Thursday Forecast: A “slightly” better chance for some much-needed rain...

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - As we get closer to the “unofficial” start of summer and the Memorial Day holiday weekend...a summer-like weather pattern is already here...

Mild-to-warm temperatures and “spotty” precipitation chances will highlight your forecasts over the coming days. While rainfall with this weather pattern is NOT expected to be widespread or all that significant in most locations...we will maintain at least “small” precipitation chances almost every day through Memorial Day Monday. There will be some “exceptions” to the aforementioned weather scenario...including a much better chance for periods of showers-and-thunderstorms in western and central Nebraska according to the latest weather models. Eastern Nebraska...including the Lincoln-area...is much less likely to see these “rainy periods”...but small precipitation chances will be included in most of our daily forecasts. Thursday looks like the “best” chance for some scattered showers-and-thunderstorms around here...but that “chance” is still just 30%.

At this point...the severe weather threat through Friday looks low...but beyond that into the weekend, conditions will need to be monitored by those with outdoor plans like camping...fishing...or golfing.

A mild-to-warm temperature regime will remain firmly entrenched across 10-11 Country over the next several days...with daytime highs expected to reach the 70s and 80s. The cooler readings will be found over western Nebraska where the better rain chances and more persistent cloud cover will be found. Parts of eastern Nebraska may even “threaten” 90° a time or two by Sunday-Monday. Overnight lows should remain seasonably mild as well...mainly in the 50s-to-lower 60s.

As we peer down the forecast road beyond the holiday...weather conditions are not expected to change all that much. Our latest 7-Day Outlook will continue to advertise seasonably warm temperatures and occasional shower-and-thunderstorm “chances” that remain unimpressive to this forecaster. The 8-to-14 Day Temperature Outlook continues to give most of Nebraska a “better-than-average chance” for ABOVE NORMAL readings for the first week of June...and the 8-to-14 Day Precipitation Outlook continues to indicate that the most likely area to see ABOVE NORMAL rainfall will be in the west.

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