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000
FXUS63 KILX 051119
AFDILX

Area Forecast Discussion
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
519 AM CST Thu Mar 5 2015

.SHORT TERM...(Today)
ISSUED AT 254 AM CST THU MAR 5 2015

The storm system that brought snow to southeast Illinois yesterday
and last evening was finally starting to shift away from our
forecast area early this morning. At the surface, high pressure
tracking southeast across northwest Iowa will drift across our
area today bringing another 24 hours of unseasonably cold weather
with afternoon highs struggling through the teens over most of the
forecast area, which is about 30 degrees below where it should be
for the first week in March. As the large fair weather system drifts
closer to central Illinois today, the wind this afternoon will not be
as gusty as what we saw yesterday. However, this morning, that will
be a different story, as the pressure gradient will be tight enough
for a few more hours to produce just enough wind to drop wind chills
down to between -10 to -15 mainly north of I-74 for a few hours early
this morning.

&&

.LONG TERM...(Tonight through Wednesday)
ISSUED AT 254 AM CST THU MAR 5 2015

Pretty tranquil weather through the period, with no precipitation
chances in the forecast into the middle of next week. Periodic upper
waves will zip through the area in the northern jet stream, but
moisture levels will be meager and little more than wind shifts are
expected in our area. The longer range models are in general
agreement with this pattern into mid week.

The main highlight will be the welcome trend toward milder weather.
The long wave trough from Lake Superior to New Mexico evident on
early morning water vapor imagery will move through the Midwest
later today. Lows in the single digits are still expected tonight,
but the coldest temperatures will be this evening, with steady or
rising temperatures overnight after surface high pressure settles
into the Ohio Valley. However, wind chills well below zero are on
tap, as low as 10 below in areas from Bloomington to Danville. After
that, nice southwest flow should get much of the western half of the
forecast area above freezing on Friday. Temperatures will continue
to warm into next week, with most areas well into the 50s by
Tuesday.

&&

.AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Friday morning)
ISSUED AT 515 AM CST THU MAR 5 2015

VFR conditions are expected to prevail through tonight. High
pressure to our northwest will shift over the region today
bringing a lighter wind flow and less in the way of cloud cover
compared to yesterday. Currently have a band of cirrus streaming
northeast across the area this morning but the latest HRRR forecasts
indicate those should be to our east by mid-morning. Surface winds
today will be from the northwest at 8 to 15 kts and then become
light and variable by 00z.

&&

.ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Smith
LONG TERM...Geelhart
AVIATION...Smith