Nebraska Weather 3/8 Midday - 30° Above Normal

Good afternoon. Nebraska. I'm Matt Mullins. Step outside right now and you'll think you time-traveled straight to May. We're sitting at 57 degrees. And that's just the warm-up act. Sunshine floods the entire state today with temperatures soaring 20 to 30 degrees above normal. Eastern Nebraska hits 72 by late afternoon. Southeast Nebraska pushes even warmer to 74. Out west you'll reach 71, but the wind picks up there — gusts to 30 miles an hour. Southwest winds gust to 22 statewide. Tonight stays mild under clear skies. Lows only drop to the mid-30s out west and mid-40s east. Some spots actually warm up overnight as those southwest winds keep pumping. Monday cranks the heat even higher. Highs climb to 75 in the east, 77 in the southeast and west. Light winds early turn breezy by afternoon. But here's the catch — fire weather concerns escalate across western Nebraska. A Fire Weather Watch is in effect. Near-record heat, low humidity. And gusty winds create dangerous conditions for any fire starts. Tuesday brings a sharp cooldown as a cold front sweeps through. Highs tumble to the mid-60s with increasing clouds. Rain arrives Tuesday night, especially across northern Nebraska and the Sandhills. Some areas could see a rain-snow mix overnight into Wednesday morning. Wednesday turns blustery and cooler with highs only in the 50s. Another warmup Thursday pushes temperatures back into the upper 60s to low 70s, but that brings renewed fire weather concerns. Friday cools back to the 50s with partly sunny skies. One more thing — clocks spring forward one hour tonight. We're gaining nearly 3 minutes of daylight today, with the spring equinox just 12 days away. See you this evening.