Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Dodge City, KS
Issued by NWS Dodge City, KS
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580 FXUS63 KDDC 031610 AFDDDC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Dodge City KS 1010 AM CST Wed Dec 3 2025 ...Updated Aviation/Key Messages... .KEY MESSAGES... - Dry weather will prevail for most of southwest Kansas for the next 7-10 days, through at least December 12th. - Cloudy windy and much colder Wednesday. - Light snow near the Colorado border and the southwest counties Wednesday night and early Thursday. Minor accumulations up to one inch possible. - Continued cold Thursday, with temperatures moderating back to normal Friday. - Another dry cold front over the upcoming weekend with no impacts. - Above normal temperatures expected Tuesday and next Wednesday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 202 AM CST Wed Dec 3 2025 Currently the northern half of the CWA is experiencing some virga along an axis of roughly La Cross to Syracuse. The observations, including at Hays, have yet to register anything hitting the ground. The expansiveness of the Virga has begun to erode with it expected to be gone by sunrise. Current surface analysis places a weak low pressure system into the Texas panhandle. Aloft, the deep and positively tilted trough came to fruition as progged and is now dipping into the four corner states. This system will be the most notable aspect of the entire forecast period. As the system approaches Kansas on Wednesday, the presently light and variable winds will increase significantly up to 25 mph with gusts potentially exceeding 30 mph out of the north/northwest. Along with winds and plenty of cloud cover, snow chances return to SW Kansas. The model/ensemble runs have been very consistent in location (limited to near the Kansas and Colorado border), but with moderate fluctuations in chances and amounts. The previous forecasts have been pretty resilient to previous changes in guidance. Areas along the border have the best chance for snow (up to 75% chance via ensembles). Those same areas, and as far east as Ulysses have over a 40% probability to exceed 0.5" of snow. Confidence continues to grow will little divergence of previous forecasts. While the far western Kansas` forecast has held pat, the remaining uncertainty it largely the rest of the area. Some CAM runs have snow reaching much of the area, including east of Highway 283, although accumulation are near zero (<15% via ensembles). That said a couple stray snowflakes can not be ruled out. Regardless, even in western areas that could see meaningful accumulations impacts are expected to be minimal. Modeled precipitable water continues to be low at around 0.5". With a more subtle forcing and less moisture to work with, snow is expected to be fairly light and not be too impactful. The Winter Storm Severity Index only has a 20% for minor winter weather impacts. While travel precautions are advised, transportation and commerce are not forecast to be too heavily impacted. Lowered ceilings will likely be the most impactful aspect of the system. By Thursday the system will be largely evacuated. A weak front is expected Thursday morning, but winds will be largely light enough to not warrant notable temperature advection. Ensembles have the synoptic pattern shift to a primarily zonal flow. This pattern shift will kick off a very dry and seasonal period. Precipitation chances through the rest of the forecast period are very low with ensemble chances <5%. After Thursday warms up from a cooler Wednesday, high temperatures will be in the 40-50s primarily which is typical for SW Kansas in early December. Relative humidities will be high even to quell fire weather risk. No precipitation, normal temperatures, and pleasant winds with clear skies will culminate in a very quiet and insignificant stretch of weather for the next 7-10 days. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1010 AM CST Wed Dec 3 2025 MVFR stratus is expected to spread over the airports over the next several hours, and persist into this evening. Strong northeast winds will prevail through 00z Thu, gusting 25-28 kts. Any light snow in this TAF period is expected to remain west of the airports. The only exception may be LBL, where some models suggest a few hours of -SN are possible 00-06z Thu. Northeast winds will trend light and variable through 12z Thu, as strong surface ridging builds over SW KS. && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...KBJ AVIATION...Turner