Kearney, NE 68849 Weather

Key Messages

- Rain showers will be across mainly southern portions of the area this afternoon into tonight.

- Wind gusts up to around 30 to 50 MPH are expected Friday afternoon. The higher gusts will be across western and northern portions of the area.

- Temperatures will be on a warming trend through Friday then a cold front will arrive on Saturday.

- Rain chances increase Saturday through Monday (up to around 45% to 70% chance).

Discussion

Issued at 247 PM CDT Tue Oct 20 2026

An upper level trough is over the West Coast with a shortwave trough over Kansas. Some rain showers have developed across portions of north central Kansas and far southern Nebraska as a result of increased lift from the shortwave trough. Winds are increasing out of the south this afternoon with a strengthening surface trough to the west of the area. High temperatures today will be in the upper 60s to lower 70s. The rain showers may continue (15% to 20% chance) into this evening for mainly southern portions of the forecast area as the shortwave trough moves eastward. Winds will weaken tonight with temperatures cooling into the 40s and 50s.

An upper ridge will become more centered over the region on Wednesday. Winds will be fairly light (generally less than 10 MPH) with temperatures warming up into the 70s on Wednesday. Winds will increase on Thursday afternoon (around 10 to 15 MPH) out of the south with temperatures increasing slightly (by around 1 to 3 degrees) from the previous day. Low temperatures Thursday night/Friday morning will be in the mid 50s to low 60s. The warming trend will continue into Friday (highs expected to be in the mid 70s to low 80s). Winds Friday afternoon will become gusty out of the south (gusts up to 30 to 50 MPH).

A cold front is expected to move into the area on Saturday as the upper trough from the west begins to move over the region. Rain and storm chances increase (up to around 50% to 70% chance) beginning on Saturday as a result of this front. High temperatures behind the cold front on Sunday are expected to mainly be in the 50s (although there is some uncertainty in the temperatures this day). Temperatures on Monday are expected to be similar or even slightly cooler than those on Sunday. Rain chances continue into Monday (up to 30% to 40% chance). Low temperatures behind the cold front on Saturday are expected to mainly be in the 40s although some areas may cool into the 30s (especially across northwestern portions of the forecast area).

Aviation

Issued at 1231 AM CDT Wed Oct 21 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

MVFR-IFR VIS possible in fog at KEAR around sunrise, otherwise VFR conditions are expected during TAF period. Patchy fog is favored to develop around sunrise along and west of KEAR. It's possible the fog remains just west of KEAR, though there's enough model guidance supporting at least some fog. Visibility is also uncertain as model guidance does support some denser fog potential, though mainly west of KEAR. For now have kept VIS 3+ miles, but can't rule out needing to amend if fog becomes more dense. The time most favored for fog would be 11-15z. Light south to southwest winds are expected throughout TAF period with gusts below 15kts. FEW-SCT high level clouds are possible during TAF period.

Gid Watches

NE...None. KS...None.