Prolonged, Intense Heat Wave; Excessive Rainfall in the Southern Rockies and Central Plains into the Upper Midwest

Extremely dangerous heat persists through Thursday with widespread daily temperature records. Monsoonal moisture continues to bring heavy rain and flash flooding to New Mexico and west Texas through Thursday, especially in the burn scar areas. Thunderstorms and heavy to excessive rain will continue to bring a flash flood threat from the Central Plains into the Upper Midwest. Read More >

Overview

A strong, deep low pressure system tracked across the Dakotas on this Monday. The associated cold front moved across the region during the afternoon. Strong winds surrounded this low, ahead of the front and behind the front. However, the strongest winds were behind the front. During the morning hours, southwest winds ahead of the front transported dust from Colorado into Kansas and Nebraska, as well as picking up dust in-place. Strong winds along and behind the front also picked up and transported dust into the region. Blowing dust severely reduced visibility in spots. In fact, a brown-out occurred on the "S" curve on Showboat Blvd, 8 miles south-southeast of Hastings, that resulted in a multi-vehicle pile-up. The visibility was also reduced to near one-quarter mile in a couple locations on Interstate 80, between Kearney and Grand Island.

Winds

The map below shows locations that measured winds of at least 55 mph.

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Prolonged, Intense Heat Wave; Excessive Rainfall in the Southern Rockies and Central Plains into the Upper Midwest

March 6, 2017: Highs Winds and Fire Danger with Blowing Dust