803
FXUS63 KLBF 122328
AFDLBF

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
628 PM CDT Thu Mar 12 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Strong winds continue this afternoon through the overnight,
switching from the west to the northwest

- Fire weather concerns persist the remainder of the afternoon
  into the evening hours for all of western and north central
  Nebraska

- Additional fire weather concerns may be possible on Saturday
afternoon across western Nebraska

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
Issued at 402 PM CDT Thu Mar 12 2026

The main concern in the short term will continue to be
the strong winds along with the fire weather concerns through this
evening. Winds will remain out of the west through the early evening
hours. Expect the cold front to advance through the area between 23z
and 03z this evening, as the cold front passes winds will turn to
the northwest. Winds will remain strong across western Nebraska into
the central Sandhills through mid evening, then strongest winds
overnight will be across north central Nebraska. The High Wind
Warning across western Nebraska into the central Sandhills will
be in effect until 10pm CDT with the the High Wind Warning
across north central Nebraska in effect until 3am CDT. Winds
will then diminish towards sunrise with winds decreasing to
around 15 mph.

As for temperatures for Friday, coolest temperatures will lie
across north central Nebraska in the wake of the cold front with
highs only reaching the 40s. Southwest winds will keep
temperatures warmer across western and southwest Nebraska with
above normal temperatures as highs reach the 60s and 70s. There
will be some elevated fire weather concerns across southwest
Nebraska as temperatures as min RH will be in the low 20s,
however winds are not expected to be strong, only around 10 to
15 mph with gust up to 20 mph in the afternoon.

&&

.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
Issued at 402 PM CDT Thu Mar 12 2026

See Previous Discussion

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 628 PM CDT Thu Mar 12 2026

Although VFR conditions will prevail tonight and tomorrow across
western and north central Nebraska, very strong wind gusts will
continue this evening into the middle of the night. A surface
boundary pushing through the region is bringing a shift to more
northwesterly winds across north central Nebraska, and will continue
to push south through midnight. Through midnight, very strong gusts
of 40 to 50 kts will remain possible, with gusts slowly decreasing
through the early morning hours. With the very strong wind gusts,
may see continuing visibility impacts from blowing dust and smoke
from area wildfires. Expecting winds mostly diminish around sunrise.
Throughout the day, winds gradually shift from northwesterly to
southerly and even easterly at times.

&&

.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
High Wind Warning until 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ this evening for
NEZ004-005-022>025-035-036-056-057-094.
Red Flag Warning until 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ this evening for
NEZ204-206-208>210-219.
High Wind Warning until 3 AM CDT Friday for NEZ006>010-026>029.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Gomez
LONG TERM...
AVIATION...Richie

NWS LBF Office Area Forecast Discussion