Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Twin Cities, MN
Issued by NWS Twin Cities, MN
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479 FXUS63 KMPX 040006 AFDMPX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 706 PM CDT Mon Jun 3 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered showers and thunderstorms across western Wisconsin this afternoon. - A line of thunderstorms will move through the area tomorrow afternoon & evening. Isolated damaging winds & a tornado or two are possible, primarily across eastern Minnesota & western Wisconsin. Widespread rainfall amounts of 0.5-1" could exacerbate ongoing flooding, especially where locally higher amounts occur. - Trending drier towards the end of the week & through next week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 232 PM CDT Mon Jun 3 2024 Showers and thunderstorms have developed across western Wisconsin along a lingering frontal boundary left over from last night`s precipitation. Deep shear values on the order of 20-25 kts mean storms will relatively short-lived & pop-up in nature, but CAPE values of 1500-2000 J/kg mean a few stronger updrafts capable of small hail & gusty winds are possible. This activity will wane towards sunset, with a relatively clear & calm night expected. Slight warm advection will help to limit fog development overnight, but patchy dense fog still looks possible across low-lying areas of eastern Minnesota & western Wisconsin. A cold front will move through the region during the on Tuesday, with an elongated pressure trough stretching back to a fairly deep parent surface low over the southern Canadian prairies. This front is forecast to move through our area during the peak heating of the afternoon, and forecast CAPE shows ample instability of around 2000 J/kg ahead of the front across eastern minnesota & western Wisconsin. However, the best forcing & deep shear will remain behind the frontal boundary and any showers & thunderstorms, and any shear along that storms will be able to utilize will be fairly weak & nearly unidirectional along the front. This would suggest that storms that initially develop during the early afternoon across eastern SD/western MN would quickly merge & become linear, with the line of showers and thunderstorms progressing eastwards across Minnesota through the afternoon & during the evening across western Wisconsin. Various high-resolution models show pockets of updraft helicity tracks & stronger reflectivity cores within the line, meaning isolated damaging wind gusts and a tornado or two are possible if a few stronger cells are able to modify their local environment & increase shear values via mergers & remnant boundaries. Heavy rain is expected with the thunderstorms during the afternoon & evening, but the progressive nature of the front should limit how long it rains over any given area. Widespread precipitation amounts generally around 0.5-0.75" are expected, but localized amounts near 2" can`t be ruled out if additional thunderstorms ahead of the line are able to develop. The chances for this look highest over east-central Minnesota & northwest Wisconsin, & flood watches may be needed by tomorrow morning if a signal for heavier rain over these areas continues to develop. The line of storms will be through eastern Minnesota by early evening & out of our area into central Wisconsin by midnight, with clearing skies and cooler temperatures by sunrise. Strong northwest flow & cooler temperatures aloft develop behind the front, which will likely allow for another round of scattered diurnally- driven showers and thunderstorms across central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Daytime temperatures will be quote cooler behind the front with highs in the mid-60s to low-70s. The upper air pattern remains fairly consistent through the weekend which will lead to generally cooler and drier conditions. A few diurnally-driven showers are possible daily with the cooler temperatures aloft, but the support for these wanes by later in the week. saturday could see a bit more widespread precipitation as models depict a weak shortwave embedded within the northwest flow passing over the Upper Midwest. daytime temperatures will generally be in the low to mid 70s into early next week. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 630 PM CDT Mon Jun 3 2024 Aside from a stray shower at KEAU over the next hour or so, dry conditions are expected at all TAF sites through the Tuesday morning. Areas of fog, especially near bodies of water, look likely from eastern MN through western WI, so this would impact the WI TAF sites. As such, have added MVFR-IFR fog mention there. Then attention turns to organized convection sweeping eastward over MN/WI during the day Tuesday. Have transitioned the PROB30 mention to TEMPO mention for CB/TS. Held it at MVFR at this point but IFR-or-lower conditions are certainly viable in heavy rainfall. The timing will be 18z-22z in western MN to 20z-24z in eastern MN into western WI, potentially even a bit later (as in, beyond this TAF period). KMSP...No issues through midday Wednesday as winds remain under 10kts but near 5kts, so just enough to avoid fog concerns. Convection looks to impact MSP starting early afternoon, with best timing in the 21z-02z timeframe, with conditions very likely at best MVFR and at worst LIFR with degraded visibilities. Winds could also run VRB25G40kts with the line as it moves across but will see how models evolve the system before adding in wind impacts. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ WED...VFR. Chc SHRA. Wind W 15-20G30 kts. THU...VFR. Wind NW 15-20G35 kts. FRI...VFR. Wind NW 10-15G25 kts. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...None. WI...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...ETA AVIATION...JPC