Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Des Moines, IA

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683 FXUS63 KDMX 152054 AFDDMX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Des Moines IA 354 PM CDT Sat Jun 15 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
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- Some strong to severe thunderstorms remain possible late this afternoon into evening, mainly west with all hazards possible. Although severe threat decreases with eastward extent, heavy rain potential will continue into the night as storms move northeastward with time into Sunday morning. - Very warm and humid Sunday and Monday with highs near to in the 90s and heat indices nearing or in the 95-100 degree range at times. - Off and on chances for showers and storms later Sunday north and again at times this week. Chances for locally heavy rain or stronger storms will remain at times as well.
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&& .DISCUSSION...
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Issued at 323 PM CDT Sat Jun 15 2024 Rest of Today Through Sunday: Decaying MCS brought varying amounts of rain to a good portion of the CWA this morning with some areas seeing a few rounds of showers or a few storms with lightning as some storms developed just behind the main line in parts of northern and southern Iowa. By late morning into midday, clearing started to occur over parts of southwest Iowa extending back into eastern Nebraska, northwest Missouri, and northeast Kansas where a prominent outflow boundary was traversing southward as well. 9Z analysis had the shortwave crossing through central Nebraska/Kansas with a very slow moving warm front draped through east central NE into northeast KS with temperatures near to in the 90s with dew points in or near the 70s along the boundary. As generally expected, temperatures have remained lower through much of central Iowa so far today thanks to the showers this morning and lingering cloud cover. In saying this, we still have a few more hours of peak heating that will allow temperatures to continue to warm, especially over central to western Iowa where the most clearing has occurred. Moisture will continue to increase as well, especially over western Iowa where low to mid-level moisture transport is highest. Both of these things should continue to decrease the remaining CAP while also increasing instability values through the rest of the afternoon hours, as seen in east central Nebraska where MLCAPEs have climbed to 2000-2500 J/kg. Although it is unlikely we will quite climb that high in our western area, MLCAPEs may be able to reach or near 1000-2000 J/kg by around 00Z paired with marginal effective bulk shear of around 25-30 knots. All this being said, there remains a window for some strong to severe storms tonight. The most favorable area appears to be just outside of our CWA, but cannot completely rule out potential for a few supercells to reach our area bringing a large hail or tornado threat initially, with damaging wind gusts also a concern as well. Some hi- res guidance continues to kick off some near-severe gusts as storms congeal and move into west central Iowa, but overall uncertainty remains high in how the event will play out and overall severity of storms as they move into our CWA with most guidance suggesting a weakening trend as storms move into central Iowa. Although storms are expected to weaken with time tonight, showers and storms continue to fester through much of the overnight not ending until Sunday morning in the east thanks in part to the LLJ. Pwats of 1.5-2" with favorable warm cloud depths will keep a heavy rain threat going through the night with rain amounts of 1-2" and isolated 2-3+" possible for areas that receive repeated rounds of storms. Behind the morning showers moving out, increasing heat and humidity will be the main story on Sunday as temperatures reach near to into the 90s and heat indices top out in the upper 90s in many areas central to south on Sunday afternoon. Extent of heat may depend on how fast any lingering cloud cover moves out, with additional cloud cover possible in northern Iowa later in the day, potentially helping to keep temperatures north down slightly. The aforementioned warm front boundary to the southwest today will lift through the rest of the area tonight stalling out to the north tomorrow. Multiple rounds of storms are possible to the north Sunday night that we will have to continue to monitor. Guidance remains uncertain in if any storms will dive far enough south into Iowa but will continue to monitor trends as some potential for stronger storms could exist if they propagate far enough south. SPC`s Day 2 Marginal to Slight Risk captures this potential. Beyond Sunday, Iowa will be between an amplifying ridge over the eastern U.S. and a digging trough over the northwest U.S. Hot and humid conditions will continue to start the week as temperatures on Monday remain in the upper 80s to 90s with heat indicies well into the 90s again. Little relief is expected at night with lows in the 70s, which may challenge some high minimum temperature records on Monday and/or Tuesday morning. There will also be multiple opportunities for additional storms this week, notably Tuesday into Wednesday as the front stalled out up north dives back south. Winds will also be breezy through the next several days which may help mitigate some of how the heat feels. Uncertainty increases again later in the week with additional details on any storm threats to come.
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&& .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1245 PM CDT Sat Jun 15 2024 VFR conditions ongoing across much of the area as a decaying MCS continues to push through the area with lingering showers near KMCW early this afternoon with a few potentially nearing KOTM as well. Additional storms still expected to develop west late this afternoon into the evening before spreading east to northeast with time through the evening and overnight hours. Confidence in timing and direct impacts to TAF sites remains low due to uncertainty in exactly where storms form and how they track, but general trends give more confidence for impacts to KFOD/KMCW/KALO at some point into the night, with lesser confidence in extent of impacts at KDSM or KOTM. Updates are likely in rain/tstorm mentions, timing, and potential lower CIG or VIS impacts as storms form and start to move east/northeast. Winds out of the south to southeast also remain gusty this afternoon with higher gusts certainly possible during storms. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...KCM AVIATION...KCM