Local temperature forecast performance

How accurate are temperature forecasts in Lincoln, Nebraska?

Nighttime lows were less predictable than daytime highs in Lincoln's next-day record. Lows missed by 3.2°F on average, compared with 2.8°F for highs.

See the current Lincoln forecast

Opens ZIP 68508 using the nearest current station, which may differ from the archive station below.

What stands out

Lincoln forecast findings

At a glance

Forecast day 1 accuracy

Highs Lows

Higher error than the national average

Lincoln: 4.2°F typical miss National archive average: 3.5°F

Combined high and low results across forecast days 1, 3, 5, and 7.
High temperaturesForecast day 1
2.8°Ftypical miss

68% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmer0.3°F warmer than observed
Low temperaturesForecast day 1
3.2°Ftypical miss

59% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmerLittle warm or cool tendency

Error generally grows farther into the forecast

The dots show the typical miss on each forecast day.

Lincoln temperature forecast error by forecast dayTypical miss by forecast day. day 1: high 2.8°F, low 3.2°F; day 3: high 3.7°F, low 3.8°F; day 5: high 4.6°F, low 4.4°F; day 7: high 6.1°F, low 5.2°F. typical miss ≤3°F 0°2°4°6°8°2.8°F3.2°FDay 13.7°F3.8°FDay 34.6°F4.4°FDay 56.1°F5.2°FDay 7
See within-3°F percentages and window timing
Day 1High: 68%Low: 59%
Day 3High: 55%Low: 50%
Day 5High: 47%Low: 45%
Day 7High: 38%Low: 38%

High and low windows represent the same numbered forecast day, but the high window ends 12 hours later and therefore has 12 more hours of lead time.

How forecasts change through the year

Each tile is forecast day 1’s typical miss.

Under 2°F2–3°F3–5°FOver 5°FNot enough data

High temperatures

Jan2.7°61 cases
Feb3.6°55 cases
Mar3.5°58 cases
Apr3.3°59 cases
May2.3°59 cases
Jun2.4°59 cases
Jul2.6°60 cases
Aug2.5°59 cases
Sep2.8°59 cases
Oct1.9°61 cases
Nov2.9°53 cases
Dec3.5°57 cases

Low temperatures

Jan3.2°62 cases
Feb3.6°55 cases
Mar4.4°58 cases
Apr3.4°59 cases
May3.2°60 cases
Jun2.3°59 cases
Jul2.1°59 cases
Aug1.7°60 cases
Sep3.2°59 cases
Oct3.5°61 cases
Nov4.6°53 cases
Dec3.8°57 cases
Data locationLincoln (LNK)3.5 miles from central Lincoln · Archive 2024-08-01–2026-07-28

Based on archived raw NBM forecasts compared with observed daily highs and lows near Lincoln. Results describe this model archive, not every forecast provider.

How these numbers are calculated

The forecasts are raw NBM median temperature guidance initialized at 12Z. Results include multiple NBM model eras and are retrospective, so they describe this archive rather than guaranteeing future performance.

“Typical miss” is mean absolute error: the average size of the error regardless of direction. Warmer or cooler tendency is signed bias, which can be small even when individual errors are larger.

Read the complete calibration and verification methodology.