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Shaded-relief map of Duncan, Nebraska: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
NEBRASKA · PLATTE COUNTY

Duncan

388 people, 1,500 ft above sea level in Platte County.

1,500 ftElevation, city center
388People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 28° · SSE 14 mph · high 43°
City of Duncan River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Duncan plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Duncan

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Columbus Municipal Airport (KOLU) · 12:56 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 39° · high of 43° near 2 PM
WindSSE 14 mphno gusts
Humidity51%falling to 60% this afternoon
Pressure30.20 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 28° · Dry43° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday90% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 100.01 in · 4 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Platte County
NWS Omaha/Valley and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 1:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:17 AM5:11 PM ↓
9 h 54 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
21
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
1p
4p
7p
10p
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4a
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10a
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1a
4a
7a
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4p
7p
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1a
4a
7a
10a
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
clear day
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
42°
30°
49°
33°
52°
40°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
14
9
8
7
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11
9
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15
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 34° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 43° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
43° 28°
0% rain — SSE 13 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
52° 32°
0% rain — S 9 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 38°
0% rain — SSW 14, gusts 25 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 44°
0% rain — S 15, gusts 26 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
61° 41°
20% rain — SSW 13 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 41°
10% rain — ESE 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
62° 47°
90% rain 0.2–1.1″ SSE 14 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Duncan about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the southern Plains three days ago, about 590 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. Near the ground the air came from Texas; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Plains. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1999 Nov. 13, 1999

The hottest this week has been

78° on Nov. 13, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 78° in 2025.

78°
78°
20251999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Columbus 3 NE record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Duncan stands on

Duncan’s center stands about 1,500 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,460 ft to 1,560 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country.

The section below crosses 2 rock units mapped at the surface.

Duncan, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,500 ft1,600 ft1,700 ft DUNCAN1,500 ftHigh point of the line1,750 ftLoup Riverabout 1,500 ftPlatte Riverabout 1,460 ftLow point1,460 ft ← NWSE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Carlile Shale

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 16 mi of the line.

Niobrara Formation

Limestone, shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 9 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Duncan’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Duncan reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Platte, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,870 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Duncan≈ 1,870 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF DUNCAN ≈ 1,870 mi to the Gulf of America Platte → Missouri → Mississippi

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Duncan; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Duncan’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Columbus 3 NE, 10 mi east-northeast

Duncan has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 87° in July; winter nights fall to about 14° in January. A normal year brings about 26 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 29 inches of water.

32°14°37°18°50°28°62°39°73°51°83°62°87°66°84°64°77°54°63°41°48°28°35°18° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY DUNCAN 28.7 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average87° / 66°high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 14°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow28.7 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year25.6 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record115°FJuly 25, 1936
Coldest on record−29°FJanuary 13, 1912
Wettest day on record5.97 inAugust 5, 1981
Snowiest day on record15.0 inNovember 27, 1983
90° days a year32about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°141and 45 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 11, to the last in spring, about April 21 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 30 to Jan. 24; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 4 to March 27; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 12.7 of the year’s 28.7 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Duncan normally reaches 48° and falls to 28°. The record high is 78°, in 2025; the record low −7°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.16 in, fell in 1926.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high32°37°50°62°73°83°87°84°77°63°48°35°
Normal low14°18°28°39°51°62°66°64°54°41°28°18°
Rain and melt, in0.650.731.392.934.574.693.463.272.482.351.220.93
Snow, inches6.66.03.81.10.00.00.00.00.00.71.85.6
Record high70° (1944)77° (1896)95° (2026)100° (1910)103° (1913)109° (1936)115° (1936)111° (1934)105° (1939)96° (1938)85° (1945)78° (1939)
Record low−29° (1912)−29° (1905)−15° (1948)4° (1975)22° (1909)34° (1894)41° (1971)37° (1950)24° (1984)6° (1925)−14° (1964)−25° (1916)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Columbus 3 NE, 10 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Duncan on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Columbus NE · 8 MI 8 miles northeast Lincoln NE · 58 MI 58 miles southeast Omaha NE · 75 MI 75 miles east Sioux City IA · 95 MI 95 miles northeast Topeka KS · 188 MI 188 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Duncan, Nebraska. Explore the plate
NEBRASKA · PLATTE

Duncan

388 people, 1,500 ft above sea level in Platte County.

1,500 ftElevation
388People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 28°
1

Today in Duncan

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy day 42° 0%
4p partly cloudy day 43° 0%
7p mostly cloudy night 38° 0%
10p partly cloudy night 34° 0%
1a mostly cloudy night 32° 0%
4a partly cloudy night 30° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 90%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
28
43
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
32
52
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
54
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
44
56
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
41
61
C
Thu10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
41
56
C
Fri90%
Showers likely Showers likely
47
62
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 13, 1999

78°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Duncan stands on

Duncan’s center stands about 1,500 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,460 ft to 1,560 ft, a difference of 100 ft: gently rolling country.

Duncan, northwest to southeast Duncan1,500 ftHigh point1,750 ftLoup Riverabout 1,500 ftPlatte Riverabout 1,460 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,500 ft
Within 3 miles1,460 to 1,560 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (100 ft of relief)
5

Duncan’s year

Duncan has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 87° in July; winter nights fall to about 14° in January. A normal year brings about 26 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 29 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 28.7 in
July, average87° / 66° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 14° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow28.7 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year25.6 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record115°F · July 25, 1936
Coldest on record−29°F · January 13, 1912
Wettest day on record5.97 in · August 5, 1981
Snowiest day on record15.0 in · November 27, 1983
90° days a year32 · about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°141 · and 45 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 11, to the last in spring, about April 21 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 30 to Jan. 24; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 4 to March 27; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 12.7 of the year’s 28.7 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Duncan normally reaches 48° and falls to 28°. The record high is 78°, in 2025; the record low −7°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.16 in, fell in 1926.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Columbus 3 NE, 10 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,870 mito the Gulf of AmericaPlatte → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Duncan reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Platte, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,870 river miles.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.