North Platte and McConaughy

Lake McConaughy and the North Platte valley through Keith and Lincoln counties. One big reservoir and the river below it.

6.5

Moderate Movement

Moderate confidence↑ +0.4 last 24hSnow Geese 6.3

Mallards score, conditions as of Mon, Nov 2, 3:00 PM

Tomorrow's Hunt · Tuesday, Nov 3

North Platte and McConaughy

5.1

Falling 13° vs yesterday

Legal light 6:48 AMSunrise 7:18 AMSunset 5:39 PM🌗 Last quarter · 40%

5AM22NNW · 44°

6AM21NNW · 43°

7AM19NNW · 43°

8AM19NNW · 42°

9AM18NNW · 42°

10AM20NNW · 43°

11AM18NNW · 45°

7.3Decoy score · WorkableWorking wind: 20 mph through the morning · Low overcast keeps birds low and honest · Gusts to 45: decoys will look wrong on open water

Best window: 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM

Built around the strongest northwest wind of the morning

Temperatures falling about 15°F over the next 48 hours

Drier than normal: water is patchy

Season dates · Zone 1 October 24 to December 6, 2026 and December 19, 2026 to January 17, 2027. Zone 2 October 3 to December 15, 2026 and January 6-27, 2027. Zone 3 October 24, 2026 to January 5, 2027 and January 6-27, 2027.

Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with Nebraska Game and Parks.

Water Status

Playas and sheet water: OpenSandhill lakes and marsh: OpenReservoirs and river: Open0 freezing degree-days over the last 6 days, counting the next 2 at half (estimated from air temps until the satellite ice feed lands)

Water on the landscape: Drier than normal: water is patchy (35% of Nebraska in drought, US Drought Monitor).

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Why this score is moving

Temperatures falling about 15°F over the next 48 hours
Northwest winds building to 25 mph
Corn harvest roughly 84% complete, heavy field feed available

48-Hour Outlook

Good

Temperatures falling about 15°F over the next 48 hours. Northwest winds building to 25 mph. Strongest window: Mon into Tue.

14-Day Score Outlook

Mallards

Days 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.

Inside the model

The score is a weighted blend of the drivers below, each rated 0 to 10 from current conditions. No black box: this is the whole model.

Cold front / temp trend18% weight

7.6

Temps falling ~15°F into the next 48h

Wind direction + speed16% weight

10.0

NW winds to 25 mph across 33 of the next 48h

Freeze north of region18% weight

1.5

0% of upstream hours below 28°F

Snow advance upstream11% weight

1.5

Little to no snow upstream

Local open water / holding11% weight

8.9

35% of the state in drought: water is patchier than normal

Season timing16% weight

7.9

Inside the prime migration window

Crop harvest / field feed9% weight

8.9

Corn ~84%, beans ~96% (typical-progress estimate)

Hunter reports0% weight

5.0

No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted

North of you

Pro

The freeze line across the stations upstream of this region, station by station, so you see shallow water locking up before the birds arrive on it.

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Radar check

Pro

Last night's NEXRAD read on whether birds actually moved: how much lifted off after sunset, which way it tracked, and how fast it flew under its own power once the wind at that altitude is subtracted out.

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Local conditions

55°Fnow

NW 16 mphwind

↓ 6°next 24h, falling

Day	Hi / Lo	Wind
MonNov 2	63° / 47°	NW 23 mph
TueNov 3	49° / 35°	NNW 23 mph
WedNov 4	58° / 31°	NW 12 mph
ThuNov 5	59° / 46°	N 10 mph
FriNov 6	61° / 42°	SW 11 mph
SatNov 7	62° / 44°	NW 21 mph
SunNov 8	54° / 38°	NW 14 mph

Hunter intel

Pro

What other hunters reported in this region over the last 72 hours: species, how hard they were feeding, and whether the birds looked like new arrivals. Filing your own report is free and counts toward this region's score either way.

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