It will be a clear night with a southeast breeze tonight, making for great viewing conditions for tonight's total lunar eclipse, visible from Omaha!
The entire moon should have a rusty, red color from roughly 1:30 to 2:30 a.m.
Now to the weather...A strong area of low pressure in the Heartland will make for a windy Friday with speeds of 30-40 mph in Omaha. This will cause a high fire danger. Hold off on any outdoor burning or anything that could start a fire, because it could spread quickly out of control. It will be a quick warm-up, into the mid 70s by the middle of the afternoon, but we likely start to cool off faster than normal later in the afternoon.
FUN FACT: The depth of the surface low is forecast to drop to around 974 millibars, which would be the 4th lowest pressure ever recorded at Omaha/Eppley Airport.
A few isolated thunderstorms will start to pop up across southeastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa between noon and 2 p.m., quickly moving north through the late afternoon. A couple of these storms could reach severe levels. The biggest concern with any severe storms will be damaging wind, but a couple pockets of hail will also be possible. A weak tornado is also possible in the region.
We should be able to squeeze out a few dry, windy hours Friday evening before more rain moves in Friday night. Colder air will also move in from the north, so some of the rain could change into snow, mainly in northeast Nebraska early into Saturday morning. While there shouldn't be much snow stick to the ground, as it falls, the strong wind will greatly reduce visibility at times.
There could still be a few raindrops and snowflakes around Saturday morning, but most of us will be dry by Saturday afternoon. It will be a mostly cloudy, windy, and colder day with highs in the upper 40s. The high fire danger will continue for spots that didn't see much rain Friday.
The wind will be lighter Sunday, we see more sunshine, and start to warm up! Highs will be in the mid 50s.
Monday will be breezy, but warmer, for St. Patrick's Day. Highs will be in the low 70s with a lot of sunshine.
Tuesday will be a little breezy at times too, but we stay in the low 70s with a mix of sun and clouds.
There's a lot of uncertainty on timing right now, but there's the chance for some rain and/or snow to move in Tuesday or Wednesday. Nothing is a guarantee yet, but we'll keep you updated the next few days as things become a little more clear.
We likely cool off either way Wednesday, dropping into the upper 40s with some extra wind.
FRIDAY
Partly Sunny
P.M. Rain/Storms
Windy
High: 77
FRIDAY NIGHT
Mostly Cloudy
Scattered Rain
Windy
Low: 36
SATURDAY
Mostly Cloudy
A.M. Rain/Snow
Windy
High: 48
SUNDAY
Mostly Sunny
A.M. Rain/Snow
Windy
High: 55
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