Forecast Discussions mentioning any of "HRRR" "RAP" "RUC13" "RUC" "RR" received at GSD on 06/20/24


Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Binghamton NY
1136 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Hot and humid conditions with scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms are expected through the entire week. A break in the heat may not come until after the weekend into early next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... 1130 PM Update: Strong to severe thunderstorms have popped up along an apparent surface boundary extending from SW NY to just north of the Finger Lakes. Surface analysis suggests this boundary may extend further east than the current area of convection, north of Skaneateles and Syracuse to somewhere in northern Oneida County. The storms have fired up in an area of weaker steering flow, and have been nearly stationary, staying just barely west of the CWA boundary so far. SPC mesoanalysis also indicates low level moisture pooling along the lake plain, roughly coincident with the boundary. CAMS not really handling things too well, though a few did produce some convection further east than reality, and the ones that did suggest additional storms will fire up along the boundary near the Thruway in the next hour or two, but otherwise not move further east. But outflow boundaries from these storms, too far away to pick up on radar just yet, will propagate east, and could kick up additional isolated thunderstorms across the Finger Lakes and areas N and W of BGM overnight. PoP grids have been increased in the far west, and along the apparent boundary near the Thruway over the next couple hours. PoPs tapering off to the east in time considering the possibility of additional initiation off outflow boundaries as previously mentioned. Outflow boundaries from this mess will almost certainly impact convection initiation later on Thursday. 955 PM Update: Thunderstorms are now initiating along a convergence zone just west of our forecast area, across NW PA and SW NY. These storms are tapping into 2200 J/Kg of MLCAPE, with mid level lapse rates around 6.5C/Km.DCAPE values are still around 1100 J/kg out in this region. The CAMs are not handling this convective initiation well at this time. Forecast grids grids were updated to show a chance for thunderstorms redeveloping (along outflow) further east into portions of our CWA; especially Steuben, Yates and Seneca counties over the next several hours. Main threat with these slow moving storms will be for isolated strong, gusty outflow winds and heavy rainfall. 745 PM Update: Just a few, isolated thunderstorms on the radar early this evening. The majority of the activity has been across eastern Delaware and Otsego counties thus far. There is abundant instability out there, with MLCAPE over 2500 J/kg, and LIs of -8. Effective layer shear is rather weak around 20 kts over the western portion of the area. Looking at the latest water vapor and IR satellite loops, there are no real triggers for added lift to get organized convection going at this time. The CAMs, especially the latest 22z HRRR develop some scattered thunderstorm activity over the next few hours across Central NY. So far the storms have been unable to push higher reflectivity cores up above the -20C (~25k ft agl) level...however we will continue to monitor any storms that can develop very closely considering the high amounts of instability, and DCAPE values of 1000+ J/KG, which is highly conducive to downbursts and localized strong winds. Otherwise, tonight will be another muggy night with lows in the upper 60s to 70s over the region. Just like last night, downtown Syracuse may struggle to fall below 80 degrees. Thursday is another hot and humid day, and heat advisories remain in effect areawide. Scattered thunderstorms develop in the afternoon and there is a Slight Risk for severe storms. 230 PM Update: Isolated convection will continue at times into tonight mainly extending from the western Finger Lakes to the Upper Mohawk Valley where lingering boundaries exist amongst better broad scale lift south of the prevailing westerlies. Diurnal stabilization should end best chances, but persistent high dewpoints will still provide fuel for any rogue meso convective system that rides the ridge later on. Not seeing any indications of this to be confident, but a primed atmosphere will do what it wants. Ridge flattens further on Thursday with stronger westerlies expected to dip across northern NY. Once again, hot and humid conditions will prevail, however, confidence is higher that thunderstorms may be a little more intense and numerous than the past several days. Strong low level lapse rates will exist with max CAPE values likely nearing 2500 to 3000 J/kg. With the stronger flow aloft moving in, 0-6 km bulk shear will increase to around 20 to 25 knots, which should be enough to support a better organization of convection than today. Locally damaging winds will be the main threat. Also, PWATs will again be in the 99th percentile range and short Corfidi vectors of less than 10 knots suggest heavy down pours and back building thunderstorms will be possible, with a threat for localized flash flooding. A continuation of warm and muggy conditions at night will continue Thursday night and with a weak stationary front in the area, shower and thunderstorm chances will linger into the evening. Lows in the 70s and highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s will persist. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... 250 PM Update... High pressure recedes to the southwest with an upper level ridge resting over our region. Along this ridge a few disturbances move through with a weak stalled frontal system. This leads to the possibility for showers and thunderstorms to develop especially during peak heating hours. Although models are trending drier Friday morning, so pulled back on pops. Instability parameters show CAPE values up to 1,700 J/Kg with marginal wind shear. This suggests strong to severe storms are possible with isolated damaging wind being the primary threat. However, any slower- moving storms can produce heavy rainfall with PWAT values anywhere from 1.5 to nearly 2.0 inches across the area. Placement of the frontal system, cloud cover and shower development will lead to a challenging temperature forecast for Friday. Highs are expected to range in the mid 80s to lower 90s in northeast PA and the Southern Tier of NY. Lows will follow this same pattern with overnight temperatures ranging in the mid 60s to low 70s across the area. Quasi-stationary front lingers over the region on Saturday before lifting Saturday night. This allows additional showers and thunderstorms to develop especially during peak heating hours. Depending on the timing of when the front lifts will impact the temperature forecast. As of now temperatures are forecasted to range higher in the mid to upper 80s west of I-81, with highs ranging in the low to mid 80s east. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... 250 PM Update... Upper level ridge begins to break down on Sunday as an upper level trough starts to nudge into the region along with a surface cold front. This brings potential for additional showers and thunderstorms to develop ahead of the system as moisture gets advected into our region. There is uncertainty in the timing of the frontal passage, it appears to move through Sunday night into Monday morning. Regardless cooler air will begin to filter in early next week providing relief to the region. Upper trough slowly tracks east Monday allowing another opportunity for shower and thunderstorms to develop under this pattern. Brief ridge along with surface high pressure builds in on Tuesday with dry conditions anticipated at this time. Models begin to diverge towards the end of the period, but another system could creep in by Wednesday. && .AVIATION /04Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Thunderstorms have been struggling to get going this afternoon but given the heat ahd humidity, there is still plenty of energy to develop thunderstorms this evening and tonight. Anything that does form, will be isolated so left thunder out of the TAFs for now. ELM did have dew points drop lower this afternoon than yesterday so unless there is rain to fall before midnight, it will be harder to get fog formation. Tomorrow is looking a little better for thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening but once again the storms that form will be more scattered rather than numerous so confidence in their locations is too low to add to the TAFs after 18Z tomorrow. Outlook... Thursday night through Monday...Spotty restrictions possible in showers and thunderstorms. && .BGM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT Thursday for PAZ038>040-043-044- 047-048-072. NY...Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT Thursday for NYZ009-015>018- 022>025-036-037-044>046-055>057-062. Air Quality Alert from 11 AM to 11 PM EDT Thursday for NYZ062. && $$ SYNOPSIS...JAB NEAR TERM...JAB/MJM/MPH SHORT TERM...ES LONG TERM...ES AVIATION...AJG/JAB/MPK
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Billings MT
630 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .UPDATE... Satellite imagery shows broad troffing/cyclonic flow over the northern Rockies, but heights continue to slowly rise. Weak diurnal convection developed over our western mountains/foothills but this activity is already waning (though a cell just popped up recently near Red Lodge). The more interesting area is our southeast, where showers and some embedded thunder have developed from near Devils Tower to southern Powder River and Carter Counties. This is a region of low level jet forcing/moisture advection underneath RRQ of 90kt H3 jet lifting thru eastern MT. Instability is quite modest and thunderstorms will be weak, but places from Broadus to Baker eastward can expect scattered showers thru the remainder of the evening. Have raised evening pops a bit in this area. There could be a risk of fog in far southeast MT late tonight, especially w/ a little precip, but the HRRR suggests the better fog potential is closer to the Black Hills. With persistent SE winds this could lead to advection of low stratus (or fog) by late tonight...but this is of low confidence at this time. Otherwise, the remainder of the forecast area will be dry with low temps mostly in the 40s (milder than last night but still cooler than normal). JKL && .DISCUSSION... Rest of Today through Thursday Night... A longwave trough across the NW CONUS was evident on satellite imagery today with indication of a jet streak in the southwest flow over Wyoming. This was helping to produce some weak convection over the SE corner of Montana which was drifting northward. Isolated showers/thunder was also noted across central Montana clipping the Belts and Snowies. Most of this weak convective activity should die off after sunset, but we could have some showers linger in the far eastern zones thanks to a developing low level jet overnight. No significant impacts are expected. Lows overnight will be much milder than last night, with readings from near 40 west to upper 40s east. For Thursday...a bit more cloudy with an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and into the evening (15-40%). Better instability and shear may allow for a few stronger storms, though there is no severe risk at this time. This activity could linger through Thursday night thanks to available jet dynamics and WAA in mid level. High temperatures Thursday will range in the 70s to lower 80s, but increased dewpoints will make it feel notably more humid. BT Friday through Wednesday... Friday afternoon and evening have a decent probability of strong to severe storms as an upper trough moves into the region. Trough will push a cold front through the area late in the day into the evening. Low-level ESE flow from the Gulf of Mexico will push PWAT`s to 1-1.25 inches over the E half of the area. SREF showed MLCAPEs of 500-1000 J/kg with Bulk Effective Shear of 40-50 kt. NBM CWASPs were in the 60s. There is a 30-50% chance of showers with isolated thunderstorms in the morning, which could hinder strong thunderstorm chances later in the day. Will need to watch how this period unfolds with time. There is a 40-60% chance of showers and thunderstorms Fri. afternoon and evening. Highs on Fri. will be in the 70s to lower 80s. Dry weather will then move in through Sunday, as a strong ridge builds into the region. Temps will be in the 80s on Saturday, and in the 90s to around 100 degrees on Sunday. Probabilities were not very high for hitting 100 degrees. Billings had the highest chance at 11%. WSW flow will be over the region on Monday with a 20% chance of a shower or thunderstorm E of KBIL Mon. evening. Highs will reach the low 90s on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday had more uncertainty in the Clusters, with solutions ranging from upper ridging to troughing. There will be low chances of precipitation on Wednesday. Highs were forecast in the 80s both days. Arthur && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will prevail through tonight with light and variable winds. Isolated showers/thunder is expected over the eastern half of the forecast area including the KSHR/KMLS/KBHK/K4BQ terminals. Local MVFR conditions can be expected with the thunderstorms. Weak convection may linger overnight south of KEKA and K4BQ. BT && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS... Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed ----------------------------------------------------------- BIL 047/078 056/080 058/084 060/097 062/091 058/087 059/085 00/U 24/T 41/U 00/U 11/U 11/U 12/T LVM 039/076 048/081 052/086 054/095 056/090 052/087 052/082 11/U 14/T 30/U 01/N 11/N 11/U 12/T HDN 045/081 056/083 056/086 057/099 060/093 057/089 057/086 01/B 36/T 51/U 00/U 11/U 10/U 21/U MLS 049/079 057/080 057/082 058/095 063/090 059/087 060/084 11/B 26/T 61/B 00/U 20/U 21/U 32/W 4BQ 048/079 057/079 058/084 059/097 064/092 060/089 061/085 31/B 36/T 51/U 00/U 10/U 20/U 21/U BHK 048/075 053/074 055/081 052/090 061/089 055/086 057/083 21/B 25/T 62/W 00/U 10/U 21/U 32/T SHR 044/079 051/081 053/084 056/096 061/093 056/088 056/086 11/B 46/T 41/U 00/U 10/U 10/U 11/U && .BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...None. WY...None. && $$ weather.gov/billings
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Cheyenne WY
241 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Southeasterly upslope winds expected this evening that could lead to widespread low clouds and fog in the Nebraska Panhandle to the east slopes of the Laramie Range to include Cheyenne. - Warmer temperatures and more widespread shower and thunderstorm activity with the potential for severe storms will return on Thursday. This may continue on Friday. - Hot and mostly dry weather will occur this weekend into early next week with low chances (10-20%) for showers and storms and afternoon highs likely (>85%) above 90F degrees east of the Laramie Range. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/... Issued at 241 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Inverted surface trough lays across northwestern Colorado...north into eastern Carbon County this afternoon. This has created a fairly tight...reverse Craig to Casper 850/700mb height gradient. 18Z Craig to Casper 850/700mb height gradients at -18/-3 mtrs that increase to -31/-5 mtrs at 00Z this afternoon. Pretty rare reverse gradient winds up to 55 mph have been reported in the Laramie Valley and over the Summit. Even Bordeaux reporting southeast wind gusts to 45 mph. Definitely something we don`t see very often here. Southeast winds also pulling higher dewpoints north with low 50s in northeast COlorado and upper 50s/low 60s in east central Colorado and western Kansas. We have had a persistent cloud deck over the southeast WYoming plains through the day today...which has limited temperature rises. Currently 63 here at Cheyenne...with low 70s out across Carbon County. With lack of surface heating today...not expecting much in the way of thunderstorm development across the CWA. HRRR/RAP simulated radar do show some light QPF over the Panhandle this evening. So did continue some low chance PoPs (30-40%) chances for the Panhandle this evening. Perhaps of more significance is the increased low level moisture as GFS 850 humidity increases to 90 percent across the southern Panhandle by 00Z and upper 90 percent into the southeast WYoming plains at 03Z. Looks like a pretty widespread stratus event for tonight and possibly widespread fog overnight. Did add areas of fog into the forecast for this evening and overnight. Forecast soundings support widespread stratus and fog tonight at Cheyenne and the Panhandle...so evening shift may need to go more widespread than what is currently in the weather grids. Thursday is looking good for thunderstorms with the increased low level moisture across the area. Upper shortwave moves through Thursday afternoon. Ample 0-6km shear with southeasterly low level winds and upper westerly winds of 50-60kts. NAM MUCAPE of 2500 to 3000 J/KG with similar instability on GFS soundings. HRRR simulated radar going very aggressive on thunderstorm development Thursday afternoon. For now...SPC has a Marginal Risk identified for southeast Wyoming and Nebraska Panhandle. But would not be surprised if they upgrade that of near future updates. Friday looks similar to Thursday as low level moisture will still be in place. Dewpoints in the Panhandle still up in the low to mid 60s Friday afternoon with next upper shortwave tracking across the CWA. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... Issued at 241 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 A very warm weekend and start of the week is expected for southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska. Saturday looks to be the coolest day at this time as an upper-level trough slowly traverses east out of the region and ridging begins to build in behind it. As the ridge builds, it will slowly move to the east, with the ridge axis over the region by Sunday afternoon. The GFS and ECMWF have some slight differences in the strength of the 250mb ridge, with the ECMWF suggesting a stronger ridge than the GFS at this time. However, at 500mb, the GFS and ECMWF are nearly identical for the exact strength of the ridge at this level. The ridge will remain firmly in place across the region from Sunday, with another ridge building across the southwestern CONUS as the first ridge begins to track easterly. Therefore, a very warm week is expected for much of the region. 700mb temperatures soar into the 15 to 20C range by Monday evening, with corresponding surface temperatures well into the 90s east of the Laramie Range, with many 100s possible across western Nebraska. Mid- to upper-80s are likely west of the Laramie Range during the weekend and into the start of the work week. Despite the stout ridge overhead, several 500mb shortwaves will traverse through the ridge and lead to daily shower and thunderstorm chances across the region. With these passing shortwaves, the temperature forecast is somewhat less confident as the shortwave could knock a few degrees off the current forecast temperatures. Additionally, any cloud cover produced by these shortwaves will further act to reduce the surface temperatures. Overnight lows will be rather warm across the region under the influence of the upper- level ridge, with overnight lows consistently in the 50s and 60s across the region. Luckily, dewpoint values will remain near average for this time of year, so the hot temperatures will not any more unpleasant from a surplus of moisture. Overall, a warm and mostly dry long term forecast is expected. Any showers and thunderstorms that develop throughout the week will likely be isolated to scattered in nature, leading to some locations receiving significantly more precipitation than others. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1115 AM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Concern for the 18Z TAFs will be widespread low clouds and fog as we continue under southeast upslope flow through Thursday. Continued trend towards lowering flight conditions for airports east of the Laramie Range. Latest HRRR and LAMP guidance hitting these airports pretty hard with LIFR to VLIFR conditions. WOrst airport may be KCYS where we could see dense fog developing tonight. Will continue to monitor and revise timing as we get closer to the event. But right now...looking for lowering conditions around the 03Z timeframe. && .CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WY...None. NE...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...GCC LONG TERM...AM AVIATION...GCC
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Junction CO
534 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered to widespread showers and storms are expected tomorrow and Friday. Significant moisture supports the potential for heavy rain during this period. - Conditions dry out for this weekend, but there is still a chance for afternoon storms daily going into next week. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 300 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 With the trough and high anchored to the West/East Coasts respectively, eastern Utah and Western Colorado remain under a dry southwesterly flow, but the pattern is changing as the high pressure builds to the west into Texas overnight into Thursday shifting the flow in the lower levels more southerly pulling tropical moisture off the Gulf into the region. Dewpoints along the Front Range are already in the 50`s with dewpoints in the 40`s creeping west into the mountains. We`re seeing some of that moisture spill over the Divide that will likely produce some of the first isolated showers and thunderstorms along the Divide this afternoon and evening. Overnight the deeper moisture will start moving in from the south with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing on the southern face of the San Juans spreading east in tho the Four Corners area through the morning hours. Some of these storms may become more organizes with significant CAPE and directional shear across southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado to produce larger hail and strong winds, definitely something to watch. Moisture continues to pour into the region from the south through the day becoming numerous through the southern and central areas with widely scattered showers and thunderstorms spreading north to Wyoming by evening. Overnight rain becomes more stratified with embedded showers and isolated thunderstorms across the whole region bringing wetting rain to much of the area along and south of the I- 70 corridor. The southern face of the San Juan Mountains is an area of concern with the strong upslope flow bringing over an inch of precipitation through the overnight period, yet something else to watch with flooding possible from training/prolonged showers. The cloud cover tomorrow will limit diurnal heating through the afternoon, but H500 heights increase as the high pressure builds in from the east to warm us five degrees over today. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 300 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Deep Gulf moisture will already be in place by Friday morning with forcing from embedded shortwaves allowing convection to continue through the morning hours. Friday looks to be a very active day as moisture rises even further by Friday afternoon with mixing ratios climbing to between 7 and 9 g/kg. PWAT is also upwards of 200 to 300 percent of normal on average with some pockets near the Four Corners up to almost 400 percent of normal. Dewpoints are projected to be well into the 50s across much of the area with dews near 60 across the Four Corners. Basically, this all means we will have significant deep moisture advection for efficient heavy rain potential with any showers and storms that form. CAPE values rise up to 1000 J/kg or more, so plenty of instability exists for strong storms to form. The real question though which would limit how much of this instability we can tap into is the amount of cloud cover and precipitation lasting through Friday morning. This could limit the convective potential due to lack of surface heating from the sun to act on the instability. Regardless, the potential is there for heavy rainfall and this is typically the type of moisture we would see during late July. Gusty outflow winds are also possible upwards of 50 mph or more but how strong these are all depends on how much instability is left and if we can get any breaks in the cloud cover and surface heating to help aid stronger convection. If it`s any consolation, the latest hi-res CAMs including both the NAMNest and HRRR indicate convection rumbling through western Colorado Friday morning with enough of a break late Friday morning before storms fire in earnest early to late Friday afternoon with the best period ahead of and along the cold front associated with the shortwave trough passage heading into Friday evening. We could see some stronger storms during this period, with the idea that we`d see enough breaks in the cloud cover late Friday morning into early afternoon to get some surface heating from the sun. WPC has much of eastern Utah and western Colorado practically along and south of I-70 included in the slight risk category for excessive rainfall, which makes perfect sense given the environment. Drier air pushes in from the west after the passage of this robust shortwave trough Friday night that will drive much of this deep Gulf moisture eastward, leading to a drier day on Saturday and more so on Sunday. However, enough moisture looks to linger behind with a little bit of forcing from embedded shortwaves moving across the north to produce some isolated to scattered storms favoring the high terrain. Dew points are still a bit elevated also, so this is something to watch as models might be too quick to dry things out, which would result in more storm coverage. This seems more of a thing Saturday rather than Sunday though as dew points come down quite a bit by Sunday into Monday. High pressure builds back in across the south with westerly flow remaining overhead this weekend into early next week, before the ridge axis tries to nudge slightly eastward by middle of next week. Models are struggling with how to handle this but the general trend for the coming week is a return to hot and dry conditions. Temperatures Friday into Saturday though will be much cooler though, especially Friday given the abundant moisture and resultant clouds and showers/storms with highs about 5 degrees below normal through Saturday. Highs jump to 4 to 8 degrees above normal Sunday into the coming week. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 526 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 A few showers and storms have formed along the northern Continental Divide with a few lightning strikes also noted. Scattered to broken skies are common across much of CO and SE UT but ceilings are between 12 to 15K feet so VFR conditions remain in place. These clouds should lift somewhat overnight though KTEX will likely keep some broken skies. Some showers may develop over the San Juans as moisture continues to increase. Slight chance for some showers for KTEX but not confident to include in TAFs yet. Conditions will start to deteroriate around 17 to 18Z tomorrow as convection starts firing across much of the CWA. && .GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CO...None. UT...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...DB LONG TERM...MDA AVIATION...TGJT
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Goodland KS
724 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Chances for showers/thunderstorms continues overnight, mainly across the northwest 1/2 of the area. - Patchy dense fog is also possible across the area overnight. - Dry and warmer Thursday. - Hot with highs in the 90s Friday through Sunday then 90s to low 100s Monday through Wednesday. - Dangerous heat index values of 100 to 106 degrees east of Highway 25 Monday and Tuesday. && .UPDATE... Issued at 710 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Moisture advection is ongoing as SE winds will continue to stream moist air into the area. Guidance over the past several runs shows fog development mainly along and south of I-70 starting mid evening and continuing through at least mid morning. HRRR is the most aggressive with the fog showing a fairly large area seeing dense fog; I`m however a little skeptical on this as winds will remain around 10-15 mph through the night so think this will help keep fog from becoming to thick. For this reason, I am foregoing any fog highlights at this time. There continues to be 20-50% chance of showers and perhaps isolated storms moving across the area with isentropic lift being the main factor. The best chance for seeing any rainfall will be along and north of I-70, where a tenth or two of measurable precipitation looks to occur. As winds become more more southerly throughout the day tomorrow some smoke from a large wildfire west of Roswell, New Mexico may look to move across western portions of Yuma, Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties in Colorado. Have not introduced haze into the forecast at this time as would like to see some run to run consistency but have increased sky coverage a bit to account for this. At this time any smoke looks to remain elevated just creating a haze in the sky. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 130 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Tonight...latest model guidance in general agreement that the combination of 850-500mb relative humidity and higher pops should remain focused along and west of Highway 27 through midnight before continuing to the northwest while weakening. Given the very poor performance of much of the guidance the past 24 hours, I`m rather pessimistic in the precipitation forecast. Low temperatures are forecast to be in the middle 50s to middle 60s. Cant rule out some fog in spots and next shift may need to update the forecast based on latest data. Thursday-Thursday night...drier air in the 850-500mb layer quickly overtakes the area by mid to late morning, ending any precipitation chances. Southerly winds strengthen during the day with gusts of 30 to 40 mph, highest west of Highway 25. Breezy winds continue overnight, mainly west of Highway 27. High temperatures warm back up into the 85 to 90 degree range with low temperatures in the 60s. Friday-Friday night...a monsoonal type pattern sets up with an upper trough to our west and ridge centered over the southeast states. Unfortunately, moisture from Mexico is skirted to the south of the area. There is a bit of moisture in the 700-500mb layer that moves off the Colorado front range and into the northwest 1/4 of the forecast area during the afternoon and evening, supporting 20%-30% chances for showers and thunderstorms. High temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 80s to middle 90s with low temperatures in the lower 60s to middle 70s. It will continue to be windy with southerly winds gusting to 40 mph during the day, slowly decreasing overnight. Saturday-Saturday night...500mb flow shifts from southwest flow aloft to zonal with troughing to our north and an elongated ridge to our south. Presently, dry weather is forecast. There could be a few thunderstorms flirting with the northwest and western corner of the forecast area in the afternoon/evening. High temperatures are forecast to be in the middle 80s to middle 90s with low temperatures in the 60s. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 1237 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 The area will be under west-northwesterly flow aloft as a ridge axis crosses the Rockies at the close of the weekend with high pressure centered over the southern CONUS. Low pressure moving across Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba will work to (briefly) flatten the ridge, promoting more of a zonal flow, and shortwaves moving through will keep slight chance afternoon-evening PoPs, generally around 15- 20%. Towards the latter part of the long term period, ridging again amplifies upstream as an upper low meanders along the coast of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. For temperatures, the warming trend continues with low-mid 90s Sunday followed by return of near-triple digit to triple digit heat by the start of the work week. Low temperatures are forecast to be in the 60s to low 70s. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 502 PM MDT Wed Jun 19 2024 MVFR ceilings are currently ongoing at KGLD along with near MVFR ceilings at KMCK. Soundings and nearly all guidance strongly suggest that ceilings will continue to decrease through the period with IFR to LIFR stratus becoming the main aviation concern through mid morning. Guidance also does show some patchy dense fog south of the Interstate; it is possible that it may impact the KGLD terminal but should be transient in nature and short lived so have included VCFG for the period where this is currently favored. More hit and miss showers may occur overnight so will continue the VCSH. VFR conditions look to return mid morning as drier air moves into the area again; however wind gusts of 30-35 knots look likely during the day Thursday. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...None. CO...None. NE...None. && $$ UPDATE...Trigg SHORT TERM...99 LONG TERM...CC AVIATION...Trigg
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI
1024 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Temps not as Hot Thursday north - Risk for Strong/Svr Storms this evening - Very warm and windy Saturday - Thunderstorms Friday through Sunday, especially Saturday night - Dry and somewhat more comfortable Sunday through Tuesday && .UPDATE... Issued at 1013 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Scattered convection continues overnight. Isolated storms have moved northward towards the I 94 corridor. While the hot and humid air mass over SW Michigan provided enough instability for storms earlier this evening, they were stifled due to the divergent pattern and weak shear. There is a boundary that extends from Big Rapids to the southwest that has a persistent line of showers. There were some storms along this boundary over mid Lake Michigan. However, not expecting for these showers to intensify, especially since there is weak shear, it is nighttime and the -10C is at 20K feet. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 303 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024 - Temps not as Hot starting Thursday north Heat index values are well into the 90s at this time so we made no changes to the headline through the remainder of today. However, looking at Thursday, there has been a trend for a southward shift of the axis of hottest air then. This supports dropping the Heat Advisory for Thursday for the region north of a line from Ottawa County to Ingham County. We already issued the NPW reflecting this change. If this southward trend continues, further changes may be needed the headline area. - Risk for Strong/Svr Storms this evening DCAPE around the area is favorable for gusty winds with any stronger storms. ML CAPE values are over 1000 J/kg so decent instability is in place. Effective bulk shear values have dropped off and are under 25 knots. So far the low level convergence has been very weak, but there are some indications that it may increase somewhat near and southeast of a Kalamazoo to Lansing line. If convection can develop in that region, we will be monitoring it for possible strong wind gusts and locally heavy rain. It`s worth noting that the main PWAT axis is shifting east of the CWA so that dry air advection may limit the overall convective coverage. The latest HRRR only has a few isolated cells over the next few hours, but it does suggest some outflows from any cells that do develop. - Very warm and windy Saturday Highs Saturday could vary substantially from northwest to southeast, ranging from around 80 near Ludington to mid/upper 90s near Jackson. Winds from the southwest Saturday afternoon will be quite strong; although the official forecasts indicate gusts in the 20-30 MPH range, expect model trends to bump this closer to the 30-40 MPH range based on some of the more recent guidance. Mixing should be substantial. A broadening spread of dewpoint forecasts among the ensemble members hints at the mixing process and also suggests uncertainty about how much drying will occur. The effects of heat additionally may be curtailed by the development of thunderstorms in the afternoon/event (see following section). - Thunderstorms Friday through Sunday, especially Saturday night As noted in the previous discussion, we will have a surface boundary providing a source of weak low level convergence. Very flat ridging aloft will offer episodic opportunities for minor PV maxima to zip across the region and allow storms to fire and then cluster into MCSs. Timing details are uncertain but activity will generally be guided by the diurnal convective instability cycle. Timing for the main round of thunderstorms looks increasingly locked into Saturday night. A deeply mixed boundary layer ahead of this activity will elevate the chances for damaging winds as this activity moves through. Additionally, the upper shortwave trough looks sharper and farther south than before. Hence, QC forcing could be more substantial than previously thought. These ingredients point to growing severe potential for this timeframe. - Dry and somewhat more comfortable Sunday through Tuesday As noted before, confidence is good for a dry Monday given sharp shortwave ridging aloft behind the aforementioned trough. PoPs return Tuesday night into Wednesday along with unseasonably warm temperatures. Predictability for temperatures should be fairly good, but advertised PoPs probably can be better attributed to climatology rather than forecast certainty. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 717 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Scattered/isolated thunderstorms were over parts of Southwest Lower MI to start the period. They will approach several TAF sites early this evening with KJXN and KBTL appearing to have the highest probability to seeing a storm. It will remain unstable through the evening so close monitoring will be needed given the random development. A cold front will be dropping down from the north bringing a wind shift. Moisture will be abundant along this frontal zone. This front will dissipate over the area tomorrow and could serve as a source for new storm development, especially after 18z. Low clouds and some fog may impact the TAF sites later tonight into Thursday morning but I was not confident enough to go widespread IFR as some models suggest may happen. For now most sites will feature a period of MVFR conditions. && .MARINE... Issued at 303 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Based on the lowering winds and waves, we cancelled the beach hazards and small craft advisory a little early. Saturday it looking like the next big wind/wave event. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...Air Quality Alert until midnight EDT tonight for MIZ050-056-057- 064-071. Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT Friday for MIZ056-057-064>067- 071>074. MARINE...None. && $$ UPDATE...Ceru DISCUSSION...MJS/TJT AVIATION...MJS MARINE...MJS
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Gray ME
803 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will remain east of New England through much of this week, continuing our period of hot and humid conditions through Thursday. Record high temperatures and potentially dangerous heat index values are likely. A cold front will slowly cross through the region on Thursday and Friday with an increasing chance for scattered strong thunderstorms and cooler temperatures starting on Friday. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM THURSDAY MORNING/... Update 8 PM...Update this evening to trim back on pops as thunderstorm activity from the extreme heat today has come to an end. Also expired the heat headlines for today, before they come in effect again tomorrow as we will have one more hot day. Overall guidance continues to hint at early heat, before convection develops once again towards mid-afternoon. Expecting severe weather threat once again with damaging winds being the biggest threat. Showers and thunderstorms, a few severe, will continue into the early evening hours per latest radar trends and latest NamNest solution. HRRR continues to have an issue deriving the convection today. This precipitation will diminish by around sunset as the atmosphere gradually stabilizes. Excessive heat today will lead towards another very warm night tonight. Last night, lows were in the lower to mid 70s in many interior areas and this will likely occur again. This sustained heat leading into tomorrow will allow for increased heat stress in buildings and areas without proper air conditioning. Patchy fog can be expected tonight, especially in areas that received heavy rainfall today. The latest HREF hints at possible maritime fog along the Midcoast region tonight by late tonight. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... The latest 12Z operational runs and ensemble solutions continue to suggest a more westerly component to the flow on Thursday. This may delay the sea breeze along the immediate shoreline allow for hazy, hot and humid conditions all the way to the coastline for a longer period than today. In any case, this large scale upper level ridge that has been leading to the heat will still be intact. Expect apparent temperatures to reach or exceed 105 degrees in many areas once again on Thursday. Surrounding this warning, have issued Heat Advisories for the period 15Z-23Z. A front does cross through the region during the afternoon hours, a little faster than guidance has suggested. However, temperatures will soar very quickly during the morning hours to allow for high CAPE values to develop and improved dynamics along and near the passing cold front. Most of the area remains in a Marginal Risk and have included strong, gusty winds and locally very heavy rainfall in the forecast. There will be high PWATs near 2 inches in a steep low level level lapse rates leading to the severe weather potential. Patchy fog once again can be expected Thursday night. Showers will take a few more hours to diminish than today with a chance for precipitation throughout the night. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... With ongoing heat headlines and severe weather, the long term forecast was populated with the NBM, with only minor adjustments made. The heat breaks by Friday as a cold front presses southward Thursday night. Highs are mostly expected to range from the upper 70s to mid 80s. Showers and storms are likely across as least southern areas as convection rides along the front. Periods of showers and storms are likely at times through the weekend and into early next week as we find ourselves on the northern side of the ridge. Cooler conditions are expected on Saturday, but a warming trend resumes on Sunday with temps warming into the 80s and continuing into early next week. Drier conditions likely return by midweek next week as highs warm back into the low 90s. && .AVIATION /00Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Short Term...Mainly VFR conditions after the convection diminishes this evening. However, there will be the potential for valley fog. Maritime fog is possible along the Midcoast. More showers and thunderstorms, some with strong gusty winds and possible hail will return on Thursday afternoon leading to localized IFR conditions. Scattered showers and thunderstorms may linger into Thursday night. Long Term...Periods of showers and storms bring restrictions at times Friday through Monday, especially in the afternoon hours. Otherwise, mainly VFR conditions are expected. VFR conditions likely then prevail next Tuesday and Wednesday. && .MARINE... Short Term...South to southwesterly winds will continue tonight into Thursday, just below SCA criteria. Winds back to the west Thursday night as slightly drier air enters the region. Long Term...A cold front presses southward through the waters early Friday, with high pressure gradually building in for the weekend. SCA conditions are then possible next week as southerly flow increases as the high moves offshore. && .CLIMATE... RECORD HIGHS FOR JUNE 20: Concord-98, 1993 Augusta-95, 1953 Portland-93, 2020 RECORD WARM LOWS FOR June 20: Concord-73 in 1931; Augusta-67 in 1974; Portland-69 in 2020 && .GYX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...Heat Advisory from 11 AM to 7 PM EDT Thursday for MEZ012>014. Excessive Heat Warning from 11 AM to 7 PM EDT Thursday for MEZ018>028-033. NH...Heat Advisory from 11 AM to 7 PM EDT Thursday for NHZ002>005- 007-011. Excessive Heat Warning from 11 AM to 7 PM EDT Thursday for NHZ006-008>010-012>015. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS... NEAR TERM...Cannon/Dumont SHORT TERM...Cannon LONG TERM...Clair AVIATION... MARINE... CLIMATE...
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
800 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Hot and humid conditions will continue across central and southeast IL for many days. The hottest conditions of the upcoming 7 days look to be Friday and Saturday when air temperatures climb into the mid 90s, and heat index values peak near or just above 100 degrees. - Isolated thunderstorms will be possible mainly northwest of the IL river this evening and again Thursday, with a better chance for thunderstorms arriving Saturday night into Sunday as a cold front moves through Illinois. && .UPDATE... Issued at 800 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Had a few showers form in McLean Co. recently along a weak convergence zone, and also in northern Knox Co. along a weak cool front. This will dissipate over the next 1-2 hours with the loss of diurnal heating. The front will meander southeast near the IL River overnight, but with no upper support will leave the forecast dry. Subtle low level convergence will lead to muggy dewpoints around 70F, and have raised mins a degree or two to a 70-74 range, highest over the central CWA. Winds to be light and skies mostly clear tonight. 25 && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 335 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 A frontal zone trailing from Lake Michigan southward to near the OK/TX panhandle area is beginning to develop some thunderstorms in the section near the Mississippi River, as well as a growing cluster in north-central MO. This activity should creep eastward late this afternoon and evening and promote at least isolated storms into the Illinois River Valley. The latest HRRR model run focuses activity just west of the Illinois River well into the evening, while other available high resolution models keep activity primarily west of the ILX forecast area. Have opted to extend PoPs farther east and later into the evening than previous forecast with this HRRR run, although kept at slight chance/20 percent. With effective bulk shear exceeding 30 kts in a corridor around the Mississippi River, SPC has continued a Marginal Risk for severe thunderstorms containing damaging wind gusts that extends into parts of Knox County. Another disturbance looks to track along the stalled front Thursday, promoting additional thunderstorm chances. High pressure and dry conditions look to prevail Friday into Saturday, then an upper level wave looks to drive the frontal zone through central IL over the weekend promoting more widespread and perhaps stronger thunderstorm activity, although at present, timing looks to be unfavorable for severe storms, arriving late at night. At this point, have 30 to 70 PoPs with this feature, highest NW of the Illinois River. Temperatures should be quite hot through Saturday, as the warm pre-frontal air mass dominates, and dewpoints around 70 are forecast. Expect highs in the low to mid 90s, peaking Saturday. Heat index should be well into the 90s, if not exceeding 100 Friday and Saturday. A bit of a respite is forecast for Sunday and Monday with temperatures maxing out around 90, then more hot weather is forecast again starting Tuesday. 37 && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Thursday Evening) Issued at 601 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Diurnal cu and a couple isolated showers will dissipate this evening, leaving mostly clear skies and light southeast winds overnight. Winds to veer southwest after sunrise near/under 10 kt through 00z. Diurnal cu will again be prevalent on Thursday, with a few isolated showers/storms around, but coverage way to low to mention in TAFs. 25 && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
655 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Abundant moisture will invade wrn/ncntl Nebraska tonight and remain across the region through Friday night. Weather conditions will support heavy thunderstorms which could become severe in some areas Thursday and Friday. SPC suggested an isolated severe weather risk both days. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 330 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 A few things supporting locally heavy rainfall tonight are 850-700mb moisture and theta e transport into the Sandhills is strong. In fact, PWAT will double in about 18 hours, between 12z this morning and 06z tonight reaching values of 1.50 inches. BUFkit also suggests warm precip processes will be significant operating to around 11Kft. The focus is a warm front predicted to lift into wrn Nebraska and be located near or south of the SD border by Thursday morning. It is worth noting, winds aloft will be fairly strong and wrn Nebraska will be positioned in the RR quad of a southwest to northeast oriented 300mb Jet. This should present a negative force on the northward moving warm front. The result is the potential for back-building storm development which would also produce cool outflow impeding the northward motion of the warm front. The modest low level jet tonight, around 30kts, will veer off toward morning and the RAP model shows a 700mb dry intrusion which will cutoff the deep convection. Still light to moderate rain could still occur below the dry air at h700mb. The POP forecast leans on the HREF which is a blend of models favoring the Sandhills and ncntl Nebraska for an inch or more rainfall tonight. The HREF probability for an inch or more rainfall is 60 percent or higher from Grant to KOGA to KTIF to Rose by 12z Thursday morning. The next heavy rain chance should develop Thursday afternoon across nwrn Nebraska where the front will be hung up. The dynamics look a bit strong as a closed h850mb low should from circulating from sern WY northeast to near Gordon by 12z Friday morning. The HREF probs for 1 inch of rainfall increase to 90 percent from Ellsworth Neb. to Martin SD. Thus, to focus appears to be strong with an inverted trof setting up across far wrn Nebraska. This set-up will be favorable for at least isolated strong or severe storms late in the afternoon and in the evening. A fairly strong "hot prod" of warm air advection will be directed due north through ern Colo and the srn Panhandle, aimed at the stationary front to the north according to the RAP. A narrow belt of 2500-3000 J/KG MLCAPE should be located just south of the cold front and deep layer shear near 50kts would support severe storms. The CAMs are mixed in the location of the storms, all of which suggest at least isolated HP storm development, vary considerably with the direction of storm development. Some track the storms northeast into SD while others more easterly through the Sandhills. The HREF is tracking the storms more northeast, consistent with the upper level flow. It`s worth noting some CAMs show merging storm activity resulting in 1 hour storm totals of 2 inches or more. Our forecast Thursday night is similar to the WPC QPF favoring northwest Nebraska for the best rain chances. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 330 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 An active weather situation should continue through Friday evening followed by a cold front which will stabilize the atmosphere for a few days. Warmer drier air will follow with a modest heat wave setting up through Wednesday. Focus, instability and 30-50k wind at h500-300mb could support strong to severe storms late Friday. At 60hrs, the NAMnest is hinting at this with storms firing along a stalled front draped from Chappell to Springview. A blend of the models places this front, or focus, farther northwest across northwest Nebraska. The model consensus suggests severe storms will most likely form along and north of highway 20. Warm air advection for storm development will be moving north through ern Colo/far west KS favoring wrn Nebraska and PWAT will remain near 1.50 inches. The upper level ridge across the ern U.S. will retrograde west next week and h700mb temperatures will warm to around 15C presenting a relatively stable atmosphere. At the same time, sfc low pressure will form across the nrn Plains and this should set up a modest heat wave across wrn/ncntl Nebraska. POPs are low next week, isolated to low-end chance. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 642 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Rain showers and thunderstorm chances will be possible throughout the evening and overnight hours, with additional thunderstorm chances Thursday afternoon into the evening. Showers and thunderstorms will be mostly scattered this evening, then should see more widespread rainfall tonight across much of the forecast area, including terminals KLBF and KVTN. Cigs will also lower overnight bringing MVFR to IFR conditions, generally after midnight through the morning hours, with lingering lower cigs across northern Nebraska through the end of the forecast period. Winds will be gusty out of the southeast Thursday around 10kts with gust of 15 to 20 kts. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...CDC LONG TERM...CDC AVIATION...Gomez
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Chicago/Romeoville, IL
746 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Widely scattered thunderstorms are possible this evening mainly along and north of a Dixon to Waukegan line which could produce locally gusty winds. - Hot and muggy conditions will prevail through the end of the week, although cooler conditions are expected near Lake Michigan on Thursday and Friday. - Periodic chances for thunderstorms will continue, though most hours will remain dry. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 252 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 Through Tonight: Increasing coverage of cumulus this afternoon combined with deep mixing has helped keep heat indices mostly in check so far this afternoon with temperatures in the upper 80s to lower 90s. Expect a couple more degrees of warming yet this afternoon with peak heat indices in the 95-100 degree range. Dry conditions prevail at this hour; however, attempts at shower/storm development is already underway across portions of northwest Illinois into south central Wisconsin ahead of an approaching cold front. Expect this activity to gradually expand in coverage as it shifts southeastward into the Rockford area and along the Wisconsin-Illinois stateline. RAP mesoscale analysis highlights a narrow axis of 1000-1500 J/Kg of MLCAPE ahead of the front which intersects a region of DCAPE values to 1000 J/kg (inverted V soundings) with slow storm motions and little shear (~15kts) suggests that any storms that develop would be rather pulse-like and capable of strong downbursts resulting in locally gusty winds to 50 mph for areas mainly along and north of a Dixon to Waukegan, IL line. A very localized gust to 60 mph can`t be fully ruled out. Hit and miss isolated storm development still can`t be fully ruled out south of these areas into Chicago and south of I-80 but this potential remains low with most areas expected to remain dry. Accordingly will continue capping shower/storm chances at 20% in these areas. In the wake of the frontal passage over the lake, expect fog development over the lake overnight into Thursday morning, this could ooze inland particularly along the immediate shoreline. It is possible that it pushes further inland, per the latest RAP, but confidence in that scenario occurring is not especially high and will let the evening shift get another look at that potential. Petr Thursday through Wednesday: A frontal boundary will be meandering across the cwa on Thursday and will likely be the focus for at least isolated thunderstorms with perhaps the best coverage along/north of I-80. With northeast winds off of Lake Michigan, there may also be enough convergence for isolated thunderstorms in the Metro area as well. Overall confidence is low and current 30-40% pops north to 20% south seem reasonable for now. Some of this activity may linger into Thursday evening, but there should be a gradual decrease in coverage with most of Thursday night dry. High temps on Thursday may be back into the lower 90s for most areas, especially south of the boundary mentioned above. Lowest confidence for temps is generally from I-88 north and then across then near the lake. Temps will be coolest near Lake Michigan, perhaps only in the upper 70s/lower 80s right along the shore. Where temps do make it to the lower 90s, heat index values may be in the mid/upper 90s. Most recent trends in guidance would suggest that Friday into Friday night may end up mainly dry across the area. If any precip did develop, probably near the IL/WI state line Friday afternoon. Lowered pops to just slight chance (20%) on Friday and removed pops for Friday night. High temps on Friday are likely to be back in the lower to possibly mid 90s for most areas, except cooler near Lake Michigan with northeasterly winds. Heat index values would again be in the mid/upper 90s, away from the lake. Winds turn southwest Saturday and increase with gusts possibly into the 30 mph range, ending any cooling near the lake. High temps will reach the mid 90s for most locations but with dewpoints in the mid/upper 60s, heat index values will peak in the upper 90s to around 100. Thunderstorm chances will be increasing Saturday afternoon into Saturday evening as a cold front moves across the area. Best timing may be after sunset which may limit instability and coverage. Despite a larger scale feature, guidance still showing a range of possibilities from the potential for heavy rain to only scattered coverage. Blended pops are in the likely range (70%) and this seems fine from this distance, though duration is likely to only be a few hours at any one location. Precip also looks to be progressive with perhaps some lingering showers Sunday morning with most of Sunday likely ending up dry. Dry weather is then expected through at least Tuesday morning. By that time the models show another potential chance for thunderstorms sometime from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning and while confidence is low, this has been a time period the models and their ensembles have been highlighting for potential thunderstorms. The frontal boundary Saturday night/early Sunday morning will bring slightly cooler and slightly drier air, but given peak sun angle and mainly sunny skies, high temps Sunday and Monday may still reach the upper 80s for most locations. cms && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 746 PM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 - ISOLD SHRA in VC of Chicago terminals, with locally variable/gusty winds, will fade by around sunset - Wind shift to light northwest, then light northeast expected tonight - Northeast winds expected to continue Thursday - SCT TSRA expected, mainly west of ORD/MDW Thursday afternoon ISOLD SHRA in VC of the Chicago terminals should dissipate by around sunset, but in the meantime small scale weak microbursts will likely lead to splats and variable and gusty winds near the showers. Cold front will move across the terminals mid-late evening with winds becoming light northwesterly for a time, before likely flopping around to light northeasterly late this evening or during the overnight. There is some uncertainty on timing of shift to light northeasterly, it is possible that could be after 06z even. Once winds settle in from light northeasterly direction, could see some fog development overnight. Most likely scenario would be some MVFR VSBY in light fog during the pre-dawn hours Thursday. If skies clear out and winds go lighter, than some patches of thicker fog and lower VSBY would be possible, especially DPA/RFD/GYY. Weak frontal boundary will be stalled out in the area Thursday afternoon. Lake should contort the boundary around the south end of Lake Michigan and may push the more favored area for afternoon SCTD TSRA south and west of ORD/MDW/GYY. Can`t rule out SCTD TSRA developing west of ORD/MDW and then being pushed east closer to the terminals into the cool side of the weak front. Confidence is low, so opted to keep TSRA out of ORD, MDW, and GYY for now, but will be something to keep a close eye on. - Izzi && .CLIMATE... Issued at 347 AM CDT Wed Jun 19 2024 With a low temperature of 78 degrees, Chicago broke its warmest low temperature record for June 18th yesterday, while Rockford tied its daily warmest low temperature record of 74. A few additional temperature records (namely today`s warmest low temperature records and Saturday`s high and warmest low temperature records for Chicago and/or Rockford) may be threatened over the next few days. Here are the daily high and warmest low temperature records for Chicago and Rockford for each day through Saturday, June 22nd: Chicago ---------------------------------- Day: 6/19 6/20 6/21 6/22 ---------------------------------- Record High: 102 104 101 97 Record Warm Low: 78 78 74 76 Rockford ---------------------------------- Day: 6/19 6/20 6/21 6/22 ---------------------------------- Record High: 99 101 100 97 Record Warm Low: 76 73 71 73 Ogorek && .LOT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...None. IN...Air Quality Alert until midnight CDT Thursday night for INZ001- INZ002-INZ010-INZ011. Air Quality Alert from 1 AM Thursday to 1 AM EDT Friday for INZ019. LM...None. && $$ Visit us at weather.gov/chicago
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Phoenix AZ
521 PM MST Wed Jun 19 2024 .UPDATE...Updated Aviation Discussion. && .SYNOPSIS... Another day of quiet weather and near normal temperatures today before we get our first taste of monsoonal moisture and strong high pressure building back over the region tomorrow. An Excessive Heat Warning will be in effect tomorrow for portions of South Central Arizona. On Thursday afternoon, thunderstorms are expected to develop along a line east of Phoenix extending south southeast through central Pinal County and down to Tucson. Strong, gusty outflow winds are anticipated with the thunderstorms that develop tomorrow, and with this there will be the potential for blowing dust in the eastern deserts. Daily chances for mainly mountain and some isolated lower desert thunderstorms will exist Friday and through the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Troughing still dominates much of the Western US, with 500 mb heights over the region ranging from 583-587 dam according to RAP analysis as of late this morning. As a result, temperatures across the lower deserts will once again hover near normal in the 100-107 degree range this afternoon. However, these quiet conditions and near normal temperatures will be very short lived. Overnight tonight, some large-scale flow features are expected to set up in a way that will allow moisture to surge into southeastern AZ. A broad area of abundant low-level moisture associated with Tropical Cyclone Alberto moves westward into central Mexico tonight, high pressure currently centered over the East-Central US elongates westward, and a trough digs south along the California Coast. Strong easterly winds along the northern periphery of the tropical system will begin to wrap around the anticyclone to the north, move over southeastern AZ, and are also enhanced by height falls to the west thanks to the trough along the California coast. ECMWF EFIs associated with the moist east southeasterly flow tomorrow morning and Thursday night exceed 0.9, indicating a significant signal. These strong ESE gradient winds will diminish during the day, but are expected to pick back up Thursday night. Wind gusts in Southern Gila County during this time are expected to peak between 40-50 mph (HREF 50th percentile gusts are at or above 40 mph through much of tomorrow morning and Thursday night.) As a result, a Wind Advisory has been issued for the populated high terrain areas of Southern Gila County tomorrow morning through Friday morning. Tomorrow afternoon, several weather hazards are expected to impact South-Central AZ. Localized areas of Excessive heat will develop as ensemble mean H5 heights increase to around 591 dam along our eastern CWA. Forecast highs range from 110 to 114 across the Phoenix Metro Area, and an Excessive Heat Warning will be in effect for much of Maricopa and Northern Pinal Counties from 10 AM - 8 PM MST. In addition to the excessive heat, thunderstorms will begin to initiate during the afternoon along a line connecting Tucson, through central Pinal County, to just east of Scottsdale. This is because a pseudo dryline sets up here, as strong, moisture-laden southeast flow (as discussed previously) meets dry, southwest flow at the mid levels overhead. A strong gradient in SBCAPE is apparent early tomorrow afternoon, with HREF mean values peaking in excess of 1000 J/kg to the east of the aforementioned line, and dropping off to near zero as you travel west towards Buckeye. The main threats associated with these storms will be gusty outflow winds and the potential for blowing dust, with HREF probabilities of 35+ mph winds between 50- 70% and probabilities for 58+ mph winds around 10-30% centered over eastern Pinal County. Steering flow will be south southwesterly tomorrow, so storms will move away from the Phoenix Metro Area after forming, and the associated outflows will not be quite as strong as they would be otherwise. Rainfall accumulations will be light, if any, over the lower deserts, however, some very localized areas (particularly over the high terrain to the east) will have the potential to see up to 0.5". Thunderstorm chances continue Friday and through the weekend. The trough positioned along the California Coast will begin to recede to north and progress eastward on Friday, with a jet streak downstream of the base of this trough. The upper level divergence over AZ from this jet streak should create a favorable synoptic setup for the development of thunderstorms, particularly over the high terrain of South-Central AZ. Thunderstorm chances range from 40-60% over Southern Gila County on Friday, and have increased up to 20-40% over portions of the eastern lower deserts. With LREF mean dCAPE values still reaching up to 2000 J/kg on Friday, strong, gusty outflow winds will likely be a concern for Friday as well. With a south southwesterly steering flow continuing on Friday, Phoenix will not see much activity unless decent convection over the higher terrain of southern Maricopa and southwest Pinal County, and/or colliding outflows from convection from the east and southeast. .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... Moisture levels should continue to improve into Saturday as ensemble mean PWATs increase to between 1.6-1.9" over much of southwest and south-central Arizona. However, the upper level ridge will also be strengthening and shifting right over the region this weekend causing increasing subsidence. Forecast confidence this weekend is fairly low due to placement of the ridge. We will most likely have afternoon higher terrain convection over the weekend, but it may struggle to survive into the lower deserts. That doesn`t mean we can`t have a very good and fairly widespread thunderstorm day with the set-up like we are expecting this weekend, but it would take considerable colliding outflows. For now, the NBM shows 10-20% PoPs this weekend over La Paz and Yuma Counties, 20-30% PoPs over Maricopa County, and 30-45% PoPs over the eastern Arizona high terrain. Any convection in this higher PWAT environment this weekend will have the potential of bringing localized heavy rainfall. Hotter temperatures will also spread westward Friday into the weekend with highs topping 110 degrees across much of the southeast California lower deserts to near 110 degrees across southwest and south-central Arizona. The increased moisture will also exacerbate the heat with temperatures feeling even hotter given the increased humidities and keeping overnight lows well above normal. In fact, overnight lows near 90 degrees in the Phoenix area will be possible as early as Thursday night before lows increase areawide by Saturday night with readings mostly staying in the low to mid 80s or higher. The temperature forecast for this weekend is of lower confidence compared to usual due to the potential convection and cloud cover. By early next week, ensemble guidance favors some strengthening of the sub-tropical high with H5 heights likely rising to between 593-596dm. Moisture levels will likely depend on the position of the high center with some indications of the center shifting a bit more to the south toward Mexico which may bring some drier air in from the southwest. For now, the NBM favors this drying as it lowers PoPs from west to east early next week. If guidance is correct and our heights increase next week, we are nearly certain to fall under another round of excessive heat. NBM forecast highs currently inch toward the 115 degree mark by next Tuesday or Wednesday, but then show signs of backing off later next week as the ridge is likely to start to weaken. && .AVIATION...Updated at 0020Z. South-Central Arizona including KPHX, KIWA, KSDL, and KDVT: Winds will favor diurnal tendencies through the evening and overnight period before S to SE winds increase Thursday morning starting around 15-16Z with gusts to around 20 kts. Winds are expected to then veer toward the southwest in the afternoon with sustained speeds around 10-12 kts. Uncertainty increases going into the late afternoon and early evening timeframe tomorrow as thunderstorms are expected to develop to the east of the terminals. As of now, thunderstorm chances will be greatest east of the metro area tomorrow with the greater threat for the terminals being gusty outflow winds moving through Phoenix. The latest HREF indicates around a 70% chance for outflow winds in excess of 30 kts and about a 10-20% chance in excess of 50 kts. Timing and magnitude of outflow winds remain quite uncertain, but the most favored direction is expected to be from the east. SKC conditions will persist through much of the period before FEW-SCT decks around 12 kft develop tomorrow afternoon into the evening. Southeast California/Southwest Arizona including KIPL and KBLH: No major aviation weather concerns are expected through the next 24 hours. Winds will predominantly favor the west at KIPL with extended periods of light and variable winds expected tomorrow morning and afternoon. Could see a period of westerly gusts to around 20 kts this evening at KIPL before subsiding. At KBLH, winds will favor the S to SW with some afternoon breeziness. SKC conditions will persist. && .FIRE WEATHER... Near normal temperatures today will warm back into an above normal category as the first signs of monsoon flow and moisture return affect eastern districts late this week through early next week. Widespread dry conditions will prevail today with minimum afternoon humidity levels 10-15% following poor to fair overnight recovery of 15-45%. Moisture will surge into eastern districts Thursday morning allowing minimum RH to only fall around 25% with fair to good overnight recovery of 40-75%. The moisture surge will be accompanied by unusually strong easterly winds Thursday morning through early afternoon with gusts of 35-45 mph possible. Wind speeds will gradually weaken into the weekend with east southeasterly winds persisting through Saturday. With the moisture increase, scattered afternoon thunderstorms will be possible over higher terrain areas of eastern districts and potentially into portions of the lower deserts. Lightning with fairly low wetting rain chances combined with erratic, gusty outflow winds may be significant concerns for eastern districts this weekend despite the higher RHs. Western districts should see slightly better moisture over the weekend, but CWR will remain below 5%. High pressure is then expected to strengthen over the region by early next week leading to even hotter temperatures along with slightly drier conditions. && .PSR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AZ...Excessive Heat Warning from 10 AM to 8 PM MST Thursday for AZZ534-537>555-559. Wind Advisory from 9 AM Thursday to 5 AM MST Friday for AZZ560- 562. CA...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...Whittock PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...Kuhlman AVIATION...Smith FIRE WEATHER...Kuhlman