000
FXUS63 KGID 192328
AFDGID

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
628 PM CDT Sat Aug 19 2017

.UPDATE...
Issued at 615 PM CDT Sat Aug 19 2017

Updated forecast awhile ago for severe thunderstorm watch 458 for
the entire forecast area. Despite model (some of them) insistence
thunderstorms have struggled a bit, though pockets have been able
to fire up. The watch may be a bit strong for the situation but
if the storms can get better organized and more widespread, more
than a few severe reports would be expected. Wave is there and
instability is there but still a bit dicey in terms of survival
east.

&&

.SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday Night)
Issued at 237 PM CDT Sat Aug 19 2017

Severe thunderstorms possible tonight...
We have fairly decent low level southerly flow from the surface
up to 850 mb advecting good moisture into the region with sfc
dewpoints in the 60s to even over 70 in a few spots. We also have
a weak mid-level shortwave trough tracking across Nebraska that
with afternoon heating and moisture will more than likely kick off
a complex of strong to severe thunderstorms. Forecast models are
in agreement that these storms should form just west of our
forecast area or in our far western zones between 4 and 6 pm and
then track east, perhaps turning east southeast with time tonight.
The highest likelihood for these thunderstorms will be in the
counties along and south of I-80 into north central Kansas. There
should be plenty of instability this evening and at least modest
deep layer 0-6 km shear at 30-35 kts to support the possibility
for several severe thunderstorms. The best chance for severe
thunderstorms will be earlier on in the evening with storms likely
losing some punch as they track east of Highway 281 by late
evening or after midnight.

Sunday...
Most of Sunday should be dry, but there will be sfc frontal
boundary in the area that could light up during the evening and
overnight hours with again the possibility of several strong to
severe thunderstorms. Models are a little bit more inconsistent on
how things will evolve Sunday evening, so keep up to date with the
latest forecast as we try to nail down where the most favored
areas for thunderstorms Sunday evening.

.Eclipse..
The big question centers around cloud cover. There will be clouds
around at times on Monday, especially late Monday afternoon.
However, the best time of the day for the fewest clouds does seem
to be right around the time of the eclipse during the late morning
and early afternoon hours.

There will likely be a decent amount of mid to high level
moisture (700-300mb) streaming northeast through the plains. Most
of the 700-500mb cloud cover should be centered over Kansas giving
us more of a window for south central Nebraska. There could also
be some low clouds north of a sfc cool front located primarily
north of our forecast area. So the main concern regarding cloud
cover over south central Nebraska will be high cirrus clouds
(300mb) of varying thickness. Expect that there should be some
breaks in the clouds for viewing the eclipse and areas that get
the high cirrus could still see the eclipse assuming these high
clouds are thin enough, which is certainly possible. We will
continue to update the cloud forecast as we near the eclipse.

We do not expect any precipitation during the eclipse.

Monday afternoon and evening...
Forecast models are mixed but do indicate that thunderstorms could
form by late afternoon and evening along the sfc front just to our
north and then slide southeast into portions of our forecast area,
with northeastern zones being favored. Some of these thunderstorms
could again be strong to severe.

.LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Saturday)
Issued at 237 PM CDT Sat Aug 19 2017

Tuesday through Thursday should be mainly dry for most areas and
a little bit cooler with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s with
northwesterly flow aloft.

Friday into Saturday we could see another shortwave track across
the region bringing another chance for thunderstorms, but
confidence on timing and track is fairly low this far out.

&&

.AVIATION...(For the 00Z KGRI/KEAR TAFS through 00Z Sunday)
Issued at 615 PM CDT Sat Aug 19 2017

Aviation forecast covers the possibility of thunderstorms in
both KGRI and KEAR this evening with a severe thunderstorm
watch for the area. In reality, coverage has been sparse and
limited in scope in its growth. Pushed storms into the vicinity
category for the most part and an hour or so later, waiting to
dark mostly with some better low level jet to help overcome
what appears to be some mid level capping. Low level jet will
also result in some low level at times tonight.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
KS...None.
&&

$$

UPDATE...NOAA/NWS/Moritz
SHORT TERM...Wesely
LONG TERM...Wesely
AVIATION...NOAA/NWS/Moritz