Forecast Discussions mentioning any of "HRRR" "RAP" "RUC13" "RUC" "RR" received at GSD on 01/17/25


Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
625 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Windy and colder Friday. Temperatures falling through the day, with highs occurring in the early morning hours. 20 percent chance for light snow. - There is a chance of isolated snow squalls Friday morning. - Very cold temperatures this weekend, and through early next week, with life threatening wind chills. - Temperatures warm to near average by the middle of next week. && .UPDATE... Issued at 618 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 Going forecast remains in good shape as winds continue to gradually increase as the surface low is making its way over far southeast Saskatchewan about to push into Manitoba. No changes needed at this time. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 345 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 Today will be the last day of temperatures above freezing. We currently are sitting under a slight ridge aloft with a thermal ridge at 850mb, at the surface a ridge is present. High clouds have been moving in all day on the edge of the next system and wave. An arctic cold front will violently sweep through the region, dropping temperatures and creating very windy northwest winds. This front is the off an Alberta clipper that will just graze the International Border. Light snow is possible with the cold front. Timing for the frontal passage is Friday morning around 12z, however the pressure gradient off the low will move through overnight. Therefore the winds will increase overnight, and a Wind Advisory has been issued starting at Midnight CT tonight. Winds will gust around 40 mph overnight, then when the front kicks in with strong cold air advection, winds could gust up to 50 mph. The fast moving cold front will be through North Dakota and into South Dakota by 18z. Another concern with this front is snow squalls. There is low level moisture, some instability, and convergence leading to a high parameter for snow squalls. Unfortunately The RAP and the NAM have different placement but similar timing. The RAP only has the southwest lit up between 13 and 21z. The NAM is has high parameter values entering the northwest at 09z and then along the west/east front through 20z. With how fast the front is moving the threat window seems small. Sunday and Monday morning will be very cold. Lows around 20 below with life threatening wind chills at 50 below. Aloft strong northernly flow will lead to this. There is very high confidence in needing a warning and or advisory Saturday through Tuesday morning. We will let this strong wind event start before issuing Cold Weather products, so stay tuned. Next week the flow changes to a slight ridge leading to temperatures back in the 20s mid week. There are slight chances (20%) as a weak clipper could spin through on Wednesday and Thursday. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 618 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 Winds will be on the increase as a surface low slides through southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba into Ontario. As this low progresses, winds will become westerly, switching northwesterly behind a strong cold front. By Friday morning, winds gusting around 45 knots are expected across western and central North Dakota. VFR conditions will continue through this evening, with MVFR ceilings sliding in behind the cold front Friday morning. In addition, low snow chances will develop on Friday. Given the low confidence for snow at each individual TAF site, will not mention for now, but if snow were to occur visibility could become quite poor for brief periods of time given the strong winds. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from midnight CST /11 PM MST/ tonight to 8 PM CST /7 PM MST/ Friday for NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025- 031>037-040>048-050-051. && $$ UPDATE...JJS DISCUSSION...Smith AVIATION...Smith
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Charleston SC
1010 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will prevail through the week. An area of low pressure and associated cold front will impact the region this weekend. Another low pressure system could impact the region early to mid next week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING/... Tonight: Tricky forecast regarding the hourly and minimum temperatures, driven entirely by how much wind is ongoing. For example, as of late Thursday, where winds have gone calm, temperatures are in the 30s. Where there is still some mixing due to a 25-30 kt low level jet moving through, temperatures are in the 40s. Expect temperatures to bounce around some due to a light SW and W breeze, before more places go calm by morning with a relaxed gradient around high pressure near the Appalachians, and in wake of the low level jet. For actual lows will mainly have lower and middle 30s inland, upper 30s and a few lower 40s closer to the coast. Satellite images still showing a few fires in and near parts of the area. Utilizing the HRRR and RAP, and a continuation of some mixing through much of the night, there might be smoke noticed in some places. There has not been any visibility reductions per surface observations, but with the formation and strengthening of the nocturnal inversion overnight, there might be a few places with visibilities lowering at the surface. Lake Winds: Winds across Lake Moultrie will increase again through 3 AM, as a 25-30 kt low level jet passes through. Some guidance suggests conditions could get close to advisory thresholds, and we continue to monitor. For now though no advisory has been issued. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY/... High pressure will give way to an approaching cold front Saturday as a series of northern stream shortwaves propagate across the northern CONUS. Rain chances will increase quickly Saturday ahead of the cold front as building moisture characterized by PWATs >1" combine with forcing generated by passing southern stream shortwave energy and the left exit region of a power 150 kt subtropical jet. It appears most areas will receive a solid 0.75-1.50" inch of rain with this system and categorical pops 90-100% were maintained. Flooding is not anticipated to be an issue. Rain chances will slowly diminishing Saturday night into Sunday as the front pushes offshore. Highs each day will warm into the upper 50s/lower 60s away from the coast with overnight lows dropping into the mid-upper 30s Friday night with upper 40s/lower 50s Saturday night. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... There remains much uncertainty the system that will impact the region during the mid-week as a cold, arctic airmass settles over the region. What is known is there is high probability for temperatures to average well below normal levels for mid-January with highs both Tuesday and Wednesday likely remaining solidly in the 30s with minimum wind chills falling into the 10-20 degree range at night. This is well within Cold Weather Advisory criteria (11-20 degrees). In fact, there are signals that some locations could see wind chills drop below 10 degrees which is dipping into Extreme Cold Warning territory (10 degrees or colder). What is more uncertain is how the precipitation pattern will evolve Monday night through Wednesday morning when temperatures will be at the coldest. Much will be dependent on how far south and offshore low pressure tracks off the Southeast U.S. coast in response to an impressive upper trough propagating across the eastern CONUS. Given the amount of cold air in place, it remains quite reasonable that varying degrees of accumulating winter weather could occur over Southeast South Carolina and Southeast Georgia with specifics on p- types, intensity and possible accumulations remaining highly uncertain this far out. While a few of the operational runs of the various long-term guidance have trended drier over the past few cycles, many of their accompanying ensemble counterparts remain quite wet and cold. All number of outcomes remain plausible ranging from little to no precipitation to a full blown winter storm with significant impacts; however, net accumulating snow and freezing rain probabilities are creeping up with each forecast cycle. The official forecast remains fairly steady state with some minor upward adjustments in pops, showing various degrees of a mix of snow, freezing rain and rain in the Monday night to Wednesday morning time frame. Right now, sleet looks the be the least likely p-type to occur. Most of the precipitation should end Wednesday morning. There are signals that a weak wave of low pressure could develop offshore Wednesday night into Thursday and with temperatures still cold, some lingering pockets of freezing rain could occur. && .AVIATION /03Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... VFR conditions will prevail at KCHS, KJZI, and KSAV through 00Z Saturday. Extended Aviation Outlook: Flight restrictions are likely Saturday as widespread rains move through in association with a cold front. The risk for restrictions in low vsbys and ceilings will return Monday night into Wednesday morning as a potential winter storm impacts the region. There is a chance for freezing or frozen precipitation impacting all terminals during this time. && .MARINE... Tonight: We maintain the Small Craft Advisories for the South Carolina Atlantic waters and for the outer Georgia waters until late. We considered dropping the advisory on the lower South Carolina waters since conditions of late have been below advisory thresholds. However, with some stronger geostrophic winds and a little weak cold advection, winds could strengthen again. In general there will be W or WSW winds up near 15 or 20 kt and gusty most of the night, turning more toward the WNW and dropping about 5 kt or so late in wake of a surface trough. Seas will be 4 feet or less throughout, except for a few 5 footers over parts of the distant Charleston County waters and beyond 50 nm off the Georgia coast. Friday through Tuesday: Northwest winds will surge behind a cold front Sunday night with speeds reaching 15-25 kt with gusts to 30 kt. Small Craft Advisories are likely during Sunday night into Monday morning. Seas will peak 3-5 ft over the nearshore waters out 20 NM and 4-6 ft over the Georgia offshore waters out 20-60 NM. Another surge will occur Monday night into Tuesday as the pressure gradient tightens between inland high pressure and a developing low offshore. North to northeast winds 20-25 kt with gusts to 30 kt will occur during this time with seas 2-4 ft within 20 NM and 4-6 ft over the Georgia offshore waters out 20-60 NM. Some winter precipitation could fall over the coastal waters Monday night into Tuesday. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...None. SC...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM EST Friday for AMZ350-352-374. && $$ NEAR TERM... SHORT TERM... LONG TERM... AVIATION... MARINE...
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Forks ND
634 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Strong winds are expected on Friday. Potential winter impacts range from brief whiteout conditions due to snow showers to more sustained blizzard conditions or even snow squalls. Uncertainty is tied to coverage of snow showers and blowability of snow pack. - Hazardous wind chills this weekend through Monday. Wind chills of -40 or lower are expected across North Dakota and northern Minnesota. && .UPDATE... Issued at 633 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 Pretty much in a lull on this evening shift before the action begins late on the midnight shift. There are some echoes on radar across the northern Red River Valley into adjacent areas of northwest Minnesota. However there is nothing reaching the surface, with most observations showing only mid level clouds (10,000 feet or so). Temperatures are quite mild, and these may actually rise a little going into the night. Seeing upper 30s to low 40s temperatures back in the Minot to Bismarck corridor. As winds turn to the west by mid to late evening, these warmer temperatures may shift eastward, although they will likely not be as warm as they are now. Did notice that Environment Canada has a Blizzard Warning for southern Manitoba (and Winnipeg) for the Friday event. For our area, we are under a Winter Weather Advisory. There are a lot of questions about the state of the snow on the ground, what areas may or may not have a crust, the potential for snow squalls, and what 50+ mph winds will do it. Also, there may be some dirt particles lofted as well, but that is hard to know too. The snow that could get lofted over our FA Friday may come from southern Manitoba, even up toward the Manitoba Lakes region, where we just don`t know what the state of the snow is like. We are anticipating wind directions to be about 340 degrees (NNW), which does give a long fetch across the Manitoba Lakes, which could stretch down into the Red River Valley. So there are still a lot of unknowns. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 238 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 ...Synopsis... Fairly quiet for the moment under northwesterly flow, but a positively tilted trough will start digging down out of Canada tonight, coming into the Northern Plains and settling in with a broad area of low heights over the central CONUS through this weekend and early next week. Northwesterly flow by mid-week should allow for some moderation by the end of the period. ...Arctic front and snow showers Friday... While temperatures today are not as warm as yesterday with high clouds around and have stayed in the 20s, there will be a strong warm tongue tonight ahead of the cold front. Some of the high resolution models such as the RAP and HRRR actually have temperatures rising overnight and reaching above freezing which would lock in more of the snow pack. Not quite sure about that but definitely will see a non-diurnal temperature curve tomorrow as the Arctic cold front starts to move into our northwestern counties tomorrow morning. The front will shift winds to the northwest and drop temperatures as is usual for such features. Snow squall parameter along the front is around 3-5, so could see some well defined snow showers that reduce visibility for a period and have started messaging to improve education about the phenomenon. Even after the initial front passes and snow squall parameter decreases, there will still be some steep lapse rates and unidirectional boundary layer shear that could help horizontal convective rolls develop. These HCRs could be fleeting or stick around, and any that produce additional snow will reduce visibility. While much of the snow pack is not blow able to very warm recent temperatures, there are some spots, particularly near the Langdon area as well as just east of the Red River in the MN side of the Valley where snow could be a bit more loose. A medium chance of more widespread blowing snow impacts in those areas so will have to keep a close eye out. For now, have a winter weather advisory, and will upgrade as needed for higher impacts or any snow squalls if they develop. ...Arctic cold weekend into next week... After the trough on Friday, a 1040 to 1050 mb high pressure system settles from Canada into the Plains states. Another reinforcing shortwave coming down from Canada on Monday will help push the center of the surface high further east, and that looks like the coldest day with highs in some areas not getting out of the teens below zero. Apparent temperatures look to be down into the -40 or below range, so will continue to message hazardous cold. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 546 PM CST Thu Jan 16 2025 Besides low level wind shear, no impacts overnight with VFR conditions. Things change early Friday morning, as an approaching cold front pivots winds to the northwest. Winds will be strongest in the late morning through the afternoon, with gusts of over 40 knots at times at KDVL, KGFK, KFAR and KTVF. Along the leading edge of the front, brief but heavy snow may occur. Therefore, added a TEMPO group showing reduced visibility, timed out as best as possible from north to south as the front passes through. Note, visibility may be worse at times then this TEMPO group shows, depending on the strength of the snow squall feature, but due to the low predictability of snow squalls, did not want to lower visibility further. BLSN will continue into the afternoon, reducing visibility. How severe these reductions will be depends on how much snow continues to fall, and if old snowfall can loft. Conditions improve in the evening as winds slowly decrease and any remaining falling snow ends. && .FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...Winter Weather Advisory from 9 AM to 9 PM CST Friday for NDZ030-038-039-049-052-053. Winter Weather Advisory from 6 AM to 9 PM CST Friday for NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026>029-054. MN...Winter Weather Advisory from 9 AM to 9 PM CST Friday for MNZ001>003-005-008-013>015-022-027-029-030-040. Winter Weather Advisory from 6 AM to 9 PM CST Friday for MNZ004-007. && $$ UPDATE...Godon DISCUSSION...JR AVIATION...Rafferty
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Indianapolis IN
926 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Brief reprieve from sub-freezing temperatures on Friday with highs in the mid 30s to near 40. - Warm up to end the work week, with rain likely Friday night and early Saturday. Snow will mix in with the rain by Saturday morning with a possibility for very light accumulations - Bitterly cold air is expected Sunday through the middle of next week with multiple nights of subzero lows likely. Single digit highs expected in most areas Monday and Tuesday && .FORECAST UPDATE... Issued at 926 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 - Becoming partly cloudy overnight; Fog Possible Surface analysis this evening shows a ridge of high pressure over the Mississippi Valley. This was allowing light westerly flow across Central Indiana. GOES16 shows extensive cloud cover over Central Indiana, however a back edge to the cloudiness was found over northern IL and SE Wisconsin. Dew point depressions across the area were generally less than 5F. Aloft ridging was in place over the northern plains, with continuing northwest flow spilling into the Ohio Valley. Overnight, the surface ridge is expected to push eastward, allowing more of a southwest to southerly flow to develop. As this builds across Indiana, it should help to nudge the pesky strato-cu across the area farther east, as clearing skies across Central IL and WI build east. The NW upper flow will continue to allow the passing of some high cloud overnight. Thus overall, becoming partly cloudy will work well. Clearer skies across southwest Central Indiana will allow temperatures to fall quicker there overnight. Given the expected cooler low temperatures, better chances for fog development will be expected there. Models continue to suggest warm air advection overnight. Given our snow pack across the area, this will be another favorable element for fog. Thus will include some patchy freezing fog across the forecast area overnight due to this potential. Freezing fog does have the potential to create slippery surfaces. && .SHORT TERM (This evening through Friday)... Issued at 301 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 A brief break from the sub-freezing temperatures will only stick around for today and tomorrow before another arctic blast engulfs the region. The arctic airmass that had been in place for much of the week is being eroded by slight warm air advection aloft and breezy westerly winds. ACARs soundings from around the region show a stronger low level warm nose than what the RAP suggests around 1 km agl with a shallow mixing layer from the surface to about 0.5 km agl. A stronger surface pressure gradient over the area and shallow mixing into the 30 kt LLJ has resulted in westerly surface winds today of around 15 mph with gusts upwards of 25-30 mph at times. Despite low stratus across much of Indiana this afternoon, mixing and windy conditions have helped "warm" areas along and south of the I-70 corridor to the freezing mark and mid to upper 30s in southwest Indiana. Breezy conditions are expected to diminish after sunset tonight as warm air advection aloft and diurnal cooling strengthen the low level inversion and mixing shuts off. Surface flow will be fairly light most of the night, but turns southerly towards dawn around 4 to 8 mph. Relatively warmer air flowing over the cold snowpack may result in patchy fog, particularly for areas that end up clearing out with temperatures falling closer to the dew points. Confidence is lower on if clearing will take place overnight as satellite imagery does show another large area of stratus pushing into Illinois from the NW which could overspread Central and North Central Indiana later tonight. Best chance for clearing and some patchy fog tonight looks to be along and southwest of I-74. Lows tonight should fall back below freezing into the low to mid 20s for most locations. Another relatively "warmer" and breezy day tomorrow with much stronger warm air advection aloft. Forecast soundings look similar to today with such a strong warm nose around 1 km agl and denser colder air stuck at the surface. The boundary layer should be a bit drier tomorrow as compared to today with less of a threat for low clouds during peak heating hours of the day, so expect increased sunshine to help most locations, even with snow pack, to rise into the mid 30s to near 40. Will have to watch dew points and wet bulb temperatures tomorrow as they could have a big impact on how much snow melt occurs, which in turn may have an affect on certain forecast aspects later this weekend and into next week. If dew points and wet bulb temperatures remain at or below freezing, despite surface temperatures above 32, melting of the snowpack will take much longer to occur. Any remaining snowpack after Friday evening`s rain could lead to icy surfaces during the next arctic blast and colder overnight lows. && .LONG TERM (Friday night through Thursday)... Issued at 301 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 As mentioned in the short term, the presence of a thermal ridge Friday will help provide a brief thawing as daytime highs push well above freezing. This should help reduce the snowpack of central Indiana, prior to the start of precipitation, but the biggest question is, how much? Currently, we are expecting may locations south of I-70 and west of I-74 to have a near zero snowpack by Friday evening. Elsewhere, higher uncertainty resides. This is mostly due to the lack of surface moisture mitigating sublimation, despite the warmer air temperatures. This all matters due to the emergence of strong isentropic lift Friday night with precipitation expected to begin between 8PM and 12AM across central Indiana. Any areas that have no snowpack will start and stay as rain through most of the event (could be slight mixing due to dynamic cooling Saturday morning). Areas that remain within a snowpack could lead to greater wetbulb cooling with slightly cooler surface temperatures allowing for an earlier mix, and potential for light, slushy accumulations. The greatest threat for this will be over far NE portions of central Indiana. Colder air will advect into the region Saturday morning, allowing for a quick chance of a rain/snow mix of most of central Indiana. This should push off to the SE quickly as CAA arrives behind the system. In total, SW of I-74 should receive a tenth of an inch or less, with a gradual gradient towards 0.5 in or less in far NE central Indiana. Yet another extended stretch of bitterly cold temperatures will arrive Sunday through most of the work week next week. An exceptionally strong corridor of cold air advection will work to push very strong surface high pressure into the Ohio Valley, potentially greater than 1050mb. This CAA will also work to compress the midlevels leading to a very shallow troposphere and arctic air mass over the region; this will likely result in the coldest weather yet for this winter by Monday and Tuesday. High temps will revert back to the teens by early next week, with single digits likely Monday and potentially Tuesday. The pattern supports multiple subzero nights early next week as well, although what is left of the snowpack after the rain Friday night and early Saturday will factor into just how low those temperatures will be able to go. && .AVIATION (18Z TAF Issuance)... Issued at 1246 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 Impacts: - MVFR ceilings and wind gusts 18-24KT from 280 deg through this evening - Slight chance for fog tonight, with patchy dense fog possible. Discussion: Latest satellite imagery shows MVFR stratus pushing southeast through Central Indiana associated with a weak mid level disturbance. Latest IND ACARs sounding indicates a stronger low level inversion that what hi-res guidance suggest for early this afternoon, so expect lower MVFR stratus to persist under that inversion for at least the next several hours, especially at KIND and KLAF. Despite the inversion, gradient winds are strong enough to limit overall low level wind shear. Still some slight shear to mention as surface winds are from 260-280 gusting to 20-25 kts and LLJ winds around 2000 ft agl are from 280-300 around 30-35 kts. Not enough to mention it in the TAF, but worth mentioning it here. Any threat for LLWS should diminish after sunset this evening as the LLJ and surface winds both weaken considerably. Lower confidence in high fast MVFR cigs will lift or clear out tonight as upstream satellite imagery and observations show a more extensive area of MVFR stratus in Wisconsin and Iowa pushing southeast towards Indiana. Guidance does show a rising trend in cigs tonight, but confidence on that actually occurring for KLAF and KIND. Tonight, as skies clear in the southern half of Indiana and winds turn back to the south/southwest, some advection fog may be possible over the remnant snowpack as warmer air continues to move into the area. Guidance is struggling to handle this, but will include a 6SM/BR/BCFG mention for now as there may be some potential for at least patchy dense fog as well. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ UPDATE...Puma SHORT TERM...CM LONG TERM...Updike AVIATION...CM
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Marquette MI
623 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Northwest lake effect snow gradually tapers off tonight. Additional snow accumulations are expected to be less than an inch, although, an additional 1-2 inches is possible in Luce county eastward. - Dangerously cold arctic air settles into the area this weekend into early next week, leading to temperatures remaining subzero from Saturday night through at least Tuesday morning over interior western Upper Michigan. Much of the rest of west and central Upper Michigan may see temperatures fail to rise above zero on Monday and maybe Tuesday. - Homeowners and property managers should take action now for this cold period, especially if past very cold periods have yielded impacts. Ensure your Winter Car Survival Kit is up-to- date. This weekend through Tuesday, limit time outdoors for you and your pets, and check on vulnerable neighbors. - Frequent whiteouts are expected in the northwest wind snow belts Saturday through Tuesday morning due to the falling snow being a fine, powdery type snow that is highly effective at reducing . Expect very hazardous driving conditions in the lake effect snow areas. - No widespread, significant snowfalls for Upper MI through next week. Nearly all of the snow that occurs will be lake effect driven. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Issued at 302 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 Afternoon RAP analysis and water vapor imagery reveal troughing nudging into the Upper Great Lakes and drier low level air making an eastward trek across Lake Superior. This is actively working to diminishing NW lake effect snow across the forecast area, where the west half has been dry the last several hours. Meanwhile, light lake effect snow showers are ongoing across the east half of the UP and will continue through the evening. Into tonight, dry air will continue to eat away at lake induced inversion heights, tapering off LES across the east before the surface ridge axis presses into the UP, backing winds to the SW and kicking any remaining showers offshore. Overall, snow accumulations through Friday morning are expected to remain low, generally less than an inch across the east- central, though Luce county could pick up another 1-2" considering the far east will hold onto low-level moisture the longest. Lows tonight will dip into the teens across the interior to near 20F along the lakeshores. Upstream, a clipper is forecast to dig into the Upper Great Lakes and send a sub-990mb sfc low north of Lake Superior through Friday. Isentropic uplift noted around the ~290k theta sfc Friday morning could touch off some light snow showers across the west-central UP in the AM hours, however forecast soundings show a stout dry layer below 700mb, which will be difficult to overcome; thus PoPs have been capped to around 20%. Otherwise, south-southwest winds will be on the increase early Friday morning coinciding a 40-45kt low-level jet nosing into the west-central UP. Areas susceptible to strong downsloping along the Lake Superior shoreline in Marquette and Alger counties could see a gusty morning with sfc winds upwards of 35-40 mph (>75% chance). && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 506 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 Medium range model guidance remains in excellent agreement on the large scale surge of arctic air into the U.S. this weekend into early next week. This surge of arctic air will be driven by a building ridge over the ne Pacific that becomes highly amplified northward thru Alaska/nw Canada into the high Arctic over the weekend, forcing a significantly deepening trof downstream across central to eastern N America. Negative height anomalies at 500mb in this trof settle at ~320m (2.2-2.6 sigma) over WI on Mon. Over the last 24hrs of model runs, ensembles have settled on 850mb temps dropping to -30 to -31C into western Upper MI in the core of the cold air as it reaches Upper MI. 850mb temps that low at this time of year very easily support 2m temps remaining subzero during the daylight hrs across interior western Upper MI and likely thru much of central Upper MI as well. In addition, with 850mb temps at -30C to -31C at lowest, would expect temps during the daylight hrs over interior western Upper MI (generally Ironwood to Iron River area) to struggle to get above -10F Sun/Mon, Mon in particular as the core of the coldest air passes on that day, leading to the coldest day fcst area wide. Once temps fall blo 0F over interior western Upper MI Sat night, they won`t rise above 0F until sometime Tue aftn at the very earliest, but it seems more likely now that it will be late Wed morning before that happens. With the exception of areas from Menominee to Escanaba, Manistique and Newberry, and along the Lake Superior shore where w to nw winds are onshore, much of the rest of the fcst area may remain blo 0F Mon and potentially Tue. Min temps will range down thru the negative teens and -20s F away from Lake Superior. Temps will even fall subzero to Lake Superior, except where w to nw winds are onshore. There is the potential for a morning or two with air temps falling to or blo -30F in Iron County, maybe Gogebic County, but that will depend on whether sfc winds largely decouple. Seems unlikely, but Sun night and Mon night would be the nights to watch. A few record low min and record low max temps may be set across Upper MI with this arctic outbreak. Homeowners and property managers who have had issues with water pipes freezing during periods of very cold conditions should make preparations now. Areas that have very little snow cover could also become at risk for freezing of water supply lines early next week as ground frost depths deepen rapidly. Fortunately, winds won`t be strong to really drive wind chills down during this the arctic outbreak. Nonetheless, the cold will be dangerous, and expect conditions to warrant cold weather advisories. A few extreme cold warnings will be possible interior w. Even light winds could result in conditions feeling like -20 to -40. These conditions can result in hypothermia and frostbite in less than 30 minutes. Anyone with outside plans in this period should limit time outside. Everyone is encouraged to ensure their Winter Car Survival Kit is up to date. Check on vulnerable neighbors and limit outdoor time for pets. As for pcpn, this pattern will not support any widespread, significant snowfalls for Upper MI through next week as only a few clipper type waves will generate some brief periods of -sn. So, snowfall will be almost exclusively lake effect driven. While the arctic air arriving over the weekend/early next week will lead to extreme overlake instability, the cold will also suppress the DGZ toward the sfc or eliminate it altogether, leading to a fine/powdery type snow (low SLR) that does not accumulate as efficiently. On the flip side, this type of snow is highly effective at reducing visibility, leading to frequent whiteouts in snow showers. This type of snow is also easily kicked up on roads by vehicles, leading to mini whiteouts trailing vehicles. Travel in the areas affected by nw flow LES Sat thru Tue will be very hazardous due to poor visibility. From Tue onward, flow across N America deamplifies, but there will continue to be some degree of ridging in the mean over the ne Pacific/adjacent N America forcing troffing in central and eastern N America. The deamplification will allow for moderation from the early week bitter cold, but the pattern will still support the potential for colder air to at least graze Upper MI with the passage of clipper type shortwaves. Expect temps on most days during the last half of next week to be blo normal. Beginning Fri, a clipper shortwave will pass across the area. This wave will initiate the start of the arctic air surge. WAA/isentropic ascent ahead of the wave will need to overcome drier air as that ascent overspreads the area late tonight thru Fri morning. Models are split on whether that will occur, but sufficient saturation will occur deeper into the retreating colder air where it is easier to achieve. Thus, will hold onto chc pops over the eastern fcst area in the morning. Any snow accumulation will be less than 1 inch. Bigger fcst concern is wind. Pres falls will pass across the area in the waa regime with the center at 6-8mb/3hr passing just n of Lake Superior. The resulting isallobaric wind will be aligned with the s to sw gradient wind and thus enhance the wind. Wind direction will be particularly favorable from the downslope areas of Marquette County into the eastern fcst area. Given that HRRR/NAM/GFS fcst soundings show potential to mix to 40-50kt winds for a few hrs and considering the isallobaric enhancement, will hoist a wind advy for Marquette/Alger counties for gusts up to 50mph Fri morning until about mid aftn (13z-20z). In reality, peak winds will likely occur in a 2-3hr period, so the advy timing runs a little long. Later shifts will need to consider adding Schoolcraft and Luce as 180-190 wind direction is an ideal direction for strong winds there. Fcst reflects 40-45mph gusts in that area for now. Any loose snow will lead to blowing/drifting snow on roads. Cold front that passes late Fri aftn/evening will be followed by incoming 6-9mb/3hr pres rises, bringing another round of stronger winds, this time nw winds to the Keweenaw and to lakeside locations from Alger County eastward. Based on mixed layer winds in fcst soundings, expect 40-50mph gusts, maybe peak up to 55mph on the Keweenaw. Will hold off on headline for these winds given the late aftn/evening time frame. High temps on Fri should reach the low/mid 30s F. Cold fropa will initiate LES and lead to progressively colder air flowing into the area thru the weekend on predominantly nw low-level flow. Temps will fall thru the day on Sat as 850mb temps fall from just after midnight Fri night readings of around -10C e to -15C w to to around -22C e to -25C w by Sat evening. By sunset Sat, temps will be nearing 0F w to around 10F above e. The increasingly colder air surrounding the lake will progressively strengthen lake induced thermal troffing, leading to winds developing an offshore component, particularly off of nw WI, off of Marquette County and off of Ontario along the e side of Lake Superior. This will favor enhanced convergence into Ontonagon/southern Houghton counties and also into Alger/Luce counties. Expect LES to be most persistent/heavier in those areas. However, by later Sat and thru Tue, the cold will suppress the DGZ to near the sfc or eliminate it altogether, leading to a fine/powdery type snow that does not accumulate as efficiently as typical LES. Initial thoughts are that snow accumulations will end up in a 2-4 to locally 6 inch range on Sat before the arctic air largely eliminates the DGZ. Then, a general 1-3 to isold 4-5 inches/12hr range Sat night thru Tue. The higher amounts are more likely in eastern portions of Alger into Luce Counties due to longer fetch and because the offshore wind component off of Ontario often leads to particularly strong low-level convergence. In fact, given the magnitude of the cold and the not particularly strong low-level gradient wind fields as we get into Sun thru Tue, easterly winds may push out a good distance over eastern Lake Superior at times, converging with the wnw/nw winds over the lake. That may boost snow amounts more than previously mentioned. Will be something to monitor as we get closer to that time frame. Bigger issue with the snow will be whiteouts as previously discussed. Winds will be stronger on Sat, leading to blsn, but during the coldest period Sun into Tue, winds won`t be particularly strong, gusting to around 25mph near the Lake Superior shore and Keweenaw and up to around 20mph elsewhere. Even so, the fine/powdery snow will be easily lofted by these winds to further reduce the already very poor vis from the falling snow. Wind begin to back westerly Tue with onset of waa, shifting LES to mainly the Keweenaw over the w and closer to shore over the e. Clipper type shortwave will pass at some point Wed/Thu to provide a chc of -sn, followed by some LES. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 623 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 Dry air is slowly working its way into the area. MVFR conditions at all sites will go VFR this evening and will stay that way into Friday morning. Friday, a low pressure passing north of Lake Superior will increase south-southwest winds in the morning where gusts upwards of 25-30kts are possible at all sites through the afternoon. The uptick in winds aloft will also bring potential low level wind shear impacts at IWD. MVFR conditions will come back in by Fri afternoon. CMX will have some blowing snow with the gusty winds where it could get down into the IFR category. && .MARINE... Issued at 506 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 A couple of passing clippers will result in a strong pressure gradient over the lake at times in this period, followed by deepening arctic cold this weekend and early next week. Ongoing nw winds to 20-30kt, strongest over eastern Lake Superior will fall briefly to 20kt or less by late evening as sfc high pres ridge quickly passes. Winds then increase again late tonight into Friday as next clipper system approaches. S to sw gales are likely by Fri morning as winds are enhanced by strong pressure falls passing over the area with the max pres falls passing by just n of the lake. Gales will reach 40-45kt across the e half, including a 15- 25pct chance of peak gusts reaching storm force. After the cold front associated with the clipper crosses the lake Fri aftn/night, nw gales will develop as colder air flows into the area with winds enhanced by incoming pres rises. Another high end gale will occur with the nw winds, including a 15-25pct chance of peak gusts reaching storm force. These stronger winds will diminish during the day Sat, but increasingly colder air flowing over the lake will support 20-30kt winds. There is also some local gale potential where wnw/nw winds over the lake converge with winds locally altered by very cold air flowing off of the land. There area some indications for another clipper middle of next week, which could increase winds again. The increasingly colder air arriving over weekend will support ice accretion from freezing spray. Expecting moderate to heavy ice accretion rates at times. && .MQT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Upper Michigan... Wind Advisory from 8 AM to 3 PM EST Friday for MIZ005-006. Lake Superior... Gale Warning from 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ Friday to 1 PM EST /noon CST/ Saturday for LSZ162-240>251-263>267. Lake Michigan... Gale Warning from 9 AM to 7 PM EST Friday for LMZ221-248-250. && $$ SHORT TERM...BW LONG TERM...Rolfson AVIATION...07 MARINE...Rolfson
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
935 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Front pushes east to the coast this evening with snow showers over the mountains and gusty winds across most of the area through early overnight. High pressure will expand to cover the Mid- Atlantic Friday. A large storm system will bring widespread precipitation Friday night into Saturday in advance of an Arctic airmass that will arrive on Sunday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 920 PM EST Thursday... Key messages: 1) Winter Storm Warning downgraded to Advisory for r Western Greenbrier tonight for up to 2 inches of additional snow. 2) Winter Weather Advisory cancelled for Mercer and Summer Counties. 3) A Wind Advisory is in effect for much of the Blue Ridge tonight. Have dropped the Winter Storm Warning to an Advisory for western Greenbrier as calls made up that way show only a dusting to no more than an inch have fallen so far for this evening, which we were expecting more with the warm front, and now only snow showers will bring maybe 2 inches over the northwest parts of Greenbrier as the upper shortwave is already pushing away and there is no good lake connection to be had, with winds turning more west as the night progresses. Further south, no more than a dusting expected so dropped the advisory for Mercer and Summers. Winds will be strongest from now until midnight, then should see a diminishing trend overnight. No changes to the wind advisory. Previous discussion... The snow expected with the warm front ahead of the clipper system was a no-show for our area through the afternoon, as main axis of moisture stayed further north. Will be relying more on upper disturbance this evening and upslope, which for now does not seem it will be enough for warning criteria. However, some low level instability may allow for heavier snow showers, so for now, will leave headline as is. Best low level jet arrives by 11pm, then letting up toward 4am, so no changes to the wind advisory. Previous discussion... Satellite imagery indicates sunshine for much of the lower Mid- Atlantic, with southwesterly winds in place ahead of an approaching upper level disturbance. The disturbance will move across the mountains this evening shortly after sunset, resulting in upslope snow showers affecting mainly portions of southeast West Virginia into the Alleghany Highlands and the New River Valley. Still running with a Winter Storm Warning for western Greenbrier County, where 4 to 6 inches of snow is forecast, with locally higher amounts. Up to 3 inches remain in the forecast for Mercer and Summers Counties, where a Winter Weather Advisory remains in place. The disturbance will also bring a brief period of strong winds across the central Appalachians, bringing 45 to 50 mph gusts across the higher ridges from Watauga County through the southern Shenandoah Valley. The window for these winds are short however as the disturbance moves quickly away to the east overnight, and have therefore issued a Wind Advisory in effect from 7 pm this evening through 4 am Friday. Once the disturbance begins to exit to the east overnight, high pressure will quickly fill in from the west. This will result in decreasing wind speeds, in addition to diminishing mountain snow shower activity and decreasing clouds as dawn approaches. Upper level ridging passing across the region on Friday, combined with sunshine and winds shifting from the south will make for near-normal afternoon temperatures. Highs will range from the mid 30s along the Interstate 64 corridor west of Lexington, to the mid/upper 40s across the Piedmont. Keeping an eye on an approaching disturbance Short wave crossing through the long wave eastern United States trough will move through the Mid Atlantic area today and tonight. The best synoptic scale lift with the upper jet and positive vorticity advection, followed by upslope lift will be in the 10AM- 10PM time frame. Enough liquid equivalent precipitation, around 0.5 inches and large enough snow ratios, roughly 15:1 to get snow accumulations in southeast West Virginia of 2 to 8 inches. Some locally higher amounts are possible in Western Greenbrier County. Also models are suggesting some relative instability this afternoon that may be enough for snow squalls or at least narrow bands of heavier snowfall rates. Colder air aloft does arrive in the area around that time. Biggest question is the amount of moisture. The air mass is starting the day well below 0.25 inches of precipitable water and some of the early snowfall may go into saturating the air mass instead of accumulating. But, eventually the precipitable water values are back up around 0.25 inches. Latest HRRR has the snow reaching most of southeast West Virginia between 7AM and 10AM. This feature goes by with the 500MB trough axis to the east by Friday morning. Winds turn to the west and northwest tonight. The low level jet increases this evening with the strongest 850mb wind from 00Z/7PM to 06Z/1AM with good pressure rises, 5-8MB in 6 hours at the same time. Will assess again today to determine if a Wind Advisory is needed along the southern Blue Ridge. Wind speeds drop off quickly by Friday morning. By then surface high pressure directly over the central and southern Appalachians. Upper ridging on Friday and more sunshine will result in temperatures around normal. Stayed close to a NBM/LAV guidance blend for highs and lows through this period. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 220 PM EST Thursday... Key Messages: 1) Wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain expected Saturday morning becoming mostly rain by afternoon. 2) Windy, becoming bitterly cold, with mountain snow showers Monday into Tuesday. A vigorous southern stream shortwave ahead of a deepening eastern U.S. trough will move through the region Saturday morning, bringing precipitation to the region. At the onset time of this precipitation around daybreak Saturday, temperatures will be in the mid 20s to lower 30s across the CWA. A weak warm nose is evident in the model soundings suggesting that precipitation will transition from snow, to sleet, to potentially freezing rain in the southern parts of the CWA. Temperatures are expected to rise above freezing by late morning into the early afternoon allowing all precipitation to change over to rain. The limited duration of frozen/freezing precipitation and the limited QPF overall from having to overcome an antecedent dry air mass, will limit ice/snow accumulations. Nonetheless, could certainly see a scenario where a Winter Weather Advisory will be warranted with later forecasts for much of the CWA during the late Friday night/Saturday morning time frame. Temperatures should top out in the upper 30s to lower 40s by afternoon with just weak wedging. QPF looks to be in the 1/4 to 1/3 inch range, thus an inch or so of snow/sleet/freezing rain mixture will be possible during the morning hours. The passage of this initial short wave will quickly result in further deepening of the upper trough across the eastern U.S. and also bring the first surge of what will prove to be the coldest Arctic air to visit this region in several years. Precipitation along/east of the Blue Ridge will mostly end by Saturday evening and transition to typical upslope snow showers. On Monday, the first of two brutally cold surges of Arctic air will settle over the area in the form of a 1044mb Arctic high. This first surge will pale in comparison to the next midweek surge. Look for a non-diurnal temperature trend on Monday with strong cold advection all day as 850mb temperatures plummet from -4C early in the day to nearly -20C by the end of the day. /Confidence Levels in Forecast Parameters/ - Moderate to High Confidence in Temperatures, - Moderate Confidence in Precipitation Probabilities, - Moderate Confidence in Wind Speed, High Confidence in Wind Direction. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 245 PM EST Thursday... Key Messages: 1). Bitterly Cold with Dangerously Low Wind Chills Through the Period. 2). Potential Snow Event Just Behind This Period...Need to Watch Closely. Truly one of the coldest air masses to visit the region in many years will spread across much of the eastern U.S. during the mid part of next week. Looking for 850 mb temperatures to range anywhere from -20C to -25C from the Midwest to the Mid- Atlantic to settle over the forecast area as a 1050+ mb surface high drifts southeast out of Canada by midweek. A large core of -30C temperatures is noted within the center of this frigid air mass, larger than I have seen in several years. This will eventually be very close to the CWA midweek. Look for multiple days with highs well below freezing and lows near to even below zero during the later half of the week. Plan accordingly for some of the coldest temperatures of long duration in several years. This will be colder than the spell during Christmas 2022. Wind chills will be dangerously low multiple mornings in a row. Finally, keeping an eye on a potential winter storm for next weekend. Will leave that discussion for later. /Confidence Levels in Forecast Parameters/ - High Confidence in Temperatures, - Moderate Confidence in Precipitation Probabilities, - High Confidence in Wind Direction and Speed. && .AVIATION /03Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 635 PM EST Thursday... VFR for most of the area through the period. Exception will be IFR to MVFR cigs and vsbys at BLF with snow showers through 12z, with mainly MVFR at LWB. May see MVFR cigs at BCB as well between 02-08z. West winds will pick up and gust 20-30kts across the mountains between 02z-09z, with less wind in the LYH/DAN area. High pressure builds in bringing VFR back to the mountains and lowering the wind speeds by midday Friday. AVIATION OUTLOOK... Clouds will increase again Friday evening as an approaching low pressure system is expected to bring widespread precipitation and poor flying conditions Friday night and Saturday across the region. Sub-VFR conditions will persist through Sunday with upslope snow showers in the mountains. Monday and Tuesday will be unseasonably cold, dry and VFR. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...Wind Advisory until 4 AM EST Friday for VAZ007-009>020-022>024- 032>035. NC...Wind Advisory until 4 AM EST Friday for NCZ001-002-018. WV...Winter Weather Advisory until 7 AM EST Friday for WVZ508. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AMS/NF/WP NEAR TERM...AMS/NF/WP SHORT TERM...RAB LONG TERM...RAB AVIATION...AMS/NF/WP
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
134 PM MST Thu Jan 16 2025 .SYNOPSIS...A weather system will be passing over the region tonight bringing slight chance of showers mainly from Tucson north and northeastward. Cooler temperatures return starting tomorrow and persist through early next week. && .DISCUSSION...The latest water vapor imagery, as of this writing, show a closed off low located over Southern California to Baja California. Southeast Arizona has a large swath of diffluence and some low level clouds have recently developed southwest of Tucson. This weather system will be moving northeast for the rest of today and into night. The easterly breezes will start to shift to the southwest by the middle of the afternoon once the low pressure center comes more inland. The 12Z HREF radar reflectivity plots have a a handful of the models with showers developing this evening and moving the northeast. The showers are on the low end and the better chances to receive showers will be northeast of Tucson. The last 4 HRRR runs continue to show the rain showers developing along northern portions of Graham and Greenlee counties. With that, there are slight chances for rain showers and mountain snow tonight. Tomorrow and the weekend...The low pressure will help draw in cooler air into the region. Temperatures will come down several degrees starting tomorrow. There can be a some cold feeling mornings across the region, Tucson being a few degrees above freezing on Saturday and Sunday morning. There will be some westerly to northwesterly breezes tomorrow, mainly in Graham, Greenlee, and Cochise County. Next week, the ensembles attempt show another change in pattern by early next week, but there is still some uncertainty on the speed and location of the system. This morning ensemble run shows a decent amplified ridge along the western coast with a low pressure center moving on shore. The ridge will likely absorb the low and bringing some troughing in the intermountain west. There is now a lean of 38% of ensemble members keeping the low north of our region and keeping us fairly dry. It won`t be able to tap into the better moisture sources in this scenario. This also presents a challenge for temperatures with the ensembles disagreement of the position of the system. Currently, there is a 10 degree spread in the max temperatures and 8 degree spread in the min temperatures for Tuesday to Wednesday. It is a quite a spread and could mean it be way cooler or cool by the middle of next week. With this forecast package, temperatures will be slightly below normal by the middle of the week. && .AVIATION...Valid through 18/00Z. FEW clouds at or around 10K feet AGL and then becoming SCT-BKN after 17/01Z. Another SCT-BKN cloud layer at or around 20k feet AGL moving through area between 16/23Z until 17/06Z. There are 15-30% chances for light showers (KTUS to the northeast) and mountain snow showers in the White Mountains tonight from 17/02Z to 17/10Z. After 17/12Z, SKC until the end of the forecast period. Todays afternoon winds will be easterly to southerly at 10-15 kts with gusts up to 25 kts. By 16/22Z, winds will shift to the southwest at similar speeds until 17/03Z. Overnight winds will generally light and variable. Tomorrow morning, after 17/18z, winds will return to westerly to northwesterly at 5-10 kts with gusts around 20 kts. Terminals from KSAD to KDUG and east will see stronger breezes in towards the end of the forecast period. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...Dry conditions will prevail across much of southeast Arizona the next 7 days, with a slight chance (15-30%) of light precipitation from Tucson north to northeast tonight into Friday morning. Low chances (10-15%) again on Monday through Monday night (mainly towards the White Mountains). Southwesterly winds through this afternoon with gusts up to 25 mph. Tomorrow, west/northwest winds, especially in Cochise and Graham counties, at speeds of 15-20 mph and gusts to around 30 mph. 20-foot winds will be 15 mph or less Saturday and Sunday, with increasing winds again by Tuesday. Min RH values will be 12-20 percent in the valleys and 20-30 percent in the mountains through early next week. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ Visit us on Facebook...Twitter...YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson