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000
FXUS63 KMPX 100959
AFDMPX

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
459 AM CDT MON MAR 10 2014

.SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT)
ISSUED AT 458 AM CDT MON MAR 10 2014

THE SNOW EVENT FOR SOUTHERN MN IS STILL ON TRACK FOR TUESDAY
MORNING...BUT CONDITIONS ARE LOOKING LESS PROMISING FOR ANYTHING
MORE THAN 1-2" OF WET SNOW. MOST LOCATIONS THAT SEE SNOW WILL END UP
WITH LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATION - PERHAPS A LITTLE SLUSH ON ROADS AND
SIDEWALKS.

BESIDES THE TROUGH MOVING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THIS MORNING
AND THE CLOSED LOW OVER WESTERN MEXICO...MOST OF NORTH AMERICA IS
BEING INFLUENCED BY A LOW AMPLITUDE LONG WAVE RIDGE...A RIDGE THAT
IS BRINGING MILD TEMPERATURES TO MANY AREAS IN THE NORTHERN CONUS
THAT HAVE SEEN WELL BELOW NORMAL THE PAST 60-90 DAYS. HIGH
TEMPERATURES UNDERACHIEVED A LITTLE YESTERDAY IN PART DUE TO THE
COLD START /TEENS/...BUT ALSO DUE TO THE OVERCAST SKIES THAT MOVED
IN DURING THE MORNING - WE THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE MORE FILTERED
SUNSHINE. TODAY...WE WILL DEFINITELY SEE A LITTLE MORE SUNSHINE AND
MN/WI IS STARTING OFF 20-25 DEGREES WARMER AS WELL. SO...50 DEGREES
IS ONLY 10-15 AWAY AT THIS HOUR. THIS SHOULD BE ACHIEVABLE WITH A
LIGHT W-SW FLOW. THE WIND SHOULD SWITCH TO THE W-NW DURING THE
AFTERNOON AND COLD ADVECTION WILL LIKELY SLOW OUR WARMING AS A
RESULT. BESIDES SUNDAY`S TEMPS...THE LAST TIME WE GOT INTO THE UPPER
40S LOCALLY WAS ON DEC. 28. KMSP HIT 47. WE WERE NEAR OUR SOLAR
MINIMUM ON THAT DAY...SKIES WERE PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY...AND THE
WINDS WERE SOUTHEAST. SO...GIVEN THE CURRENT 925-850MB TEMPS...LACK
OF CLOUDS AT THIS HOUR...W-SW WINDS...AND STRONG MARCH SUN - I`D BE
SURPRISED IF MANY MORE SITES DIDN`T HIT 50 TODAY.

THE ECMWF REMAINS THE NORTHERN-MOST OF THE MODEL SOLUTIONS WITH THE
QPF EARLY TUESDAY AND THE NAM IS THE SOUTHERN-MOST. AS HAS BEEN THE
CASE OVER THE PAST DAY OR SO...THE GFS SPLITS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN
THE NAM AND ECMWF. THE RAIN-TO-SNOW TRANSITION SHOULD HAPPEN FAIRLY
FAST LATE TONIGHT ONCE THE PRECIP BEGINS. THE EXPECTED TEMPERATURE
SOUNDING DOESN`T HAVE TO COOL MUCH TO CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW FOR A
FEW HOURS BEFORE ENDING MID-TO-LATE TUESDAY MORNING. THE SNOW RATIO
WILL NOT BE HIGH GIVEN THE EXPECTED WET/SLUSHY NATURE TO THE SNOW.
THE GOOD LIFT AND UPWARD MOTION AND STICKINESS OF THE EXPECTED SNOW
SHOW MAKE FOR LARGE SNOW AGGREGATES OR LARGE FLAKES. THE SURFACE
TEMP WILL BE NEAR FREEZING THOUGH...SO ACCUMULATION WILL BE HARD TO
COME BY.

.LONG TERM...(TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)
ISSUED AT 458 AM CDT MON MAR 10 2014

AT THE START OF THE PERIOD AN AREA OF SNOW WILL BE ONGOING SOUTH OF
THE CWA. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE NORTH WEDNESDAY
NIGHT...WITH A STRONGER SYSTEM ON TRACK FOR FRIDAY. THE PRECIP
ASSOCIATED WITH FRIDAYS SYSTEM WILL BE MAINLY ACROSS THE US/CANADA
BORDER. TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM NEAR NORMAL ON THE WARM SIDE OF
THESE WAVES...TO ROUGHTLY 10 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL ON THE COLD
SIDE.

ON TUESDAY NIGHT THE SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT A RAIN/SNOW MIX ACROSS THE
SOUTH WILL QUICKLY ORGANIZE INTO A FULL-FLEDGED CYCLONE OVER THE
EASTERN CONUS. MEANWHILE A WEAK NORTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE WILL SLIDE
DOWN ALONG THE RED RIVER VALLEY AND BRING A CHANCE FOR A FEW LIGHT
SNOW SHOWERS OR FLURRIES EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. LATE WEDNESDAY
NIGHT WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION AND BRING
ANOTHER CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE ST CROIX RIVER VALLEY. BY
THURSDAY SOUTHWEST FLOW BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF WARM AIR. THE TIMING
OF THE THERMAL RIDGE TOGETHER WITH THE SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL ALLOW
THE MAXIMUM HEATING TO BE REALIZED...BUT THE MAGNITUDE OF WARM AIR
SHOULD KEEP TEMPERATURES FROM GETTING OUT OF CONTROL AS H925 TEMPS
RANGE FROM AROUND 0 NEAR THE MN/WI BORDER TO NEAR 10C ACROSS THE
BUFFALO RIDGE IN SOUTHWEST MN. CURRENTLY GOING WITH THE HIGHER END
OF GUIDANCE...BUT MAY NEED TO ADJUST THESE TEMPS UPWARDS DEPENDING
ON THE MODEL TRENDS.

LOOKING AHEAD...THE CLIPPER SYSTEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS WARM UP WILL
BRING SNOW ACROSS THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER...AND ANOTHER ROUND OF
COOL TEMPERATURES FOR THE WEEKEND. NO SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION IS
EXPECTED THROUGH THE END OF THE PERIOD.

&&

.AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY NIGHT)
ISSUED AT 1156 PM CDT SUN MAR 9 2014

RATHER STAGNANT WEATHER PATTERN FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS WITH WEST
WINDS OF 5 TO 12 KTS AND SCT TO BKN HIGH CLOUD COVER. NO
PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED UNTIL JUST AFTER THE END OF THE CURRENT
TAF PERIOD ACROSS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA.

KMSP...NO SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS OTHER THAN WIND DIRECTION AND SPEED
FOR RUNWAY CONFIGURATION. VERY CONFIDENT LIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL
BACK TO WNW AND INCREASE TO AROUND 10 KT BY MID MORNING MONDAY.

/OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/
TUE...MVFR CIGS/VSBYS POSSIBLE IN -SN. NW WIND 5-15 KT.
WED...VFR. NW WIND 5-7 KTS BECOMING W.
THU...VFR. W WIND 5-10 KTS BECOMING SW.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...NONE.
WI...NONE.
&&

$$

SHORT TERM...CLF
LONG TERM...JRB
AVIATION...BORGHOFF