Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Central Illinois

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891 FXUS63 KILX 281032 AFDILX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Lincoln IL 532 AM CDT Tue May 28 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered storms (20-30% chance) will develop this afternoon/evening and be capable of producing gusty winds. - High pressure takes control for the latter half of the week, with mild and dry weather Wednesday and Thursday. - Rain chances return Fri PM (west of I-55) into Saturday (area- wide). Severe storms are not expected. There is a 25-40% chance of exceeding 0.25" of rain through Sunday morning. && .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Tonight) Issued at 155 AM CDT Tue May 28 2024 Early Tues AM, upper level troughing remains in place over the upper Midwest/Great Lakes region, while a 991-mb sfc low was over eastern Canada. Today`s forecast is practically a repeat of Memorial Day. Another shortwave, currently evident in satellite imagery over ND/MN, will dig towards the local area by this afternoon, leading to scattered t-storm development. Forecast soundings once again show steep low/mid level lapse rates, with an inverted-V profile below the cloud base that will support gusty winds. In a similar environment on Monday, storms in our area did produce a few instances of at least 45 mph wind gusts (measured at KBMI and KCMI). The 28.00z HREF probs, smoothed to account for spatial and temporal differences among individual CAMs, show a 20- 40% chance for gusts over 40 mph with the storms today. Some small hail is also possible with these storms, but instability values are relatively weak (less than 500 J/kg). The timing of these storms will also be quite similar to Monday, moving in from the NW around 4 PM and winding down by late evening. Erwin .LONG TERM... (Tuesday through Sunday) Issued at 155 AM CDT Tue May 28 2024 No significant forecast changes to Wed-Thur, which should feature great weather as broad sfc high pressure takes control across the Midwest. High temps will generally be in the mid 70s, while dewpoints will be near 50F on Wed, then into the 40s on Thurs. Forecast soundings and the Cu-rule suggest scattered to broken diurnal Cu on Wed, so sky cover was increased to 40% (as opposed to the 25% provided by the model blend), but as drier air advects in from the northeast on Thurs skies will be mostly clear. Guidance is coming into better agreement regarding the timing of the pattern shift, with the latest models showing the upper ridge being shunted east by Fri PM as a weak shortwave approaches from the west. This will result in the return of precip to the area Fri PM, with the better chances being west of I-55. Instability looks weak, so this precip is more likely to be rain than thunderstorms, but it`s hard to completely rule out a few rumbles at this time of year. That wave, and the associated precip chances, shift east on Saturday, and while the exact timing may shift some over the coming days the expectation is that all of the area will see a rain chance in the Fri PM-Sat time frame. The probability of exceeding 0.25" of rain through Sun AM is 25-40%. Into the weekend and beyond, a zonal upper pattern will allow for more disturbances to progress across the central CONUS, resulting in additional precip chances into next week. At least through next Monday, the prospects of severe storms appears low. Temperatures gradually warm through the long term forecast period, with highs reaching the mid 80s by Sun-Mon. Erwin && .AVIATION...
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(For the 12z TAFs through 12z Wednesday Morning) Issued at 615 AM CDT Tue May 28 2024 VFR conditions will be predominant through the period. Diurnal Cu will develop around 4-5kft today. Scattered thunderstorms (20-30% coverage) are expected during the late afternoon/evening. Brief MVFR ceilings and isolated strong wind gusts (around 35 knots) are possible with the storms. Northwest winds will prevail through the period, with gusts around 18-20 knots during the day. Erwin
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&& .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$