Forecast of the Day • A National Weather Forecasting Contest

Wednesday and Thursday should be the kind of days that illustrate the fun of living in the Great Plains. On Wednesday, there should be strong southerly flow with temperatures 20-30 F above average, as a strong system approaches, forming a low pressure center in eastern Colorado or western Kansas. Then a cold front crashes through, with highs on Thursday that could be 10 F below average, with strong northerly winds and light snow. Let's forecast Wedneday's high temperature for Hill City, in northwest Kansas. The GFS and NAM MOS disagree strongly on the high, probably because of different ideas of the afternoon cloud cover.