Forecast Discussions mentioning any of "HRRR" "RAP" "RUC13" "RUC" "RR" received at GSD on 03/22/25


Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Charleston SC
938 PM EDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure to the south will prevail through Saturday, with a cold front then poised to push through the area Monday. High pressure will then prevail through the middle of next week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/... Mid evening update: Per trends, just some minor tweaks made to forecast low temps and hourly temps. Smoke plumes continue to be seen by the KCLX radar, and there had been several hours of smoke at KLHW, but with no reductions in visibility. The HRRR Smoke Graphics do not show any reductions in visibility through tonight. But some smoke can be noticed in parts of the sky before the sun sets. Tonight: A zonal flow will prevail aloft, as a distant upstream short wave trough swings through the Upper Midwest and into the Ohio Valley. Some weak PVA ahead of that short wave will brush our northern zones overnight, but given how dry the air mass is, it will generate no weather locally. At the surface, high pressure centered in the northeast Gulf will expand east into the Atlantic, while a Piedmont trough remains in place to our west-northwest. Winds quickly decouple this evening, and remain light or calm through most of the night, until maybe recoupling late in some areas, as winds at 925 mb increase to 15-25 kt. This supports a fast drop in temperatures early on, before their decline slows overnight, maybe even climbing a bit toward morning in places north and northwest that start to feel the low level jet. Actual lows with excellent radiational cooling for much of the night will allow minimums to get down to the upper 30s and lower 40s over the vast majority of the area. The Charleston-North Charleston metro, the Savannah-Tybee region, along the immediate shores of Lake Moultrie, and the barrier islands will be several degrees warmer. We included mention of patchy frost far inland from about 5 to 8 AM Saturday. Certainly not enough coverage for any Frost Advisory. Most of that frost may just be on rooftops or parked vehicles. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY/... Saturday: Aloft, a zonal flow will prevail across the Southeast United States with some troughing displaced across the Northeast States and modest ridging well offshore across the Atlantic. At the sfc, a dry front will make way toward the region late, likely passing across the region overnight with little to no impact in regards to precip potential. The main issue will be during the day, with a dry downsloping wind (deep westerly flow), sunny conditions and some compressional heating supporting temps warming into the mid 70s before a late afternoon sea breeze attempts to shift inland. Breezy afternoon winds (15-25 mph gusts) are possible at times as low-lvl mixing taps into 25-30 kt wind fields a few thousand feet off the sfc at a time when RH values approach the low-mid 20s. A fire weather risk will be present across much of the area as a result and therefore a Fire Danger Statement is now in place for the entire area for late morning through afternoon hours (see fire weather section below). Overnight hours will remain quiet with a subtle wind shift from west to north-northwest during the night with fropa. However, winds will remain light and/or go calm during the second half the night as strong radiational cooling continues under clear skies during the night. Low temps should dip into the low-mid 40s inland to upper 40s to lower 50s near the coast. Sunday: Another dry and sunny day is in store as sfc high pressure becomes centered just south of the area under a zonal flow aloft. light southerly flow will develop across the Southeast United States, supporting sfc temps a few degrees warmer than the previous day, generally in the mid-upper 70s, although onshore winds will likely limit highs to the upper 60s/around 70 near the beaches. Dry conditions persist through the night, but remain noticeably more mild than the previous night ahead of a front. In general, lows should range in the low-mid 50s inland to upper 50s/around 60 near the coast. Monday: A cold front is expected to approach the region during the morning, eventually passing across the local area during the afternoon. Instability and shear remain modest with fropa, but the feature likely brings the highest precip potential during the week. At this time, scattered to numerous showers remain in the forecast. A slight chance of thunderstorms has also been introduced, mainly across Southeast Georgia where an axis of instability is maximized during afternoon into early evening hours. High temps should peak in the low-mid 70s, warmest near the coast where clouds and precip impact areas later in the day. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... Outside of a few lingering showers along and southeast of I-95 Monday night, should see largely dry conditions return to the region by daybreak Tuesday. Upper level flow then turns quasi-zonal, keeping conditions dry for the remainder of the extended period. Temperatures during this time will remain near/slightly above normal, as highs rise into the 70s and lows fall into 40s/50s. && .AVIATION /02Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... VFR conditions will prevail at KCHS, KJZI, and KSAV through 00Z Sunday. Winds will become a bit gusty late in the TAF period as mixing heights climb during the warming of the day. Extended Aviation Outlook: VFR conditions are expected to prevail at CHS/JZI/SAV terminals through the weekend. Brief flight restrictions are possible at all terminals on Monday due to showers and/or possibly thunderstorms occurring with a passing cold front. VFR conditions return Monday night, then persist through the middle of next week. && .MARINE... This evening and tonight: A 1022-1023 mb high centered offshore of the Florida Panhandle, will expand eastward into the vicinity of Bermuda overnight, as an inland trough persists from Georgia to Virginia. The gradient is fairly slack early on, but does increase a tad late, and as low level winds increase somewhat, there will be an associated increase in winds at the surface. We start out with S or SW winds generally no more than about 10 kt, before they veer more SW and WSW late as land breeze influences start to take hold. Speeds will climb about 5 or 10 kt in the ocean, but hold about the same in Charleston Harbor. Seas will average 2-3 feet throughout. Saturday through Monday: A weak front should shift across local waters Saturday night with modest enhancement to low-lvl wind fields occurring prior to its arrival potentially leading to a marginal Small Craft Advisory level wind gusts across nearshore coastal waters off the Charleston County Coast. Given the duration and coverage of the event, have held off on any headline issuance. Conditions are then expected to remain quiet across local waters Sunday into early Monday with high pressure dominating the weather pattern. However, a cold front is expected to shift across local waters Monday afternoon with the potential of another round of wind gusts near 25 kt across nearshore SC waters off the Charleston County Coast. A Small Craft Advisory could eventually be needed. && .FIRE WEATHER... A dry westerly wind, sunny skies, and compressional heating well ahead of a front approaching from the northwest late day, will likely lead to relative humidity values dipping into the 20-25% range while sfc winds gust as high as 15-25 mph during the afternoon. These factors along with dry fuels will lead to an enhanced fire danger, resulting in a Fire Danger Statement for the entire area from 11 AM to 7 PM Saturday. && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...None. SC...None. MARINE...None. && $$ NEAR TERM... SHORT TERM... LONG TERM... AVIATION... MARINE...
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Cleveland OH
954 PM EDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front drops southeast across the area Saturday morning. After brief high pressure Saturday night, low pressure tracks into the northern Great Lakes on Sunday with an accompanying cold front crossing the local area Sunday night. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... 930 pm update... As we mentioned in the previous quick forecast check up earlier this evening, we would take another look at the POPs for the rest of Saturday morning through tomorrow evening. We also took a look at the new 00z HRRR that just came in through Saturday afternoon. The hourly POPs were lowered downward overall from what was previous advertised as well as shorten up a little as in length of time with a quicker decrease during the midday. We have most of the POPs and precip chances ended by early to mid afternoon. over the Snowbelt areas. But we are still thinking there will be quick couple hours between 12z and 18z where we could see some "bursty" rain showers, mixing with some graupel or wet snow as the colder air rushes, especially aloft during the late morning hours. We are not expecting the lake effect to do much of anything as the 850 mb temps will be warmer than -10C and that we will be a very short time window as well. 730 pm update... For this early evening update, we made a few minor adjustments to the hourly POPs from the 06z through 12z timeframe late tonight into early Saturday morning. The previous POPs were a touch aggressive and we adjusted them slightly lowers into the slight to chance range (20% to 50%). Regarding the POPs after 12z through midday Saturday, we want to wait and get a quick look at the latest 00z runs of the HRRR and 4km WRF in the next hour or so before we make any other adjustments if needed later for that timeframe. But some guidance 18z guidance was indicating that the POPs we have after 12z may also be a little aggressive. Again, we will have those updated if needed by 0130z or 930 pm EDT here shortly. Otherwise, the rest of the near term forecast through tomorrow night looks on track at this time. Previous discussion.. Water vapor imagery reveals a complex trough digging over the central U.S., with one shortwave/vort max currently over eastern NE and pushing east into IA. Another shortwave (with a strong accompanying cold front and airmass change) is dropping southeast into the Upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes. These features will bring a brief period of unsettled weather on Saturday, followed by another quick hit of seasonably chilly air Saturday afternoon into Saturday night. Clouds will gradually thicken and lower overnight tonight, with brisk southwest winds struggling to decouple and helping to keep temperatures much milder than last night. Have lows ranging from the upper 30s to lower 40s. Both of the aforementioned shortwaves and strong cold front will work across the area rather quickly Saturday morning, with high pressure quickly building in from the west late Saturday into Saturday night. There will be a few things to focus on for precip potential/POPs late tonight through Saturday afternoon. An initial wave of mid-level warm air advection/isentropic lift will lift east-northeast across our area after midnight. Dry low-levels and the rather weak nature of the lift makes it very questionable if any measurable rain accompanies this feature between about 12 AM and 5 AM tonight. There will be another push of better lift (with more saturated low-levels) from west to east after 4 or 5 AM with the lead shortwave coming east out of the central U.S., with greater potential for scattered showers. This will be quickly followed by the shortwave and strong cold front dropping southeast out of the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes after roughly 8 AM, with numerous to widespread showers likely to accompany this feature, particularly from Sandusky-Mount Gilead points east. Synoptic lift quickly exits to the east- southeast Saturday afternoon, though lingering low-level cyclonic flow and 850mb temperatures cratering to -10 to -13C over Lake Erie could allow some lake enhanced precip to continue through early Saturday evening before ridging and much drier air really start pressing in. Dry weather and clearing skies are then expected for the rest of Saturday night. The forcing and moisture align best across Northeast OH and Northwest PA on Saturday, with much lower confidence in precip out west towards the I-75 corridor. Have categorical (80-100%) POPs in from Lorain-Wooster points east, with likely (60-70%) POPs as far west as Sandusky-Mt Gilead, dropping off to 30% along I-75. QPF amounts are under 0.25" (and for a large majority under 0.10"), highest across the higher terrain of Northeast OH and Northwest PA. Precip will initially fall in the form of rain, though strong cold air advection will allow it to mix with/change to a bit of snow before ending across parts of Northeast OH and Northwest PA. Not looking for more than a slushy coating on non-paved surface at most. Mid-level lapse rates steepen to around 8C/km Saturday morning as a -30C 500mb cold pool moves overhead, which could allow for a little bit of upright instability to develop. This could allow some showers (especially along the cold front) to have a bit of a convective component Saturday morning, perhaps producing a bit of graupel or very small hail. Did not add thunder to the forecast, but a stray rumble wouldn`t be the most shocking thing ever along or just ahead of the cold front from extreme eastern OH into PA. A brief push of wind gusts over 30 MPH is likely just behind the cold front Saturday morning and early afternoon. Morning highs on Saturday should reach the low to mid 40s, with very strong cold air advection causing falling temperatures late in the morning through the afternoon. Lows Saturday night should get well into the 20s for much of the area, with a few 10s even possible in the higher terrain east of I-79 in Northwest PA. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... The next low pressure system with a digging upper low into the Great Lakes arrives Sunday, looking more and more like it will have a warm front and a very brief residence time in a modest warm sector prior to cold frontal passage. POPs reintroduced after 15Z over the far southwestern zones over the CWA. Showers at first but in the far eastern zones possibly a rain/snow mix at the onset, temperatures a touch warmer Sunday than Saturday back towards the 50F mark in some places, and then the trailing cold front tracks through 00Z Monday into early Monday night. This will be another system making an expeditious exit, but the trailing upper low through the Great Lakes region will sling low level moisture back into the CWA from the north with rain showers late Monday and transitioning to rain/snow showers early Monday night. No accumulation expected, but temperatures down to around freezing or just below. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Deep 500mb trough now over the Great Lakes region. 700mb trough axis tracks down into the Ohio Valley with weak cyclogenesis along with the tail end of another weak cold front moving into Lake Erie from the north. Bulk of the POPs from the feature to the south should remain south of our CWA border, and not much moisture to work with or low level f-gen from the cold front, so the slight chance POPs are not expected to produce much Tuesday into Tuesday night if anything at all. Chilly high pressure for the middle to the end of the week before a Friday warm front arrives with perhaps some warming into next weekend. && .AVIATION /00Z Saturday THROUGH Wednesday/... The main message for potential weather impacts to aviation for this TAF update will be a couple items to be aware of. Gusty winds will increase tonight and tomorrow with a fast moving cold front. There may some non-convective low level winds this evening through the predawn hours of Saturday morning. The potential of that non-thunderstorm LLWS is relatively marginal and would generally be from 02z to 10z tonight due to a strengthening low level jet and wind Field from this vigorous, fast moving weather system. VFR conditions are being observed across the region this evening and will continue through most of the overnight. High and mid level clouds are increasing and will slowly lower as the night goes along. MVFR ceilings will eventually arrive for NWOH before 12z. The MVFR ceilings will continue to move in from west to east across the rest of NEOH and NWPA around 12z or shortly after as a fast moving cold front sweeps through northern Ohio and NWPA. The MVFR ceilings will be around after daybreak Saturday morning through midday with a gradual improvement to VFR ceilings above 3000 feet by 18z for much of the area. MVFR may lingering a little longer into the mid afternoon around the Snowbelt areas of NEOH and NWPA through the mid afternoon or 21z before the lake effect stratus deck starts to scattered out during the late afternoon and towards the end of this TAF period. Winds will start out from the south to southwesterly tonight 10 to 15 knots with gusts up to 25 knots overnight. Winds will become westerly and northwesterly behind the cold front early Saturday morning and continue through the end of the period. Winds will remain 12 to 18 knots with gusts 25 to 30 knots likely during the day on Saturday. The winds will decrease at the end of this 24 hours TAF period. Outlook...Non-VFR likely in widespread rain late Sunday into Monday. Non-VFR is possible in lingering rain and/or snow showers Monday night. && .MARINE... Southwest winds increase to 15-25kts tonight, turning northwesterly as a cold front comes through 15-25kts and a Small Craft Advisory now in effect for much of Saturday. Winds become variable Saturday night, then southeasterly 10-15kts Sunday with another cold front coming through Sunday night. Wave heights less than 2ft early Sunday will increase away from shore Sunday afternoon, then approach Small Craft Advisory again Sunday night in the wake of the next cold front with wave heights back to 3-5ft. && .CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...None. PA...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 PM EDT Saturday for LEZ142-143. Small Craft Advisory until 9 PM EDT Saturday for LEZ144>147. Small Craft Advisory from 5 AM to 9 PM EDT Saturday for LEZ148- 149. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Sullivan NEAR TERM...77/Sullivan SHORT TERM...26 LONG TERM...26 AVIATION...77 MARINE...26
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
640 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 ...Updated for the 00z Aviation Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... - Potential for gusty winds in weak convection south and east late this afternoon and early evening - No significant large scale systems through the period, but an active pattern nonetheless with precip chances every few days - Increased rain chances Sat night into Sun with gusty west winds (gusts 45 mph possible) west Sun afternoon - Seasonal temps into next week, but warming by the end of the next work week, && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 229 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 Fairly typical late March weather will be in place through the period with varied degrees of northwest flow aloft into next week. An upper trough and noted PV anomaly was approaching the Siouxland area this afternoon with high based convection beginning to develop within the upper low cores steep mid level lapse rates. Mid level kinematic forcing will continue to enhance vertical motion through the afternoon ahead of the wave, and once that forcing area exits the northwest IA snow pack several hundred low CINH MLCAPEs will develop to the east with weak convection maturing somewhat. Forecast soundings suggest steep lapse rates through the entire column southeast. With LFCs/LCLs both above the freezing level, small hail production may be enhanced with sublimation cooling below the high bases and enhancing gusty wind potential. 12Z HREF output shows multiple model cores with winds >=30kts over southeast sections, and recent HRRR runs have been consistent with 45-55kt gusts in small clusters exiting our forecast area into eastern IA through the early evening hours. Thus a few strong to briefly severe storms will be possible, mainly due to the strong wind potential. Any precip should quickly exit eastern sections early this evening as subsidence behind the upper trough advances. Skies should clear with surface high pressure settling into the MO Valley from the northern Plains. With the heart of the surface ridge right over the snow pack, temperatures may plummet there with light winds and clear skies. Have lowered min temps there, lows into the teens north, but even cooler readings are possible. Temperatures should rebound again tomorrow however with return flow beginning and the current ND/MN cold front advancing no farther south than a glancing blow into the Upper MS Valley. The next system of interest is currently off the Pacific NW and is expected to reach the northern and central Plains late Saturday. This system will be more mature with both thermodynamic and kinematic contributions, but with insufficient recovery time to get much in the way of moisture return, limiting instability. Only token thunder may occur early Sunday morning, and elevated rooted around 1km. Thus much of the precip will likely be light rain Sat night, and lingering wrap around light rain north into Sunday. The biggest sensible weather reflection of the system will likely be strong gusty winds in the trailing cyclonic flow with soundings noting the potential for gusts 40+kts northwest by the afternoon. The next warm section surge will re-introduce minor precip chances Monday night into Tuesday, but more appreciable precip chances may re-enter the forecast late in the next work week. Deterministic solutions are in good agreement with upper level ridging heading into Friday, but they diverge quite a bit with the following system to end the week decreasing confidence. A quick look at the 00Z grand ensemble cluster would lean in the GEFS camp with a system and frontal introduction Fri night. CSU and NSSL GEFS based and NCAR ECMWF based ML/AI pages all suggest at least pseudo marginal risk severe weather probabilities through this period so the thunder mention may need to be increased in the coming days. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 640 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 Showers and spotty thunderstorms continue across the eastern half of the state into the evening, and are expected to remain over the next few hours, which may bring some gusty winds, brief visibility reductions and lowered ceilings before moving eastward. Cloud cover will decrease otherwise through the evening, turning clear through the overnight and much of the morning before clouds return Saturday afternoon. Northwest winds will decrease this evening, shifting southeasterly through Saturday morning before turning breezy once again through the day, with gusts up to 20-25 knots after 21-00z. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...Small AVIATION...Bury
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Huntsville AL
1053 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 ...New NEAR TERM, SHORT TERM, LONG TERM... .NEAR TERM... (Rest of tonight) Issued at 1053 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 The area of high clouds that moved quickly across northern Alabama and southern middle Tennessee earlier during the late afternoon hours is currently moving through NE Tennessee. Clear skies are in place across the area and winds have become calm. Dry air can be seen in area observations with dewpoints in the upper 20s to lower 30s in most locations. These dewpoints will start to increase around 10 PM into Saturday morning along with winds, as an upper level trough axis moves quickly east across northern Tennessee and Kentucky. Though some thin scattered high clouds could develop overnight, more significant cloud cover should stay near the upper level trough axis well to our north. Temperatures are currently in the mid 40s to around 50 degrees currently. They should drop into the upper 30s to lower 40s over the next few hours before winds begin picking up to an intensifyinglow level jet ahead of the upper level trough axis. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Wednesday) Issued at 1053 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 Abundant sunshine is expected today and guidance warms 925 mb temperatures into the 10 to 12 degree range. This could push highs into the mid 60s to around 70 degrees. Model soundings do show some very dry air that could be reached as temperatures climb into the mid to upper 60s residing between 850 and 700 mb. Thus, went ahead and lowered afternoon dewpoints close to HRRR values into the upper teens to lower 20s in the afternoon. Again KBDI values are less than 300, but winds will be a bit stronger between 5 and 10 mph with gusts to around 15 mph. Southerly low level winds pick up late tonight into Sunday morning ahead of the next storm system to affect the area. Southerly low level winds between 25 and 35 mph will continue into the day on Sunday as a cold front pushes southeast into the Ohio valley into western Tennessee and eastern Arkansas. Models show a fairly strong cap (temperatures inversion) developing around 700 mb during the afternoon hours over northern Alabama and southern middle Tennessee. Forcing over the area ahead of this front doesn`t really increase much until very late in the afternoon close to 7 PM. Given the weak lift and strong cap in place, not sure we will see any convection development until around and after 7 PM in NW Alabama. Much stronger forcing at 700 mb moves into NW Alabama and southern middle Tennessee between 00Z and 03Z. Very steep lapse rates are in place in guidance between 7 and 8.5 degrees. MUCAPE and SBCAPE is not quite as impressive as the last few days in models. However, MUCAPE between 300 and 700 J/KG is shown in some models still. Given the steep lapse rates and strong forcing, couldn`t rule out some large hail around 1 inch in diameter. However, it still looks like the main threat for severe weather will be damaging winds from any severe thunderstorms, possibly more between 8 PM and 1 AM. Not sure how much surface based or elevated instability will linger past the overnight hours. Overall confidence in severe storms is not as high in the afternoon hours. It does looks like heavy rainfall will expand eastward during the evening into the overnight hours on Sunday, as forcing around 700 mb and just ahead of the main frontal boundary increases even more. A good 1 to 2 inches of rainfall looks possible in some areas, but again severe storms potential looks more marginal the further southeast you go from NW AL and southern middle Tennessee. A few lingering showers could hold on into the early morning hours in southern DeKalb and Cullman counties, but should be very light. Cooler air will briefly move into the area Monday. However, this will be a glancing blow of colder air. Highs with abundant sunshine should still climb into the mid 60s to around 70 degrees. Monday night looks the coolest with lows dropping into the lower to mid 40s. Highs on Tuesday should rebound a bit ahead of another approaching cold front with a decent amount of sunshine expected. Highs should reach the 70 to 75 degrees again. Cold air advection behind this front will keep highs a bit colder on Wednesday, only reaching the lower to mid 60s. Not many clouds are expected with this front. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday night through Sunday) Issued at 1053 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 Even colder air to settle into the area Wednesday night. Lows should drop into the upper 30s to lower 40s. A more substantial warming trend is expected towards the end of next week, as strong upper level ridging builds over the southeast. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 513 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 VFR flight weather conditions are forecast. Mid and high clouds will move through this evening (all above 200agl). LLWS will develop this evening ahead of an approaching weak cold front with southwest winds at 020agl around 40kt. Winds will shift to the northwest at 5-10kt by 13-14Z behind the weak cold front. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...None. TN...None. && $$ NEAR TERM...KTW SHORT TERM....KTW LONG TERM....KTW AVIATION...17
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
747 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A fast-moving frontal boundary will trigger a few gusty showers across central Illinois this evening. Guidance suggests a 40-60% chance of wind gusts greater than 40mph with the showers. - A stronger storm system will spread rain back into the area Saturday night into Sunday. Storm total rainfall will generally range from 0.25 to 0.50...with amounts approaching 1 inch south of I-70. && .UPDATE... Issued at 747 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 A cold front was pushing through far eastern IA and northeast MO at 00z, associated with a line of showers and isolated thunderstorms. 45-55 mph wind gusts have been common with the convection, and the HRRR has been consistently showing similar gusts as the system crosses central IL this evening, even as the overall coverage and intensity of precip gradually decreases. This in large part will be due to a very dry sub-cloud layer (inverted-v) noted on 00z ILX sounding, favorable for evaporative cooling and increased velocity of descending air parcels. So, a short period of strong/gusty west-northwest winds can be expected for much of the area north of I-70 this evening, primarily between about 830 pm to midnight, from west to east across central IL. Will plan to handle this activity with convective Special Weather Statements (SPS). 25 && .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Saturday) Issued at 211 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 19z/2pm surface analysis shows a cold front dropping southward out of the Northern Plains...while a tightening pressure gradient ahead of the boundary produces strong/gusty southerly winds across central Illinois. Gusts have routinely been above 30mph with an occasional report over 40mph, but have generally been slightly lower than previously forecast. Breezy conditions will continue through the remainder of the afternoon, with gusts temporarily dropping to less than 30mph toward sunset. As the front pushes into the area from the northwest, CAMs have been consistently showing widely scattered convective development. Forecast soundings indicate steep mid-level lapse rates, but only meager instability with NAM and HRRR MUCAPE values of only 100-200J/kg. Despite the lack of instability, think forcing along the front combined with the steep lapse rates will be enough to trigger widely scattered showers and thunderstorms. While severe weather is not expected, the showers may produce a period of gusty winds as evidenced from a pronounced dry sub-cloud layer. HRRR is showing a band of 45-50kt wind gusts associated with the showers, but think this may be a bit overdone due to its known nocturnal overmixing bias. Nonetheless think the showers will result in an uptick in wind gusts to 40-45mph across the Illinois River Valley after 02z/9pm, then further east toward I-55 by around 04z/11pm. Once the showers pass and/or dissipate overnight, gusty W/NW winds will persist through the remainder of the night as CAA brings temperatures back down into the lower to middle 30s across much of the area by dawn Saturday. High pressure will build into the Midwest on Saturday, providing dry weather, lighter winds, and seasonable high temperatures in the lower to middle 50s. Barnes .LONG TERM...(Sunday through Next Friday) Issued at 211 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 After the brief period of quiet weather on Saturday, the next storm system embedded within the fast west-to-east zonal flow pattern will quickly come into the picture Saturday night into Sunday. Surface low pressure is progged to track well northwest of Illinois across the Northern Plains into the Upper Midwest, with a trailing cold front swinging into the KILX CWA Sunday afternoon. While deep-layer wind shear will become quite strong (0-6km reaching 60-80kt), instability will once again be lacking (MLCAPEs only 200-400J/kg). A southern stream short-wave trough will provide enhanced lift along the front and a better chance for widespread convection further south from eastern Texas across Arkansas into the Tennessee River Valley. Will need to keep an eye on the northern extent of this enhanced activity, but think any significant severe weather threat will remain south of central Illinois. Storm total rainfall with this system will mostly be in the 0.25 to 0.50 range, but may approach 1 inch south of I-70 where thunderstorms may be a bit more numerous. Once the Sunday system departs, the zonal flow pattern will provide rain chances every couple of days and near normal temperatures through next week. At this time, it appears the best rain chances will materialize Monday night into Tuesday...then again Thursday into Friday. These periods will be fine-tuned with later forecasts as the timing of individual waves within the fast flow becomes better defined. Barnes && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Saturday Evening) Issued at 600 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 A thin/broken line of showers and storms moving into eastern IA, associated with a cold front, will track across the central IL terminals this evening. Coverage is expected to be around 30-50%, so added a TEMPO group for a narrow window of storms with gusty winds up to 45 kt. Outside of storms, VFR conditions will prevail for the remainder of the TAF period. Southwest winds gusting near 30 kt late this afternoon, will veer west with the approach of the front, then northwest behind the front late this evening. 25+ kt gusts will continue overnight then diminish toward sunrise with 10-14 kt northwest winds common into Sat afternoon. 25 && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Jackson KY
1021 PM EDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A dry cold front will cross the area Saturday morning. - Gusty winds, drying fuels, and humidity dropping below 30 percent in most locations will result in an increased risk of wildfires on Saturday afternoon and evening. - Another system crosses the area to end the weekend and should bring a round of showers and a few thunderstorms producing measurable rainfall. && .UPDATE... Issued at 1021 PM EDT FRI MAR 21 2025 The forecast remains largely on track, with minor changes limited to hourly temperature trends and Sky grids. UPDATE Issued at 717 PM EDT FRI MAR 21 2025 Minor update sent out to the grids for Sky cover. Otherwise, the forecast is on track. && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday night) Issued at 440 PM EDT FRI MAR 21 2025 Late this afternoon, an upper level ridge extended from near the FL peninsula into the southeast and the Southern Appalachians to eastern Great Lakes while a shortwave trough extended south from Ontario to the upper MS Valley to the vicinity of the Ozarks to Arklatex regions. West of that system an upper level ridge extended across portions of the western Conus/Rockies with a trough upstream of that entering the western Conus. At surface, An area of low pressure was over the northern Great Lakes vicinity with a wavy frontal zone extending back to the Southern Appalachians while another frontal zone was just northwest of this area extended from a surface low in the James Bay vicinity to the upper MS valley to the Dakotas to Alberta. Meanwhile a surface ridge of high pressure extended from the eastern Gulf into the southeastern states/Southern Appalachians. Another sfc high was centered in the Plains near the KS/OK with another sfc high centered near the Alberta and Saskatchewan border. Locally, under southwest flow dewpoints were mainly in the 20s, with some upper teens in the southeast where less rain was received on Thursday. Under the southwest flow and following the lighter precipitation on Thursday, rh has not fallen off quite as much as would be expected with PW in the 0.1 to 0.2 inch range and below the 10th percentile for this time of year. Tonight and Saturday, the axis of the upper level ridge will shift east to the eastern seaboard late this evening and into the overnight, reaching the western Atlantic by sunrise on Saturday. Meanwhile, the 500 mb trough axis will rotate east across portions of Ontario to near the Quebec border to the Lake Huron Vicinity and the Lower OH Valley, crossing eastern KY late tonight. This will push the first dry and weakening front to the eastern Great Lakes to Central KY to TX by dawn on Saturday while the next front upstream should reach Ontario to the mid MS Valley. The combined dry front should cross eastern KY through midday on Saturday with high pressure building in at the surface and aloft in its wake. Shortwave upper ridging should reach the MS Valley on Saturday evening the the axis of this ridge crossing eastern KY on Saturday night. Meanwhile the trough that is currently working into the western Conus will have moved east quickly reaching the Plains Saturday evening and into the Central Conus on Saturday night, approaching the MS Valley late. The associated sfc low should reach MS to end the period with a frontal zone south and southwest to OK and the TX panhandle vicinity and a warm front, the return of the Saturday boundary into parts of the TN Valley. Before the dry front nears tonight, the dry airmass and sfc high pressure departing should promote some decoupling valley locations and a drop in temperatures toward the mid 30s for some of the more sheltered locations in particular. As the pressure gradient increases overnight, mixiness will increase and temperatures in these sheltered valleys should increase at least somewhat. Near and behind the boundary on Saturday, opted to go above both the NBM deterministic wind and wind gusts speeds and lean toward the higher NBM percentiles and Consshort and HRRR numbers. This gets gusts into ranges suggested by BUFKIT momentum transfer. For Saturday night, high pressure will slide east across the area and this should allow for valleys to decouple, especially in the east and readings there could fall below freezing and at least some frost will be possible. Clouds will increase mainly at the mid and high levels for Saturday night, with some low clouds possibly encroaching on more western locations. With fairly low rh at present and below 30 percent and in some cases nearer to 20 percent gusts in some cases of at least 10 to 15 mph, increased fire danger into the evening was mentioned in the HWO. RH should again fall to near or below 30 percent on saturday while wind gusts will be stronger, getting into the 20 to 30 mph range, increased fire danger was also mentioned for Saturday afternoon and evening. .LONG TERM...(Sunday through Friday) Issued at 300 PM EDT FRI MAR 21 2025 The forecast period begins with a surface low diving out of southern Canada into the Upper Plains. As this system tracks into the Great Lakes, a trailing cold front will approach the Commonwealth and be on the doorstep of the CWA by Sunday morning. Through the day Sunday, increasing PoP chances are expected with thunderstorms developing late Sunday afternoon and continuing through very early Monday morning. The SPC has the far southwestern portion (Wayne County) of the CWA under a Day 3 Marginal Risk for this cold front and the potential severe weather associated with this front. The CWA has seen the severe threat continue to shift southwest with the last couple of daily SPC updates and no reason not to see that trend continue as instability will be lacking with this boundary and the severe weather risk appears really limited. However, can`t rule out a thunderstorm pushing severe limits. Once the front crosses through the region early Monday afternoon, showers will taper off from west to east as surface high pressure builds in from the west. More seasonal temperatures will build back into the region beginning Monday and continuing through the end of the forecast period. Also, Models have come into a little better agreement with a clipper system approaching the area for Tuesday. The GFS has jumped on board with the trend and now the forecast is 30%-40% PoP for Tuesday afternoon, 30%-40% overnight Tuesday and decreasing PoP for Wednesday as high pressure returns to the forecast area. Once the system exits late Wednesday, surface high pressure leading clear skies and post-frontal CAA will build into the area allowing for colder temperatures and the potential for widespread frost late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. Surface high pressure remains in place through the day Thursday before a warm front lifts into the region bringing warmer temperatures and increased rain chances for Friday. Overall the period will be highlighted by several passing systems that`ll bring chances of rain and thunderstorms and a return to more seasonal temperatures. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Saturday evening) ISSUED AT 723 PM EDT FRI MAR 21 2025 VFR was observed and issuance time and is expected to prevail through the period as high pressure slides east and a dry cold front crosses eastern KY late tonight. As the front approaches, winds aloft will increase sufficiently for southwesterly LLWS between around 03z to 11z. A generally southwest wind is expected at 5 to 8 kts this evening, gradually increasing with some weak mixing as winds within the low-level jet increase overnight. As frontal passage occurs by 12z, winds will become westerly and remain westerly through the afternoon with speeds increasing to 10 to 15 kts with gusts as high as 20 to 25 kts through Saturday afternoon, with some potential reductions in winds and wind gusts and a directional shift to more west-northwesterly after 22z Saturday. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ UPDATE...CMC SHORT TERM...JP LONG TERM...VORST AVIATION...CMC
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1006 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A Red Flag Warning is in effect for Knox, Antelope, and Pierce counties from 1pm to 8pm Saturday for low RH values and strong wind gusts. Scattered rain chances (15-30%) return to forecast area Saturday evening. - 25-35 mph northwest winds return for Sunday, with gusts up to 45 mph. This will lead to very high fire danger. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 259 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .SHORT TERM.../Today through Saturday Night/ Our remaining snowpack from Wednesday`s storm system continues to erode quickly today as evident from GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase imagery. RAP objective analysis shows a 500 mb shortwave draped across our forecast area this afternoon associated with a closed upper level low across northern Ontario. At the sfc, a front extending from the associate Ontario sfc low has pushed through the forecast area this afternoon, resulting in some gusty northwest winds behind the front. Expect gusts to range from 25 to 35 mph as we continue into the afternoon hours. These winds in combination with low relative humidity values in areas outside of the current snow pack (southeast and northeast Nebraska), will lead to very high fire danger. People in these areas should avoid burning. Some forcing is evident with the aforementioned shortwave as a few scattered rain showers are developing this afternoon, mainly across northern portions of our forecast area. Expect this activity to move to the east southeast tonight, but any accumulations from these showers should remain light. Gusty winds will subside later tonight with RH values also recovering to above 50%. Lows tonight will reach the mid 20s to low 30s. Saturday will see southerly flow return ahead of another shortwave ejecting from the Wyoming/Colorado area. This shortwave will induce a sfc low over South Dakota which will track east during the daytime hours Saturday. Ahead of this feature, gusty southerly winds are likely, given RAP BUFKIT soundings show decent mixing occurring up into a 30kt 850 mb LLJ. The combination of drier air mixing down with gusty 30-35 mph winds across northeast Nebraska will lead to very high fire danger. In collaboration with neighboring offices, have decided to issue a Red Flag Warning for Knox, Pierce, and Antelope counties from 1 pm to 8 pm Saturday evening. Burning is discouraged in these areas. High fire danger is also possible across far southeast portions of Nebraska, despite technically not meeting Red Flag Warning criteria there. Winds will decrease slightly by the night time hours but remain breezy. The sfc feature in South Dakota will drag along a cold front through the area Saturday evening. This will result in chances for a few scattered showers, but a dry layer evident in some soundings across the area may hamper these chances. Currently have left chances at 15-25% across most of the area, except for northern portions of the CWA where some areas have a 30% chance given the dry air is overcome enough to result in rain. Highs Saturday will be in the upper 50s to mid 60s, while lows will be in the upper 30s to low 40s. .LONG TERM.../Sunday through Thursday/ By Sunday, expect to see windy conditions behind the front. BUFKIT soundings show ample mixing into a 30-40 kt LLJ. This will result in sustained northwest winds from 25 to 35 mph during the daytime hours, with gusts up to 45 mph across the far north. GEFS and EPS ensembles clearly highlight these gusty winds, with the EPS being noticeably more aggressive as some members show gusts at times reaching 50 mph. Will need to continue to monitor the latest trends to determine if a Wind Advisory will be needed for Sunday. The strength of these winds and low RHs may also result in very high fire danger for portions of the forecast area, and may warrant a Red Flag Warning depending on how trends play out as we get closer to Sunday. Highs Sunday will be in the mid 50s to low 60s across the area with minimal cloud cover expected. Northwest flow aloft will dominate the upper air pattern through at least the midweek timeframe. Within this flow, a few shortwaves are evident, notably on Monday evening and Tuesday. NBM PoPs show anywhere from 15-20% chances for rain across our far northern areas Monday evening, while Tuesday evening currently has the wave farther east from our area keeping us generally dry into Wednesday. Temperatures will be on a warming trend from Sunday through Thursday as hinted at by the NBM, given a 1000-500 mb thermal ridge begins developing across the western CONUS and eventually tracks eastward. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1006 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 VFR conditions favored through the period with passing mid level clouds. Expect a brief period of northwesterly winds at the start of the period at OMA and LNK, but all 3 TAF sites will largely see southerly winds with gusts of 20-30 kts by mid-day Saturday. Also expect some low level wind shear toward the end of the period with winds around 2000 ft out of the southwest at 45-55 kts. Finally, still need to keep an eye on potential fog development near any remaining snowpack tonight, but latest guidance has trended toward lower chances of this happening. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...Red Flag Warning from 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Saturday for NEZ011-016- 017. IA...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...Castillo AVIATION...CA
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Springfield MO
245 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Red Flag Warning in effect across the entire area until 7 PM. Gusty south to southwest winds of 35 to 45 mph and minimum relative humidity values around 20 to 25%. - Elevated fire danger persists through the weekend into early next week. - Showers and a few thunderstorms likely (50-90%) Saturday night into Sunday morning. There is a low chance (5%) for an isolated strong to severe thunderstorm capable of producing hail up to the size of ping pongs along and north of Highway 60. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... Issued at 245 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 Current water vapor imagery paired with RAP analysis depicts a mid-level shortwave across the northern Plains with a subtle upper-level shortwave trough currently traversing Missouri. Very little impact to the surface is attributed to the subtle upper- level wave. However, the shortwave across the northern Plains is forcing a deepening low-pressure system moving across MN/WI. An attendant surface cold front extends south through the central Plains. The associated mass response into the low pressure system is increasing southerly winds across our area. Joplin is observing wind gusts right around just above 45 mph and Springfield is gusting between 30 and 40 mph. Joplin and areas around the I-49 corridor are intermittently hitting Wind Advisory criteria, but we are not expecting persistence of these conditions to issue a short-fused advisory at this point in time. Nevertheless, expect intermittent gusts up to 45 mph are through the late afternoon hours. These gusts paired with observed relative humidities below 25% are verifying a Red Flag Warning in effect for the entire area until 7 PM. High temperatures are on track to each the middle to upper 60s today. Red Flag Warning in effect for the entire area until 7 PM: Observed fuels are currently between 6-10%. Additionally, observed relative humidities are between 19-26% as of 2 PM. With a couple more hours of daytime mixing, we could see some further dropping of RHs to the 15-20% range in some places. This will continue to produce Red Flag conditions until 7 PM. Some fires and hot spots have been noted today, though it is a bit difficult to detect these with cloud cover obscuring satellite view to the ground. Nevertheless, fires have been reported and any burning is strongly discouraged, as has been the story this past week. After the Red Flag expires, lows will drop into the middle to upper 30s tonight. Elevated fire danger persists through the weekend: Relatively dry air, slightly warmer temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s, and modest winds will continue Elevated Fire Danger through at least Tuesday. See the Fire Weather section at the bottom of this discussion for more details on each day. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 245 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 Showers and a few thunderstorms likely late Saturday night: Another trough is progged to dive into the northern Plains Saturday night, finally advecting in some appreciable moisture across the Ozarks. The westerly flow at the base of the trough will advect an elevated mixed layer eastward on top of the low-level moisture. This will create a setup for elevated instability Saturday night. A 40-60 kt low-level jet ahead of the system will kick-start strong warm air advection (keeping low temperatures in the 50s) and initiate elevated showers and thunderstorms across southern Missouri (60-90% chance). Low chance for severe thunderstorms capable of large hail: Individual CAM soundings show skinny instability profiles across Missouri. This would normally decrease confidence on amount of instability for severe weather, however, analysis of HREF mean and member soundings show pretty good agreement in 500-1000 J/kg MUCAPE despite the skinny profiles. This gives good confidence that enough elevated instability should be present for thunderstorms Saturday night. Southerly surface flow beneath 40-60 kts of westerly 500 mb flow will promote large curved hodographs with 50-60 kts of 0-6 km bulk shear. Since storms will be elevated above 1 km or so, lopping off the lowest 1 km of the hodograph still gives 50-60 kts of effective bulk shear with generally straight hodographs. This will be enough for elevated splitting supercells if instability can be realized. Furthermore, HREF hodographs do show backing above the inflow layer, which may even favor left- moving supercells. Either way, any elevated supercell that can develop will be capable of producing hail up to the size of ping pongs, possibly even gold balls. Winds are less of a concern with a nocturnal inversion, though they can`t be ruled out. The large hail parameter ahead of the system has values of 4-6 along and north of Highway 60, which research suggests max hail size of ping pongs to golf balls. This is mainly driven by 7-8 C/km mid-level lapse rates within the EML. RAP forecast decreases these through the night, but if they can stay somewhat steady, hail size may be slightly increased. All that being said, coverage of any potential severe thunderstorms will be low, as the Storm Prediction Center has a Marginal (1 of 5) Risk for areas along and north of Highway 60 (5% chance of isolated large hail). Area Forecast for rest of the week: After the system moves through, the trough will stall out over the northeast CONUS, allowing northwesterly flow to dominate over our region. The cold front from the system will also keep moisture locked away in the Gulf for much of the week, keeping our area within a dry airmass through at least Tuesday. See the Fire Weather section for more details on these concerns. Highs Sunday and Monday will be in the middle 60s to lower 70s with lows in the upper 30s Sunday night and middle to upper 40s Monday night. A warming trend through the week then commences as broad and amplified upper-level ridge slowly translates into the region. Highs Tuesday will be in the upper 60s to middle 70s, and slowly warm up to the lower 80s by Friday. Lows will be in the 40s Tuesday night, rising to the middle 50s Thursday and Friday night. Confidence is pretty high in these temperatures and the warming trend as NBM spreads are low and the ridge looks to be pretty pronounced in most global models. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 1240 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 Only high clouds will lead to prevailing VFR conditions through the entire TAF period. Main concern is gusty southwesterly winds today. JLN has already gusted to 37 kts and SGF has gusted to 35 kts. Gusts up to 40 kts are expected to continue until 23-01Z. After that time, winds will diminish and gradually shift to NW`ly, before quickly shifting back to SE`ly before the end of the TAF period. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 245 PM CDT Fri Mar 21 2025 It`s a broken record of dry weather and windy conditions through at least Tuesday. The good news is that winds will stay modest after today, but will still be enough for at least Elevated Fire Weather concerns. At the moment, they do not look strong enough for Red Flag Warnings, but as high resolution guidance comes into range, this could change with subsequent forecasts. Below are some fire weather parameters through Tuesday: Sunday: High Temperatures: 65-75 F Minimum Relative Humidity: 25-35% Sustained Winds: NW 15-20 mph Wind Gusts: 20-30 mph Monday: High Temperatures: 62-70 F Minimum Relative Humidity: 20-25% Sustained Winds: WNW 8-12 mph Wind Gusts: 15-20 mph Tuesday: High Temperatures: 67-75 F Minimum Relative Humidity: 25-35% Sustained Winds: NW 15-20 mph Wind Gusts: 20-30 mph && .SGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...Red Flag Warning until 7 PM CDT this evening for KSZ073-097- 101. MO...Red Flag Warning until 7 PM CDT this evening for MOZ055>058- 066>071-077>082-088>097-101>105. && $$ SHORT TERM...Price LONG TERM...Price AVIATION...Price FIRE WEATHER...Price