Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Twin Cities, MN

Current Version |  Previous Version |  Text Only |  Print | Product List |  Glossary Off
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
-- Remove Highlighting --
-- Discussion containing changed information from previous version are highlighted. --
474 FXUS63 KMPX 210740 AFDMPX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 240 AM CDT Sat Sep 21 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
-- Changed Discussion --
- Isolated to scattered showers and storms in central Minnesota this morning shifting to southern Minnesota into western Wisconsin later today. - A fall temperature roller coaster with another warm day today before temperatures fall substantially Sunday and warming back up through the rest of the week.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .DISCUSSION...
-- Changed Discussion --
Issued at 240 AM CDT Sat Sep 21 2024 This weekend...Scattered showers with some isolated thunderstorms will continue this morning driven by a LLJ in the warm sector of the advancing system. Another round of showers and thunderstorms is expected today along and ahead of the cold front. With a cap in place there should be a time gap in precipitation later this morning once the LLJ driven convection comes to an end. As the surface heating continues ahead of the front thermal profiles will eventually allow for the cap to break. This will most likely be in the afternoon. By that time the front should get far enough that the most likely areas for rain and thunder will be in the southeastern quarter of Minnesota and into western Wisconsin. The heating under the cap should allow for some instability to form with up to around 1000 J/kg of SBCAPE forecast. Not a great shear setup so the chances for severe storms are low. Any chance for a stronger storm would likely be pulse convection and would not be a long lived strong to severe threat if even occurs. Temperatures will be much cooler behind this front with temperatures across northwestern Minnesota (behind the front) 20 to 25 degrees cooler than southeastern Minnesota (ahead of the front) for today`s forecast high temperatures. Behind this front Sunday will be much cooler with high temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. Also with high pressure moving in, there should be clearing skies during the day. Another system likely staying to our south is unlikely to provide rain chances, but could keep cloud cover longer across southern Minnesota into parts of western Wisconsin. Monday through Friday... The week ahead will be dominated by surface high pressure with little chance for additional rainfall. Also under mostly high pressure expect clear to mostly clear skies. Winds at 850 mb trend back to a southerly or westerly direction with more of a WAA regime in place. This will help provide a warming trend through the week. Bringing Monday`s highs of near 70 up into the upper 70s by the end of the week. Normal high temperatures this time of year are in the upper 60s. So near normal the start of the week warming back above normal for the remainder of the week. Despite annual precipitation numbers still well above normal September has been dry for many, with MSP Airport currently on track for one of the driest Septembers on record.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1224 AM CDT Sat Sep 21 2024 VFR likely through the period. Some isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible overnight in central Minnesota. There will also be a small window for LLWS on Saturday morning before the winds start to pick up. Late in the morning towards early afternoon winds will become gusty up to around 18 knots. Winds should calm again by Saturday night. There is a chance for another round of showers or thunderstorms this afternoon into the early evening, but the confidence in timing and coverage was not high enough for inclusion the TAF at this time. Will consider these chances again for the 12Z set of TAFs. KMSP...The best chance for any showers or storms would be this afternoon for MSP. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ SUN...VFR. Wind N 5-10kts. MON...VFR, chc -SHRA. Wind E 5kts. TUE...VFR. Wind S to W 5kts. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...None. WI...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...NDC AVIATION...NDC