Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Duluth, MN

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017 FXUS63 KDLH 082001 AFDDLH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Duluth MN 301 PM CDT Sat Jun 8 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
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- Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms will be around this afternoon and evening. A few storms could contain gusty winds of 25 to 35 mph. - Quiet and dry weather expected Sunday and Monday. Patchy frost is possible (40-60% chance) in the eastern interior Arrowhead and inland north-central Wisconsin (southern Ashland and Iron and northern Price Counties) late Sunday night into early Monday morning, but a freeze is not likely (>95% chance above freezing in those locations). - Periodic shower and thunderstorm chances Tuesday and beyond with temperatures warming up. A few strong thunderstorms are possible (15% chance) in north-central Minnesota later Wednesday.
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&& .DISCUSSION...
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Issued at 215 PM CDT Sat Jun 8 2024 Upper-level low pressure located over northwest Ontario is keeping breezy northwest flow over the Northland today and ushering in some mid-level moisture which has formed into widely scattered rain showers this afternoon. The high-based (6-8 kft above ground level) and very limited-available moisture in these showers will keep any rainfall amounts to less than 0.2 inches within very localized spots of the Northland through the sunset hours today. High res forecast model soundings support the satellite observations showing shower-top growth to 15-20 kft allowing a few cloud-to-cloud lightning flashes so far. An isolated cloud-to-ground lightning strike cannot be ruled out though through 8-9 PM though today. As thunderstorm chances peak in the 4-7 PM time period today, weak thunderstorm updrafts hold a potential to collapse in and create highly localized gusty, erratic wind gusts to 40 mph this evening. Pea size hail cannot be ruled out either, but those localized erratic wind gusts are much more likely in this environment today. As the low pressure moves further eastward overnight, a backdoor cold front drops southward into the Borderlands first Sunday early morning and continues towards the central and southern Northland locations into the later morning hours creating mostly cloudy skies under a deck of low clouds and seasonably cooler daytime temperatures. Surface high pressure moves into the region from the northeast Sunday evening and overnight under a mid-level ridge coming into the forecast area from the US Northern Plains. Idealized radiational cooling conditions are forecast for inland north-central Wisconsin (southern Ashland, southern Iron and northern Price Counties) by early Monday morning to allow patchy frost to form. The weather grids in those areas contain patchy frost references currently and an Advisory for frost cannot be entirely ruled out over coming forecast packages if confidence on low temperatures Monday morning of 35-36 F (60% chance of occurrence) persist. The other location for frost potential (40% chance) is the eastern interior part of the Arrowhead along the Gunflint Trail in northern Cook County. There is a 95% chance of temperatures being above 32 F for those patchy frost potential locations Sunday night reaching only 35-36 F. Quiet weather Monday sets up under very dry air aloft so the forecast remains on the drier side for the relative humidity forecast with blending in some lower (10th percentile of all guidance) into the dewpoint temperatures. As the mid-level continues to amplify as it shifts eastward later Monday, southerly flow develops over the Upper Midwest with a low pressure centered in the southern Canadian Plains dragging a cold front across the Northern Plains Monday night. Moisture and frontal forcing enters the Northland from west to east Tuesday morning to create chances (50-70%) for widespread rainfall of a tenth to a half-inch in northeast Minnesota and slightly lesser amounts into northwest Wisconsin throughout Tuesday daytime. There is very little support for much more than general isolated thunderstorms in northwest Wisconsin Tuesday so severe weather is not expected Tuesday. An upper-level jet streak and a mid-level vort max rotating through mean westerly flow on Wednesday coincide with a corridor of 500-1000 J/kg of CAPE and bulk shear of 50-55 knots as precipitable water values approach 1.1-1.2 inches, per ensemble forecast guidance, in northwest Minnesota and approaching north-central Minnesota. Due to this setup, there is about a 15% chance of strong thunderstorms in Brainerd Lakes northward into Koochiching County Wednesday evening. Right now the primary hazards would appear to be wind gusts to 50 mph and small hail, but near-severe hazard potential could build with about a 50 mile shift eastward in this corridor of best storm ingredients over the next few days. Depending on the evolution of the later Wednesday storm chances, there are also periodic chances of storms for the eastern Northland Thursday and into Friday as temperatures warm into the upper-70s areawide and around-80 inland.
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&& .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1231 PM CDT Sat Jun 8 2024 Low pressure over northern Ontario keeps west to northwest winds across the Northland through the TAF period. Widely scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are most likely to affect far northeast Minnesota, including DLH and HIB, and northwest Wisconsin mainly 20Z - 03Z. Erratic outflow wind gusts from collapsing thunderstorm cores could produce gusts to 35 knots today and pea size hail. A line of MVFR ceilings is forecast to drop from north to south trailing a backdoor cold front associated with the low to our east later tonight into Sunday morning so winds will not entirely die off like a typical diurnal setup would allow. && .MARINE /FOR NEAR SHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/...
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Issued at 215 PM CDT Sat Jun 8 2024 Isolated general thunderstorms may produce wind gusts to 30 knots this afternoon and evening before dissipating after sunset. Quiet weather with west to northwest winds 10 to 15 knots Sunday becoming easterly around 10 knots Monday. For the open water discussion, refer to the NWS Marquette Area Forecast Discussion at weather.gov/mqt.
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&& .DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...None. WI...None. MARINE...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...NLy AVIATION...NLy MARINE...NLy