Much of Nebraska could see record heat on Christmas
By Dale Johnson, Morning Edition Host / Reporter and Matt Olberding 
, News director Nebraska Public Media
22 de Diciembre de 2025 a las 18:00 ·
If you like a white Christmas, you’re out of luck this year in Nebraska. But if being outside without a coat is more your style, then you’ll love the holiday forecast.
Many cities could break records on Thursday, with the National Weather Service forecasting temperatures in the 60s for most of the state.
The forecast high of 60 in Omaha would easily break the record of 57 set in 1946. Lincoln’s current forecast is for 65, which would tie for the all-time warmest Christmas.
“Christmas Eve we are forecasting record highs for both North Platte and Valentine, and we are forecasting near-record highs for Christmas Day itself,” said Nathan Jurgensen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in North Platte.
And the unseasonable warmth is not limited to Christmas Day.
Western Nebraska could see temperatures in the 60s -- and even some 70s -- this week leading up to Christmas.
Several cities, including Broken Bow, Imperial, North Platte and Valentine were forecast to tie or break records on Monday.
It won’t be quite as warm in the eastern part of the state, with most areas seeing highs in the 50s and lower 60s leading up until Christmas. Still, the entire state is going to see high temperatures that are anywhere from 15-25 degrees higher than average.
The warm weather is not limited to Nebraska, with much of the country set to see record warmth with no major storms.
That means it will be good for the millions of people planning to travel.
“We’re not really seeing any threat for holiday travel,” Jurgensen said.
AAA predicts that about 122.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period that began Saturday and ends. Jan. 1.
That includes about 9.2 million in the West North Central region, which includes Nebraska.
Most of those travelers will be using their own automobiles, and they'll be treated to gas prices that are considerably lower than last Christmas.
As of Monday, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Nebraska was $2.54, which is more than 20 cents cheaper than it was at this time last year.