


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI
Issued by NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI
898 FXUS63 KMKX 080821 AFDMKX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan WI 321 AM CDT Tue Jul 8 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Periods of showers and thunderstorms anticipated this morning into this evening, though an all-day washout is not expected. - Warm & largely dry conditions expected Wednesday through Thursday. - Heat and humidity ramp up Friday into Saturday, accompanied by periods of showers and thunderstorms. - Drier and more comfortable conditions forecast Sunday into the beginning of next week. && .SHORT TERM... Issued 323 AM CDT Tue Jul 8 2025 Today and Tonight: Synopsis/Mesoanalysis: Early morning surface charts show an area of low pressure centered across the Minnesota Boundary Waters. The surface low is positioned beneath an upper trough axis, which extends from southwestern Ontario into the Missouri River Valley. A cold front extends from the surface low into northern South Dakota. A diffuse warm front is also attached to the low, and has been analyzed along an approximate St. Cloud - Rochester - Dubuque axis. Apparent in VWPs from DVN and MKX, weak warm advection is ongoing within the 1000-925 mb layer along & northeast of the warm front, providing sufficient lift for the scattered showers currently ongoing across south-central and southeast Wisconsin. The aforementioned upper trough & warm front will advance east into the western Great Lakes today, providing support for additional periods of showers and thunderstorms across southern Wisconsin. The Boundary Waters low will advance east into Lower Michigan tonight, dragging its affiliated cold front across the area in the process. Additional scattered showers and thundershowers will be possible along the front tonight, gradually becoming confined to southeast and south- central Wisconsin after midnight. Organized severe weather is not expected in any of today/tonight`s precip, though storms could produce brief gusty winds, heavy downpours, and cloud to ground lightning. Keep an eye on the sky if planning to be outdoors today into this evening, and move indoors if a storm approaches your area. Rest Of Overnight: With winds having decoupled, localized areas of patchy fog are possible in the Wisconsin River Valley over the next couple hours. Anticipate that conditions will start to improve closer to daybreak, when winds will begin to pick up ahead of approaching low pressure & the sun starts to rise. Further east, widely scattered showers and thundershowers will continue within a weak area of 1000-925 mb isentropic ascent. Apart from a brief heavy downpour---MSN recorded 0.20 inches of rain in thundershower between 2:20 and 2:35 AM---and a clap of thunder, don`t anticipate any appreciable impacts in this activity. Today: Daytime heating and broad synoptic ascent from the encroaching trough will support scattered shower/storm development from late morning through the afternoon. Expect that activity will be overall benign, though increasing southwest flow aloft will support effective shear values in the 15-25 kt range by early afternoon. Combined with deep boundary layers progged in forecast soundings, could thus a see a few isolated storms that produce brief gusty winds to ~30-45 MPH. Anticipate hazards to otherwise remain confined to cloud to ground lightning and brief heavy downpours. Despite the largely garden variety nature to today`s showers & storms, those with outdoor plans should keep tabs on the radar & move indoors if a storm approaches. Tonight: Shower and thundershower chances will continue along a passing cold front. Given current frontal timing progs, expect that precip will end near/just after midnight north of US-151 & hang on to near sunrise over far south-central and southeastern Wisconsin. With the low levels stabilizing post-sunset, don`t anticipate any brief gusty winds in tonight`s activity, with a few claps of thunder and brief heavy downpours being the primary impacts. Quigley && .LONG TERM... Issued 323 AM CDT Tue Jul 8 2025 Wednesday through Monday: Mid-level trough axis continues to slide east for Wednesday, but the western side may linger around the Lake Michigan through the morning. Model still hint at the backside of the surface low to linger around the area as well, thus cannot rule out a stray shower or two through Wednesday. However, drier airmass, northerly winds and broad surface pressure building into the Lake Superior region should lend itself to a predominately dry forecast. The upper-level ridge continues to build across the Canadian PLains into Ontario for Thursday, however, mid-range models have come into better agreement of a mid-level shortwave trough potentially under-cutting the area of subsidence and may be enough for another chance at some stray shower activity. Midweek temps will be near normal with highs in the lower 80s and overnight lows in the 60s, but Thursday is looking a few degrees warmer given the return of southerly flow. Friday into Saturday looks to the next active period with increased shower and thunderstorm chances as the upper-level ridge pushes east as a pair of troughs digs across the Plains and into the Upper Midwest. This pattern looks to establish southern WI in the warm sector of the end of the week system, which paired with the upper- level forcing may be conducive for convective development later on Friday. Will see southerly flow advect warmer temps and dewpoints with model progging PWAT values trending above 1.5 inches and even exceeding 2.0 inches. Instability will also increase for Friday afternoon with LREF members generally agreeing on MUCAPE to exceed 1000-1500 J/kg. On the flip side, long range models do vary in the location of the first of the mid-level shortwave trough and surface low feature and the timing of it. So while there is higher confidence to see thunderstorms with this round of activity, questions remain on exact timing, strength, and areas with the best chances. Overall deep layer shear looks fairly meager (<35kt), so while stronger storms cannot be ruled out especially if the surface low track further north, chances remain on the lower side at this time. The first wave looks to lift out of the area overnight, but the second upper- level trough is progged to quickly follow right behind it for Saturday. Thus additional shower and storms will be possible into the start of weekend. A bit more uncertainty as we head toward the later half of the weekend with the backside of the trough lingering before zonal to slight ridge returns for the start of next week. Wagner && .AVIATION... Issued 323 AM CDT Tue Jul 8 2025 Mostly VFR conditions prevail across southern Wisconsin early this morning. Isolated -SHRA and -TSRA are lingering over south-central and southeastern Wisconsin, with recent obs from Madison showing brief VIS and CIG reductions. Given the widely scattered nature to precip, have accounted for ongoing trends with PROB30 groups at all fields through sunrise. Will continue to monitor trends over the next few hours and insert prevailing mentions if conditions warrant. Additional scattered -SHRA and -TSRA are anticipated today into this evening as an upper disturbance crosses southern Wisconsin. Similar to the ongoing activity, low forecast confidence in the precise locations of storm development has precluded any prevailing mentions in the 06/09Z updates, with potential being covered by PROB30 groups. Will plan to insert prevailing mentions based on radar trends throughout the day. Brief VIS and CIG reductions will accompany any -TSRA or -SHRA that impact terminals. Anticipate precipitation to gradually taper from northwest to southeast tonight. Quigley && .MARINE... Issued 323 AM CDT Tue Jul 8 2025 1020 mb high pressure is centered along the Ontario-Quebec border early this morning, encouraging continued light and variable winds across the open waters. Winds will shift out of the southeast today as 1014 mb low pressure moves east along the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan border. The low will advance into Lower Michigan tonight, dragging a cold front across Lake Michigan in the process. The front`s passage will result in a northerly wind shift across the open waters by Wednesday morning. Periods of showers and thunderstorms are anticipated today through tonight, with severe weather not expected. Northerly winds will persist into Thursday morning, becoming light and variable Thursday afternoon as 1016 mb high pressure moves across Lake Michigan. South to southeast winds will re-establish on Friday as a broad area of 1004 mb low pressure moves into the northern Great Plains. Additional showers and thunderstorms are forecast Friday through Saturday. Winds will turn southerly in nearshore zones today as low pressure moves into the western Great Lakes. The low`s approach, combined with a cold frontal passage this evening, will bring chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms today and tonight. Severe weather is not expected. Quiet conditions are forecast Wednesday through Thursday. The next chances for showers and storms arrive Friday into Saturday. Quigley && .MKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. LM...None. && $$ Visit us at weather.gov/milwaukee Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at: www.facebook.com/NWSMilwaukee www.twitter.com/NWSMilwaukee www.youtube.com/NWSMilwaukee