Huskers fans are probably hoping to see thunder and lightning on the football field Saturday night. But they may wind up dodging it in the stands as well.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a 60 percent chance of rain, with possible thunderstorms, Saturday night in Lincoln. NU opens its season against Akron at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

Van DeWald, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley, said a cold front is forecast to move into the area Saturday afternoon and evening and could stall out right around the Lincoln area.

If that happens, the area could be looking at heavy rain and the chance of severe storms.

"I know some people have some plans in Lincoln that evening," DeWald joked.

He said the weather forecast for Saturday night is a concern, especially for "the 100,000 people who are out in the open."

The chance of storms actually starts Friday afternoon and evening, with a 40 percent chance of rain and a slight chance of severe storms that could bring hail and high winds. That could cause problems for local high school football games.

The rest of the weekend doesn't look much better. There also is a 70 percent chance of rain Sunday and a 50 percent chance of rain Monday.

DeWald said the Lincoln area could be looking at 3 to 4 inches of rain by Monday, and the Weather Service's website shows the Lincoln area could get as much as 6 inches, with even more possible north of the Capital City.

The good news, he said, is that it doesn't look like it's going to be solid rain and clouds all weekend. There's likely to be periods of sun late Saturday morning and early afternoon, as well as at times Sunday.

"It's not going to be rain the whole weekend," DeWald said. "We will see some sun. I think we'll just have to dodge thunderstorms."

Those traveling out of the area for Labor Day will face a different kind of trouble.

Gas prices are at their highest level for this time of year since 2014, according to GasBuddy, a gas price-tracking website and smartphone app.

As of Friday, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gas in Lincoln was $2.74, up 2 cents from Thursday, 2 cents from a week ago and 37 cents from last year.

Statewide, the average price was slightly lower, coming in at $2.73 a gallon, a penny higher than both Thursday and a week ago, and 33 cents higher than at this time last year.

Part of the reason prices are so high going into the weekend is that they've been high all summer. Prices have averaged $2.73 a gallon nationally since June 1, and the spread between high and low prices this summer is only 13 cents, the smallest it's been since 2010.

“It’s been consistently a more painful summer at the pump than what we’ve been accustomed to when compared to the last few summers,” Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a news release.

The good news, DeHaan said, is that, "We should continue to see prices gently decline in the weeks ahead as demand begins to slow into the autumn."