536 FXUS63 KOAX 182358 AFDOAX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE 658 PM CDT Thu Apr 18 2019 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Sunday) Issued at 305 PM CDT Thu Apr 18 2019 The main forecast concerns are temperatures the next few days and increasing potential for grass fires, especially on Saturday. Instability showers had developed over past of the area this afternoon, about as expected. Echo tops have been mostly below 25K feet so lightning has been very limited in our area. These showers and their associated cloud cover, should decrease this evening. A few of the high resolution convection allowing models to linger isolated echoes longer than 9 or 10 pm, but that does not seem likely. Otherwise north/northwest winds will diminish the next 12 hours as a ridge of high pressure at the surface builds in from the northwest later tonight into Friday. High temperatures Friday afternoon should reach into the 60s. Surface ridge axis builds off to the southeast Friday night, with our winds turning to the southwest. This will keep temperatures a little warmer Friday night, giving us a good head start for a warm day Saturday. Expect highs Saturday to reach 75 to 80 at most spots, with lower 80s in northeast NE ahead of the next cold front. With brisk south/southwest winds, there will be increasing fire danger for areas with dry grass. Some road sides and other short grass areas have started to green up a bit, but taller grass is still quite dry. Will keep an eye on this but right now it appears RH values will mostly stay above 25 percent. The chance for showers will start to a bit by Sunday, mainly for northeast NE. This would be mostly behind (northwest of) the slow moving cold front. Highs Sunday should range from the 60s in northeast NE to 70s in southeast NE and southwest IA. .LONG TERM...(Sunday night through Thursday) Issued at 305 PM CDT Thu Apr 18 2019 At the start of this period, we expect a weak closed low to be located back over UT, with west/southwest mid level flow in place across the region. There is a fair amount of model spread, but expect the general trend to be for somewhat unsettled weather from Sunday night into mid week. None of these days look like complete washouts at this time, but there should be at least some chance of showers or isolated thunderstorms. Look for high temperatures mostly in the 60s from Monday through Wednesday, then possibly upper 60s and lower 70s by Thursday. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday evening) Issued at 657 PM CDT Thu Apr 18 2019 VFR conditions will prevail through the evening and overnight hours as clouds dissipate with the sun setting. Winds, gusting up to 35kt this evening, will also quickly wrap up, leaving sustained wind speeds near 10kt continuing to relax through the night. Friday's conditions should remain VFR as well. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...None. IA...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Miller LONG TERM...Miller AVIATION...Nicolaisen