WEATHER ALERT DAY: Dangerously cold conditions for Thursday and Friday

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Falling snow has come to an end across the state, but in the wake of the arctic cold front, we’ll be left dealing with dangerously cold conditions for the remainder of our Thursday, into Friday, and even into the upcoming Christmas weekend. Strong north and northwest winds will also lead to areas of blowing and drifting snow through the day on Thursday and into early on Friday. The good news is that we should see temperatures begin to rebound as we head into weekend and next week.

Winter Weather Advisories are in place across the state until 6 PM Thursday evening for eastern Nebraska and until 6 AM on Friday for western Nebraska. While snow is done falling, strong winds will create areas of blowing and drifting snow that could reduce visibility to a quarter mile or less at times. Travel conditions will be impacted through the day today because of the blowing snow and reduced visibility. If you have to be out on the roads, please do so carefully and give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going. Please also check the latest road conditions using Nebraska 511 before you travel!

Also, if you have to travel, please make sure you have your winter survival kit in your vehicle before you do.

The main impact we’ll be dealing with now that the snow has come to an end will be the dangerously cold conditions across the area. Wind Chill Warnings cover the entire state from now until 12 PM on Saturday as wind chills could be as cold as -30° to -60° at times.

Frostbite and hypothermia can develop in just minutes with conditions as cold as they are forecast to be. Make sure to dress appropriately for the conditions with multiple layers and keep as much of your skin as covered as possible!

The remainder of our Thursday is expected to be dry, though a few scattered snow showers can’t be ruled out at times for parts of eastern Nebraska. Variable cloud cover is expected across the state with clear skies for parts of central and western Nebraska with a mix of sun and clouds for the eastern parts of the state.

Blustery northwest winds will continue through the day on Thursday as winds will continue to gust between 30 and 40 MPH, again leading to the brutally cold wind chills as well as areas of blowing and drifting snow. Blustery winds are then forecast to continue into the day on Friday, keeping the dangerous wind chills around to finish the week. Winds are then forecast to weaken as we head into the day on Saturday.

As far as actual air temperatures are concerned, the coldest conditions of the season are forecast for Thursday and Friday. Look for afternoon “high” temperatures on Thursday to stay below zero across the entire state with temperatures ranging between about -5° and -10° for most of the 10/11 coverage area. Factoring in the strong winds though, we’ll see wind chills through most of Thursday between about -25° and -50° across the state.

Low temperatures into Friday morning will be dangerously cold yet again as the thermometer is expected to see temperatures drop to between -10° and -20° with the coldest conditions across western parts of the state. Again, we could see wind chills as cold as -30° to -60° overnight Thursday and into early Friday morning.

Daytime highs on Friday will try and climb a few degrees, but it will remain bitterly cold across the state. Temperatures should climb back above zero though, reaching the single digits to around 10°. Sub-zero wind chills will continue through the day on Friday, so having actual air temperatures above zero will be of little consolation.

We’ll see another brutally cold morning as we start the weekend as Saturday morning lows will drop back down to around -5° to -10° for the coverage area. Again, wind chill values could drop as low as -20° to -40° at times, but the decreasing winds should help us avoid the worst of the possible wind chills.

Temperatures will take a few steps forward by Saturday afternoon with temperatures reaching the low teens to low 20s across the state. Again, despite the warm up, feels like temperatures will likely remain below zero for most.

Into Christmas Day, more cold conditions are expected for the morning as temperatures once again dip below zero for most of 10/11 Country. Look for lows in Lincoln on Sunday around -5° with even colder wind chills.

Temperatures will take another step forward by Sunday afternoon as we see highs jump back to the 20s, 30s, and 40s across the state. The warmest weather will stay across western and southwestern Nebraska with highs in the mid teens to low 30s for eastern and central Nebraska.

The extended forecast does offer us more hope as we look towards the end of 2022 as above average temperatures return to the forecast by the middle and end of the week next week. Look for highs to return to the mid to upper 20s on Monday, the mid to upper 30s on Tuesday, and then eventually back to the mid 40s by the middle and end of next week! Mainly dry weather is forecast over the next week with another small chance for a few snow showers on Sunday.

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