Today will by far be the best day we see for awhile, but tomorrow will be a pretty ugly day

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - While a bit on the windy side today, temperatures will soar well above average. We’ll see some morning mid and upper level clouds that will clear out during the afternoon. Southerly winds will be lighter in the west at 5 to 15 mph, but eastern areas will see winds of 15 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph in the afternoon. Temperatures will rise into the 60s with some low/mid 70s in the southwest. The winds will remain quite breezy overnight and temperatures will remain mild in the evening ahead of an approaching cold front from the northwest. It will move through far northern and western areas by midnight. By sunrise tomorrow morning, it should be through all, but far southeastern areas. As the winds shift out of the north behind the cold front, they will become rather strong. Also along and behind the front, rain will starts to move in. As the temperature drops behind the front, the rain will transition to snow with a period of sleet also possible. The other concern will be areas of flash freezing of rain as the temperature drops below freezing. Meanwhile, as the rain transitions to snow, blowing snow will cause visibility restrictions. Conditions are likely to be worse the farther northeast you go as the heaviest snow is anticipated in those areas. The snow will push from west to east through the day and will wind down from west to east through the afternoon. By the end of the afternoon, most, if not all of the snow should be out of the Local4 viewing area. In the end, the highest snowfall totals are expected in Northeastern areas where 3 to 7 inches of snow may fall. Our North Central viewers will see 2 to 4+ inches. Totals should get lower from there as you go south and southwest. Around the Tri-Cities, I’m currently projecting 0 to 2 inches of snow with an outside chance of a little more than that. As for temperatures, around sunrise Thursday, they will be in the 20s north and west, but still in the 40s to near 50° in the southeast. The Tri-Cities should be somewhere in the low to mid 30s. Most will see a drop in temperatures through the morning with some slight recovery in the afternoon. By around 5:00pm, it’ll be in the upper 20s and low to mid 30s (warmest southwest). Winds will be strong out of the north northwest at 25 to 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph by the afternoon.

Skies will be clearing up Thursday night as lows drop into the upper 10s and lower 20s. Winds will remain blustery out of the north northwest at 15 to 30+ mph and some gusts still over 40 mph at times. Friday during the day will be partly to mostly sunny as a few clouds move in. We’ll even have to watch to see if a little snow moves into Northern Nebraska. Highs on Friday will range from the upper 20s northeast to the mid 40s south. Winds will still be strong out of the northwest at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.

A reinforcing shot of colder air pushes south on Saturday. Highs will range from the upper 10s northeast to the mid 30s southwest. Winds will still be breezy, making it feel that much colder. Sunday will see a little improvement as highs will be back in the 30s and winds should be so strong. Temperatures will start to recover a bit early next week, getting back to the 40s on Monday and Tuesday. But skies will remain mostly cloudy and some minor snow and rain will be possible. It should get slightly milder into the middle of next week, but nothing nearly as warm as today will be arriving any time soon. There are signs of more cold air coming for the latter portions of March.

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