831
FXUS63 KGID 042359
AFDGID

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
659 PM CDT Fri Apr 4 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Ongoing light showers will get pushed out of here by a cold
  front this evening. Rain may briefly (1-2 hrs) mix with wet
  snow as it ends. No impacts.

- Temperatures remain seasonably chilly/blustery on Saturday
  (highs near 50F), but with more sun, then lighter winds and
  slightly warmer Sunday into start of new work week.

- A stronger warmup - return to widespread 70s (some low 80s) -
  begins on Wednesday and is favored to continue through the
  end of the week and into next weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 440 PM CDT Fri Apr 4 2025

Showers continue across most of south central Nebraska this
afternoon, with lighter and more limited coverage for north
central Kansas. A sfc cold front is noted from near BVN to just
W of EAR to near NRN as of 21Z. This front will continue to
slide SE and gradually clear the rain out of the area from NW to
SE. Some cooler upper 30s are found in central NE, so it`s
conceivable that as the colder air moves in, and loss of what
little diurnal heating we`ve seen today, could result in a brief
period of some wet snow mixing in. However, since it`s on the
very back edge of departing pcpn, it would only last an hr, or
two, at any given location...so no impacts are expected. Winds
also pick up behind the front, which will help to dry roads
and avoid refreeze slickness before temps fall into the 20s late
overnight.

Precip chances for the rest of the forecast are either non-
existent or very low (~20%), depending on the location. So,
looks like we`re heading into an extended period of dry or
mainly dry conditions. Temps will remain on the chilly side for
Saturday, esp. when factoring a breezy N wind. At least we`ll
see some sunshine, though. Maintained a mention of elevated fire
weather in the HWO since afternoon RHs try to dip to around
25%. Any trend warmer in temps or lower on dew points would
necessitate some stronger "near-critical" wording as the winds
will likely be there.

Should see a nice ~10 deg jump in temps (from near 50F to near
60F) for Sunday, which when combined with lighter winds, should
make for a much more pleasant early April day. A clipper system
on the backside of the departing deep trough over the Great
Lakes will try to force a backdoor (from the NE) cold front into
the area for Monday. Thus, these areas will remain in the 50s,
while some warmer low to mid 60s begin to build into areas S/SW
of the Tri-Cities. This warmth will finally expand into the rest
of the area on Tuesday, before even warmer 70s to perhaps low
80s arrive on Wednesday. Longer range data suggests the warm
temps will persist through the end of the week, and possibly
into/through the following weekend. Slight (20%) rain chances
return to portions of the area later next week, but signal in
the ensembles is weak, and overall confidence on
coverage/amounts is very low at this time. In general, after
today, the next 10 days appear pretty dry relative to normal.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 612 PM CDT Fri Apr 4 2025

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

A couple more hours of IFR/MVFR conditions before clearing
skies return overnight behind the passing front...resulting in
prevailing VFR conditions by around 05/09-10Z.

While -RA will be coming to an end over the next 1-3 hours,
expect winds to increase on the backside of the passing front,
with gusts to around 30KTS likely thereafter for much of the
night. Skies should clear pre-dawn (05/09-10Z) with a brief
relaxation of the winds around 05/10-05/15Z (with some very
marginal LLWS then becoming possible - but not mentioned)...
with surface winds remaining steady near 12KTS over that
period. Winds will then increase for the remainder of the
day, with northerly wind gusts to near 25 KTS expected during
the afternoon hours Saturday as a result of mixing...as the
pressure gradient at the surface will actually be relaxing as an
area of surface high pressure behind the front settles in
across the local area by late in the day.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
KS...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...Thies
AVIATION...Rossi