Weather alerts in Lincoln, Nebraska today
National Weather Service
Official Freeze Warning in effect for Lincoln.
What it means
- Freeze or cold: protect sensitive plants, pets and outdoor pipes. In extreme cold, dress in layers, limit time outdoors and use space heaters and generators safely.
Always follow your local National Weather Service office and local officials. Details below.
Official weather alerts for Lincoln
Freeze Warning until Sat, Oct 17, 9:00 AM CDT
Freeze Warning issued October 16 at 10:01AM CDT until October 17 at 9:00AM CDT by NWS Omaha/Valley NE
Monona; Harrison; Shelby; Pottawattamie; Mills; Montgomery; Fremont; Page; Knox; Cedar; Thurston; Antelope; Pierce; Wayne; Boone; Madison; Stanton; Cuming; Burt; Platte; Colfax; Dodge; Washington; Butler; Saunders; Douglas; Sarpy; Seward; Lancaster; Cass; Otoe; Saline; Jefferson; Gage; Johnson; Nemaha; Pawnee; Richardson
Full text from the National Weather Service
FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 9 AM CDT SATURDAY
* WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 28 expected. * WHERE...Portions of southwest and west central Iowa and east central, northeast, and southeast Nebraska. * WHEN...From 1 AM to 9 AM CDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Instructions: Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent water pipes from freezing; wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.
Official NWS page · NWS Omaha/Valley NE
Storm Prediction Center · today's severe-storm outlook · issued 1 h ago
Lincoln is outside today's thunderstorm and severe-storm areas.
Official SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook (NOAA), valid until Sat, Oct 17, 7:00 AM CDT. It shows the chance of severe storms in the area, not a warning for your street. SPC outlook
U.S. Drought Monitor · map of October 13
44% of Nebraska is in drought, including 6.4% in extreme or exceptional drought.
Share of the state's area. Updated every Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA and NOAA). Drought builds over weeks and months: one rainy day rarely ends it.
Weather in Lincoln now
Rain forecast for Lincoln · next days
Automatic forecast from a computer model (MET Norway, data CC BY 4.0). Not an official alert: for watches and warnings, follow National Weather Service.
What do the inches mean?
As a rough guide: under a quarter inch in a day is light rain; 1 to 2 inches is a heavy downpour; more than 2 inches in a day is very heavy rain that can flood low-lying areas and roads.
Several rainy days in a row saturate the ground: even a modest storm can then cause flash flooding and rising rivers.
What is normal in October in Lincoln
changing season Storms become less frequent, but a smaller second severe-weather season can occur in October and November, mainly in Oklahoma and Texas. The first snow and freeze arrive on the northern Plains.
El Niño is under way, and NOAA expects it to be strong (NOAA, October 8, 2026).
On the southern Plains it tends to bring a wetter, cooler winter; the northern Plains tend to be milder and drier.
These are general tendencies: every year is different, and your local forecast comes first.
Typical climate per NOAA and regional weather services. It describes the season, not the forecast for a given day.
Official sources for Nebraska
Emergency: 911