Damaging Winds in Nebraska, June 8, 2026

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
607 PM CDT Mon Jun 8 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening
  across western and north central Nebraska, with a Slight Risk
  (Level on 2 of 5) for severe thunderstorms near and south of
  Highway 2. Large hail and damaging winds are possible, though
  a tornado or two cannot be ruled out.

- Critical fire weather conditions Tuesday afternoon across
  western Nebraska, with a Red Flag Warning in effect Tuesday
  afternoon into the evening. Additional concerns are possible
  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

- Hot temperatures are forecast on Tuesday afternoon, with highs
  in the upper 90s possible. A Slight Risk (Level on 2 of 5) for
  severe thunderstorms all areas east of the panhandle. Large
  hail and damaging winds are possible.

- Cooler air arrives for the weekend with periodic chances for
  rainfall returning.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
Issued at 119 PM CDT Mon Jun 8 2026

A disturbance moving through southwestern NE this afternoon will
bring scattered thunderstorms east of Tryon to Imperial, heavy
rainfall and gusty winds, along with frequent lightning
expected. Marginally severe hail also possible. A brief break
late this afternoon, before thunderstorms develop late this
afternoon in northeast CO and the Nebraska panhandle, and move
east into western and southwest NE this evening. This supported
by recent runs of the HRRR and 12Z RRFS. While large hail is
possible across southwest NE, damaging winds appear to be a more
widespread concern. Looks fairly quiet after midnight with a
return of light south winds across the west.

Tuesday, surface low pressure will deepen across eastern CO and the
Nebr. panhandle. A well defined dryline is forecast to develop
across the far eastern panhandle. Gusty southerly winds Tuesday
afternoon, along with low RH west of Highway 61, will lead to
critical fire weather conditions. A Red Flag Warning is in
effect for fire zone 204 and is highlighted in the fire weather
section below. Highs are forecast to reach the mid to upper 90s.
By late afternoon, with the arrival of a mid level shortwave
and peak heating, the latest 12z HRRR and also the GFS and NAM12
initiate convection near the dryline. As for the severe threat,
forecast DCAPE up to 1500 J/kg along with moderately steep mid
level lapse rates Tuesday afternoon would lead to a primary
threat for damaging winds with a secondary threat for large
hail. The latest 12Z HRRR and RRFS indicate isolated discrete
storms in the moist sector east of the dryline as early as 20Z.
Storms developing off the dryline the potential for bowing
segments Tuesday evening and Tuesday night as convection
traverses from western into central NE, leading to a wind threat
Tuesday night.

Wednesday, a gusty west to northwest wind 20 to 35 mph in the
morning through mid afternoon. Highs 83 to 92. Much drier air, with
dewpoints falling into the upper 20s to low 30s west, with another
day of critical fire weather conditions possible (west of Valentine
through Broken Bow). Lows chances for showers/storms Wednesday
night as a shortwave trough moves in.

&&

.LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
Issued at 119 PM CDT Mon Jun 8 2026

Thursday, cooler and drier air with a northwest wind 15 to 30
mph. Fire weather concerns persist with afternoon humidity 15
to 25 percent. Highs upper 70s to lower 80s.

Dry Friday with a west northwest flow aloft. warming up to the
upper 80s to lower 90s.

A cooling trend Saturday and Sunday with shower chances
increasing Saturday night into Sunday. Highs by Sunday forecast
to range in the low to mid 70s.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 607 PM CDT Mon Jun 8 2026

Thunderstorms, over southeastern Wyoming and northeastern
Colorado, will approach west central and southwestern Nebraska
later this evening. The greatest threat for thunderstorms at the
KLBF terminal is from 03z to 07z Tuesday. Some wind gusts may
reach up to 45+KTS in the vicinity of storms. Expect some
gradual clearing at the KLBF terminal overnight with scattered
to broken ceilings around 20000 FT AGL expected Tuesday morning.
Expect southerly winds to increase on Tuesday, approaching 25
KTS during the afternoon. At the KVTN terminal, the threat for
thunderstorms should remain off to the south tonight. Expect
scattered to broken high cloudiness with ceilings ranging from
20000 to 25000 FT AGL. Southerly winds will increase after 15z
Tuesday morning with gusts approaching 30 KTS Tuesday afternoon.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 119 PM CDT Mon Jun 8 2026

Beginning Tuesday and continuing through Friday, critical or
near critical fire weather conditions will be possible,
especially in fire zone 204 where fuels are ready to burn. Winds
on Tuesday will be southerly 15 to 25 mph with potential gusts
up to 40 MPH in the western Sandhills and eastern panhandle. A
Red Flag Warning is in effect for zone 204 Tuesday afternoon
through mid evening. An additional concern for dry lightning.

On Wednesday, winds will shift to the west northwest with
potential to gust up to 45 MPH. Widespread minimum RH of 10 to
20 percent is expected across all of western and north central
Nebraska. Critical fire weather conditions will hinge on fuel
status which currently favors zone 204. Northwest winds will
remain gusty on Thursday with afternoon gusts up to 35 MPH.
Minimum RH will range from around 15 percent in the southeastern
panhandle to around 25 percent in the northeast. Friday will
see near critical or possibly critical fire weather conditions
in the west. Afternoon wind gusts up to 30 MPH are possible
along with minimum RH west of highway 83 of 10 to 18 percent.
Winds are forecast to be lighter Saturday and Sunday along with
cooler temperatures which will alleviate fire weather concerns
across the area.

&&

.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 PM MDT Tuesday for NEZ204.

&&

SHORT TERM...Roberg
LONG TERM...Roberg
AVIATION...Buttler
FIRE WEATHER...Roberg

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service North Platte NE
853 PM CDT Mon Jun 8 2026

NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-100200-
Sheridan-Eastern Cherry-Keya Paha-Boyd-Brown-Rock-Holt-Garden-Grant-
Hooker-Thomas-Blaine-Loup-Garfield-Wheeler-Arthur-McPherson-Logan-
Custer-Deuel-Keith-Perkins-Lincoln-Chase-Hayes-Frontier-
Western Cherry-
853 PM CDT Mon Jun 8 2026 /753 PM MDT Mon Jun 8 2026/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of western and north
central Nebraska.

.DAY ONE...Rest of tonight.

Thunderstorms will develop in the panhandle and northeast Colorado
and move east this evening across the western Sandhills, southwest
and central Nebraska. At this time, the main concerns are damaging
wind gusts and large hail. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect
for southwestern Nebraska, portions of the western Sandhills and
eastern Nebraska Panhandle through 2 AM CDT (1 AM MDT).

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday.

Hot weather is expected on Tuesday, with highs in the upper 90s.
Critical fire weather conditions are expected across the western
Sandhills Tuesday afternoon and evening. Scattered thunderstorms are
also expected to develop Tuesday afternoon. Most likely area for
initiation will be near a dryline. This dryline should be located in
the vicinity of Highway 61, or from around Imperial to Ogallala to
Merriman. Damaging wind and large hail will be the main concerns as
the storms track eastward toward central and north central Nebraska
Tuesday evening.

Near critical to critical fire weather concerns will be possible
both Tuesday and Wednesday, generally for areas along and west of
Highway 61 Tuesday and west of Highway 83 Wednesday.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be needed.

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service North Platte NE
640 PM MDT Mon Jun 8 2026

NEZ004-094-090130-
Sheridan NE-Western Cherry NE-
640 PM MDT Mon Jun 8 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT WESTERN CHERRY AND CENTRAL
SHERIDAN COUNTIES THROUGH 730 PM MDT...

At 640 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 15
miles northeast of Antioch, or 23 miles northeast of Alliance, moving
northeast at 35 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Diamond Lake, Smith Lake State Wildlife Management Area, Highway 250
crossing the Niobrara River, Billys Lake, and Argo Hill.

This includes Highway 250 between mile markers 9 and 44.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.

&&

LAT...LON 4215 10240 4223 10263 4269 10254 4252 10198
TIME...MOT...LOC 0040Z 203DEG 32KT 4227 10248

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

Buttler

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service North Platte NE
710 PM MDT Mon Jun 8 2026

NEZ057-058-090200-
Perkins NE-Keith NE-
710 PM MDT Mon Jun 8 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHWESTERN PERKINS AND SOUTH
CENTRAL KEITH COUNTIES THROUGH 800 PM MDT...

At 710 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 9
miles west of Grant, moving northeast at 20 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and penny size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Ogallala and Wild Horse Spring.

This includes the following highways...
 Highway 61 between mile markers 69 and 92.
 Interstate 80 in Nebraska between mile markers 120 and 132.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement
agency. They will relay your report to the National Weather Service
office in North Platte.

&&

LAT...LON 4078 10184 4090 10201 4121 10173 4102 10147
TIME...MOT...LOC 0110Z 222DEG 19KT 4088 10190

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

NMJ