Wintry weather takes over the forecast for the rest of this week

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - Snowfall has been ongoing this morning, mainly for areas west of Highway 183. Some of the biggest impacts are closer to the Highway 83 corridor. Through the day today, some light snow may sneak farther east. But the majority of the snow that falls and accumulates will remain over western portions of the Local4 viewing area. It’ll be a cold and somewhat breezy day, although winds will be a little lighter where most of the snow falls. High temperatures today will range from the upper 10s out west to the lower 30s in the east. Tonight, more of that snow will start to push eastward, bring the chances up in Central Nebraska and eventually maybe Eastern Nebraska later in the night. This snow shouldn’t be as heavy as out west today. It will lighten up the farther east and northeast it goes. Lows tonight will dip between the upper 0s west and the lower 20s east.

More snow is expected to develop over Southwest Nebraska tomorrow morning and push east southeast through the day. The heaviest snow will be south of the Nebraska/Kansas border. The lingering snow will then make its way out of the area Saturday night into Sunday morning. Thankfully, winds tonight and tomorrow will be lighter, so there’s no real blowing snow concern. Highs on Saturday will be in the mid to upper 20s and lower 30s. Lows Sunday morning will be in the mid to upper 10s and lower 20s. After the snow is done, some of the highest snow totals will be in the west and southwest. These areas could see as much as 3 to 7 inches. In North Central Kansas, I’m thinking there could be 2 to 5 inches, but there’s a chance of possibly a half a foot. Totals will get lower as you go to the east and northeast. For the Tri-Cities, my current thinking is 1 to 3 inches. From there, amounts will come down to very little over far eastern and northeastern areas.

There’s not much active weather to focus on for the rest of the forecast through next Thursday. Sunday will be a windy day as northwest winds will blow at a solid 15 to 30 mph with some gusts to 40 mph. Areas with snow on the ground may have to deal with some patchy blowing snow. Look for mostly sunny skies and slightly warmer highs in the 30s. Look for a lot of sun and less wind Monday through Wednesday as temperatures continue to work their way up closer to and slightly above average. Monday should be up into the mid to upper 30s and lower 40s. More widespread 40s are expected on Tuesday. Wednesday may be the nicest day of the week with more upper 40s and lower 50s. I expect more clouds and breezier winds and highs will mostly be in the 40s on Thursday.