Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Twin Cities, MN
Issued by NWS Twin Cities, MN
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740 FXUS63 KMPX 050518 AFDMPX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1218 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Strong to severe thunderstorms move east across the area through this evening. Small hail, isolated damaging wind gusts, & a tornado or two are all possible. - Widespread rainfall amounts of 0.5-1" are expected with the storms tonight. Localized amounts closer to 2" could exacerbate ongoing flooding. - Scattered showers & thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon. Small hail & gusty winds are likely with the strongest storms. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 235 PM CDT Tue Jun 4 2024 Thunderstorms have developed on schedule across western Minnesota, & will continue to move eastwards across Minnesota & into Wisconsin through tonight. Instability continues to build ahead of the front, with temperatures in the mid 80s & dew points in the mid to upper 60s generating 1500-2000 J/kg of MLCAPE. Instability may even increase a bit more towards this evening as the thunderstorms approach eastern Minnesota & western Wisconsin. Deep shear remains the limiting factor, with the strongest forcing aloft & deep shear with this system remaining behind the cod front. Deep shear values along the front are only in the 20-30 kt range & oriented unidirectionally along the front, which has caused any stronger cells to quickly become disrupted & form a messy line of convection. As a result, thunderstorms will likely remain sub-severe for the next hour or two, but we may still see an increase in intensity as they enter the more unstable environment across eastern Minnesota & western Wisconsin. The main threat into this evening will continue to be marginally severe hail & isolated damaging wind gusts, but fairly high values of low-level CAPE & vorticity mean a tornado or two can`t be ruled out if any cells are able to remain semi-discrete. Cell-interactions within the line may also generate enough local low-level shear & helicity to generate a QLCS-type tornado or pockets of stronger wind within the line. Brief heavy rain is likely with the strongest convection along the line, but its narrow dimensions & progressive nature should limit rainfall amounts to 0.5-1" across the area. Locally higher amounts are still expected wherever isolated cells are able to form ahead of the main line, & rainfall amounts could approach 2" across these areas. These locally higher amounts could exacerbate flooding in sensitive areas from the heavy rain over the weekend, but otherwise we`re not expected much in the way of flash flooding from this event. The thunderstorms will move clear of eastern Minnesota this evening & western Wisconsin overnight with skies clearing out in their wake. Very strong northwest flow & colder temperature aloft move over the region tomorrow. While cooler & drier air behind the front will limit surface instability, cyclonic flow & the cooler temperatures aloft will create a classic "cold core" setup for convection tomorrow afternoon. Widespread diurnally- driven showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop tomorrow afternoon, primarily along and north of I-94. While the instability will be low, deep shear of 30-40 kts will be plenty sufficient for the small hail and gusty winds with the strongest storms. A lone funnel cloud or two would not be a surprise as well. These showers and thunderstorms will wane after sunset, with 0.1-0.25" of rain expected with any storms. The northwest flow regime continues through the weekend, with isolated diurnally-driven showers possible during the afternoon, but otherwise mainly dry conditions. Models depict a shortwave moving through the region sometime during the Saturday-Sunday timeframe which could result in some more widespread light rain. Temperatures will be cooler as well through the weekend with high temperatures generally in the upper 60s to low 70s through Sunday. Looking ahead, broad but fairly modest ridging aloft builds over the central CONUS, which will lead to warmer temperatures and generally dry conditions through the end of next week. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1212 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 Rain and MVFR cigs have cleared our Minnesota terminals, but showers and MVFR conditions will hang on for another couple of hours for KRNH and KEAU. West-southwest winds will increase during the mid morning hours with gusts of 25-30kts. Isolated to scattered showers and a few thunderstorms may develop during the early afternoon and continue through the early evening hours, but confidence on coverage is fairly low, so opted to stick with PROB30s except for Wisconsin sites where chances are high enough to include TEMPO groups. Winds will turn more northwesterly and diminish somewhat by the end of the period. KMSP...As mentioned above and from the previous forecast, kept the PROB30 for TSRA going for now. Winds may go southwest for a few hours early this morning but should remain under 10kts before taking on a more westerly component. Otherwise, no additional concerns. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ THU...VFR. Wind NW 15-20G30-35kts. FRI...VFR. Wind NW 10-15G20-25kts. SAT...VFR. Wind NW 5-10kts. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...None. WI...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...ETA AVIATION...Dye