Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Dodge City, KS
Issued by NWS Dodge City, KS
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007 FXUS63 KDDC 310810 AFDDDC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Dodge City KS 310 AM CDT Fri May 31 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Afternoon and evening thunderstorms possible each day though the weekend period. - Hail up to 1 inch, wind gusts up to 60 mph and locally heavy rainfall possible this evening and Saturday, mainly west of highway 83. - There is greater than a 65 percent chance that the highs today will be less than 82 degrees. This looks like it will be the coolest day next week. - The extended period of rainfall chances will end early next week with highs in the 90s returning. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... Issued at 250 AM CDT Fri May 31 2024 Thunderstorms weakening across southwest Kansas as of 2 AM this morning and are expected to end by early Friday morning as the enhanced lift from the right entrance region of the upper level jet moves northeast toward the Upper Mississippi Valley. As these storms taper off, skies will clear as a surface boundary/cold front becomes stationary from southeast Colorado into northwest Oklahoma during the afternoon. North of this boundary, short term models are in good agreement, showing a 2-3C cooldown in the boundary layer and 850 mb temperatures. Given this and the latest guidance, it appears that most locations across southwest Kansas will struggle to warm much higher than 82 degrees today, even with full sun. There is a +65% chance for highs today to be below 82 degrees across all of southwest Kansas. Enjoy today if you can, as it will be the coolest of the next 10 days. The surface boundary mentioned above will become stationary over eastern Colorado by late day and then will remain in place through the end of the weekend period. The combination of low level forcing developing along this boundary each day plus afternoon heating will likely produce some late day thunderstorms across eastern Colorado. This is especially true if any subtle upper wave embedded in the westerly flow move out of the Rockies and into the West central High Plains during the same time period. For this evening and Saturday evening the 03Z SREF highlights mainly eastern Colorado as the area where 0-6 km shear and 700 to 500 mb lapse rates will be most favorable for severe thunderstorm. Similar to the past few days, the main hazards from any storm that does develop will be strong gusty winds, hail, and locally heavy rainfall. As these strong to severe thunderstorms move into far southwest Kansas by evening, they are expected to weaken due to the loss of daytime heating. However, a few stronger storms may still be capable of persisting for several hours after sunset, especially west of Highway 83. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 250 AM CDT Fri May 31 2024 The extended period of rainfall chances over the weekend will end early next week as warmer mid level temperatures spread east into western Kansas, and an upper level ridge builds into the Rockies and western High Plains. Ensemble clusters are in generally good agreement with this trend and the largest discrepancy early next week is how warm it will get. It really doesn`t matter which solution you prefer next week because it will feel like summer as temperatures climb into the 90s, with the afternoon heat index reaching the upper 90s in some areas. There will be a cold frontal passage mid week which will briefly stall out the warmup but what cool air that does return Wednesday will quickly erode by Thursday. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 1257 AM CDT Fri May 31 2024 Thunderstorms will continue to increase in coverage near a mid level baroclinic zone/700mb deformation zone that extended from near Garden City and Dodge City through 09Z this Friday morning. These storms will then slowly move east through the predawn hours. BUFR soundings and guidance suggest ceilings will remain in the 3000 to 8000 ft AGL range overnight. However, these low VFR ceilings may briefly drop to 1000 to 2000 ft AGL between 10Z and 14Z Friday, mainly around Dodge City and Hays. The latest ceiling probabilities indicate a 30-60% chance of this occurring. After 14Z the ceilings will gradually improve as southeast winds at 10 to 15 knots develop by 18Z. Another round of thunderstorms is expected tonight, moving from eastern Colorado into southwest Kansas. The latest CAMS has these storms approaching the Garden City and Liberal areas after 03Z Saturday. && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Burgert LONG TERM...Burgert AVIATION...Burgert