Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Central Illinois

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595 FXUS63 KILX 271928 AFDILX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 228 PM CDT Mon May 27 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
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- Scattered thunderstorms (20-30% coverage) will pose a risk of gusty winds through about 9 PM. There is a level 1 of 5 risk of damaging winds. - Tuesday afternoon/evening will also feature scattered storms (20% coverage) capable of gusty winds. - High pressure takes control for the latter half of the week, with mild and dry weather Wednesday into Friday.
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&& .DISCUSSION...
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Issued at 228 PM CDT Mon May 27 2024 Shortwave trough was digging into southern MN this afternoon. Airmass ahead of it was much drier than recent days (PWAT 0.66" upstream on DVN 12z sounding), but large scale ascent and steep low to mid level lapse rates were producing a broken arc of showers and storms from southern MN to northern MO. These will track southeast across much of the CWA north of I-70 between 5-9 pm before fading with the loss of diurnal heating. Sufficient instability and shear will combine with dry low levels/high LCLs (inverted-v soundings below 850 mb) to bring an isolated damaging wind and hail risk with the stronger updrafts early this evening. Overall coverage of storms will be low, and continue to advertise 20-30% PoPs. Tomorrow, another shortwave with similar strength/track/timing, will bring another round of isolated late afternoon to early evening showers/storms. Surface temperatures look to be a few degrees cooler and LCLs are a bit lower, though a dry sub-cloud layer will favor more gusty downdrafts in the stronger cells. Can`t rule out an isolated near-severe gust but overall the coverage and intensity should be a tick lower than today. Wednesday into Friday, a progressive upper level pattern features troughing deepening over the northeast U.S., while sharp but narrow ridging presses east from the Plains. This looks to bring a quiet stretch of weather with below normal temperatures (some lows dipping into the upper 40s Wed/Thu nights), though moderating by the end of the week. Late Friday into early next week, a more active zonal flow sets up across the Midwest. This would favor warmer/slightly above normal temperatures as heights rise toward the end of the forecast, and at least a few periods of showers and storms. Ensemble data suggests the upper jet retreats north, which may limit organized severe risks, though instability increases through the weekend. CSU-MLP and CIPS analogs show any low end severe risks remaining well off to our southwest over the Plains where higher instability resides. 25
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&& .AVIATION...
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(For the 18z TAFs through 18z Tuesday Afternoon) Issued at 1202 PM CDT Mon May 27 2024 West-northwest winds gusting up to 25 kt will continue until early evening before subsiding. A disturbance moving in from the northwest around 00z will bring a 3-4 hour period of isolated TSRA to the central IL terminals. Coverage is only expected to be around 20%, so kept mention at VCTS. However if a storm does impact a terminal a brief 40+ kt wind gust is possible. Gusty winds will pick up again by late morning, with a BKN VFR level stratocu deck expected to develop around the same time. 25
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&& .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$