Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS La Crosse, WI

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344 FXUS63 KARX 251925 AFDARX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service La Crosse WI 225 PM CDT Sat May 25 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
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- Widespread rain with perhaps an embedded thunderstorm is expected Sunday. While some rises on area rivers may occur as a result, ingredients do not appear conducive for flash flooding or anything more than brief minor flooding on a few rivers. A stray severe storm could occur in far southern Grant County. - Additional shower and storm chances Monday/Tuesday, but quieter conditions return for mid-week.
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&& .DISCUSSION...
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Issued at 221 PM CDT Sat May 25 2024 Sunday rain: Shortwave trough, located over the Front Ranges as of 19z, will translate downstream in the west-southwesterly flow aloft, reaching the CWA by around 09z Sunday. Ahead of this wave, plume of 700/850mb moisture looks to reach us just in time for this wave to generate numerous showers. As the day goes on, southern stream jet looks to advance eastward over the south central Plains, with a surface low developing to our south under the left exit region of this feature. This should serve to enhance moist advection, allowing for a period with widespread rainfall during the late morning and early afternoon before the wave begins to shift eastward and precip begins to taper off west to east accordingly. Progged instability is modest with the vast majority of the area seeing low (<10%) HREF probabilities of at least 250 J/kg of CAPE. Have therefore held thunder mentions to a slight chance or less. Exception may be Grant County, where some guidance suggests 750 J/kg of MLCAPE could be present in the presence of sfc-6km bulk shear values of 35 knots, so cannot totally rule out a stray severe thunderstorm there. As for heavy rain, probabilities suggest a less than 10 percent chance for greater than 2 inches of rain over 24 hours and ensemble PWAT values are below the 90th percentile of climatology, so am not overly concerned about the flooding threat. Latest river forecasts from NCRFC also suggest a low level of concern, with top end ensemble QPF yielding minor flooding only at a couple locations, mainly in the Turkey River basin. In summary, will need to keep an eye on how things develop in the far southern CWA, but otherwise widespread impacts - aside from postponing outdoor activities - are favored to be minimal. Sunday Night through the Week: The surface low will continue to track northeastward towards the Great Lakes Sunday night into Monday, with an upper level trough remaining generally over the Great Lakes through the early week. Multiple shortwaves are forecast to dive down across the area keeping additional shower and storm chances in the forecast Monday (~30-60%) and perhaps again Tuesday (~20-40%). Mid-week looks to bring the potential for drier conditions as high pressure moves in across the region ahead of upper level ridging building in over the central U.S. Though spread does increase some in ensemble solutions there is a suggestion towards an increasing trend in temperatures from early in week. For now, forecast temps return to more seasonable, with highs in the 70s for much of the area to end the week.
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&& .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/...
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Issued at 221 PM CDT Sat May 25 2024 Primary concern over the next 24 hours is the potential for MVFR/IFR ceilings and visibility and thunder late in the period. At this time, am confident enough to include IFR conditions at LSE/RST Sunday morning. As for thunder, expect this to be quite sporadic with the upcoming rainfall, so have left mentions out of these TAFs until/if timing becomes clearer as Sunday morning approaches.
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&& .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. IA...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...Ferguson/EMS AVIATION...Ferguson