One final day to enjoy before bitterly cold air returns. And for some, snow returns tonight.

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - Today will be the last chance to enjoy temperatures right around average for late January. A cold spell is about to move in for several days in a row. Skies will be partly to mostly sunny for much of the day. Winds continue to be brisk out of the west northwest this morning at 10 to 20 mph with some isolated spots that are higher to the northeast. Those winds will lighten up later today. It won’t be a super mild day, but it will be as good as it gets for awhile. Highs will end up in the mid to upper 30s and lower 40s this afternoon. Clouds will be on the increase later today and into the evening as the next chance of snow gets going. The main area of snow with this system will be in the northern third of Nebraska. Farther south, some flurries or very light snow (possibly mixed with drizzle or freezing drizzle) might get about as far south as Interstate 80. Overnight, temperatures won’t drop too far for most of the area, at least until a cold front begins to push south into the area after midnight. That cold front will push south to about Highway 6 by sunrise Saturday. Ahead of the cold front, temperatures will remain in the 20s and lower 30s. But behind it, temperatures will quickly drop off into the 10s. Along with that, north northeast winds will kick in behind the front, which will bring plunging wind chill values. Meanwhile, the snow will continue across the north Saturday morning. As winds kick up, blowing snow will become more of an issue for those getting snow in Northern Nebraska. Snow will start to come to an end around or a little after noon on Saturday, but blowing snow could still be an issue. Winds will be blowing out of the north northeast at 15 to 25 mph with gusts at times over 35 mph. By the end of the afternoon, temperatures will range from around 5° in the north to around 20° in the south. By this point, wind chills will be dropping below zero and will be well below zero up north.

Even though most of the snow will end Saturday afternoon, some nuisance light snow may continue through the rest of the weekend. The best chance would be out west were maybe up to around an inch or more will be possible the rest of the weekend. Otherwise, the highest amounts of snow will fall near and north of Highway 20 in the Niobrara River valley in North Central to Northeast Nebraska. Totals could be as high as 4 to 8 inches with a sharp drop off going south from there. The main focus for the rest of the weekend and early next week will be the bitterly cold temperatures. Low temperatures Sunday morning will drip back to the -0s north and the 0s south. Wind chill values will mostly drop into the -10s. High temperatures on Sunday will only be between 5° northwest to 15° southeast. Monday morning lows will be similar to Sunday morning. Highs on Monday may be a degree or two warmer than Sunday, but will still be quite cold from the upper 0s northwest to the mid/upper 10s southeast. From there, it’ll be a slow climb up through next week. The week looks mainly dry and winds shouldn’t be terribly strong. By the end of next week into the first weekend of February, highs in the 30s will return to the area.

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