Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Springfield, MO

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149 FXUS63 KSGF 211952 AFDSGF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Springfield MO 252 PM CDT Sat Sep 21 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
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- Well above normal temperatures this afternoon with highs in the 90s west of Highway 65. A 30% chance of a thunderstorm late this afternoon and evening, especially south of Springfield. - Multiple rounds of widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected late tonight through Monday (40-80% chance). Most locations will see an additional 0.50 to 2 inches of rainfall through Monday. - Marginal (1 of 5) Risk for severe thunderstorms Sunday afternoon and evening. Main hazard will be damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph. - A cold front will bring cooler temperatures next week with highs in the 70s and limited rain chances.
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&& .SHORT TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...
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Issued at 245 PM CDT Sat Sep 21 2024 Current Conditions and Synoptic Pattern: Water vapor and upper air analysis shows the center of an upper level high across Texas with clockwise flow around it into the Ozarks. Showers and thunderstorms moved through the area this morning and pushed a outflow boundary into northern Arkansas. Another weak boundary appears evident to the northeast of Springfield up towards Lake of the Ozarks. Skies have cleared out for the southwest half of the area and temps have rebounded well into the upper 80s to lower/middle 90s. Locations northeast of Springfield continue to see thicker cloud cover and cooler temps with a strong instability gradient setup from Joplin to Branson with ML CAPE around 2000j/kg. This Afternoon: Will be watching visible satellite imagery along that remnant outflow boundary across Arkansas as well as the boundary to the northeast of Springfield as they will be the only sources of lift. Upper level lift is fairly absent at the time and displaced north of the area. Several high res models do show isolated showers and thunderstorms developing along both outflow boundaries late this afternoon and evening. Confidence is not high with respect to the coverage of showers and storms. The airmass is unstable and PW values are high (1.8in) therefore any storms that form will likely produce heavy rainfall rates, lightning and brief wind gusts to 50mph (given steep low level lapse rates). Precip chances remain in the 20-40% range across areas from Springfield south to Branson this evening as well as northeast of Springfield. Activity should begin to diminish with the loss of daytime heating after 8pm. Temperatures will continue heating up into the upper 90s west of Springfield with heat index values between 95 and 100 west of Highway 65. Overnight: A cold front will be moving southeast through Kansas tonight as shortwave energy moves into the region. A low level jet looks to increase after 10pm and will develop an expansive area of showers and storms along and behind the front. Latest high res guidance has this activity pushing into southeast Kansas and western Missouri after 10pm, continuing off and on into the overnight hours as well as spreading into areas along and north of US Highway 54. No severe weather is expected with this activity. Latest HREF is showing small pockets of 0.5 to 1 inch potential with the afternoon/evening storms and again overnight to the northwest of Springfield. Sunday: A cold front will be in the process of making its way through the area during the morning hours and expecting an area of showers and storms for areas along and north of I-44. Models then show perhaps a brief break/lull during the late morning hours before another round gets going during the afternoon and evening as additional upper level energy moves in. Mean MU CAPES around 1000-2000j/kg and 0-6km shear around 30kts are forecast by afternoon, especially east of Springfield. This could create a few severe storms with damaging winds to 60mph however this will depend on heating. High temperatures look to be tempered into the 80s due to clouds and precip with areas north of Springfield perhaps staying in the 70s. Pockets of 0.5 to 1 inch of rain are likely with the heaviest storms Sunday. Sunday Night: While the surface front will reside south of the area, the 850mb front will be overhead and additional elevated showers and storms look likely. HREF data again shows pockets of 0.5 to 1 inch of rainfall with this activity. No severe weather is expected at this time with the overnight activity. Temperatures will be falling into the upper 50s to lower 60s as cooler air moves in.
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&& .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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Issued at 245 PM CDT Sat Sep 21 2024 Monday: The shortwave trough looks to push through the area during the day therefore another round of light to moderate rain looks likely with rain chances between 40-80%. Rain and northerly winds will keep temps below average with highs in the lower 70s. Highs may need to be lowered closer to the 25th percentile (upper 60s) in future updates. Storm total rainfall amounts (Tonight through Monday) look to range from a half inch to 2 inches. HREF and NBM data does suggests pockets of 3-4 inches northeast of Springfield. Given the ongoing drought, we are not expecting widespread flooding at this time but will monitor any localized/sensitive locations. Tuesday through Friday: Confidence has really dropped off as ensembles are not in agreement with shortwave energy that drops south into the central US around mid week. Ensembles weighted more with the GFS are more bullish with precip chances as they are stronger and further east with the upper low. This is an outlier at this time but will continue to monitor precip chances mid to late week. Currently precip chances are only around 20 percent. Confidence is higher with temperatures as NBM spreads are not as large with highs likely in the 70s and lows in the 50s.
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&& .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1237 PM CDT Sat Sep 21 2024 Confidence is high that VFR conditions will persist through most of the TAF period. There is a 30 percent chance of a thunderstorm affecting SGF and BBG towards 00z however will not include at this time. Chances do begin to increase Sunday morning and especially afternoon as a front approaches. Winds will remain southeast to south through tonight. A wind shift to the north will occur by the end of the TAF period. && .CLIMATE...
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Issued at 245 PM CDT Sat Sep 19 2024 Record High Temperatures (Joplin): September 21: 99 (2022) Forecast: 97 Record Highest Minimum Temperatures (Springfield): September 21: 73 (1931) Forecast: 74 September 22: 70 (2017) Forecast: 70 Record Highest Minimum Temperatures (Joplin): September 21: 76 (1980) Forecast: 76
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&& .SGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...None. MO...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Burchfield LONG TERM...Burchfield AVIATION...Burchfield CLIMATE...Burchfield