guidance suggest it should begin to weaken as it
pushes east of Highway 61 corridor. Will carry a TEMPO group at
KLBF to account for questionable coverage and intensity and
amend as necessary. Any threat should end prior to dawn with
only lingering mid-level clouds. Have a short TEMPO group at
KVTN to account for outflow winds that may prove gusty but
overall have no major impacts at the terminal. Late in the
period, believe some LLWS will be possible at both terminals
though refinements with later forecasts are probable.

&&

.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Flood Watch until 3 AM MDT early this morning for NEZ056>058-
069.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Gomez
LONG TERM...NMJ
AVIATION...NMJ

NWS LBF Office Area Forecast Discussion