Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Twin Cities, MN

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369 FXUS63 KMPX 300939 AFDMPX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 439 AM CDT Sun Jun 30 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
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- Soaking rain & chance for severe thunderstorms late Monday into Tuesday. - Thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall likely for the 4th of July.
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&& .DISCUSSION...
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Issued at 403 AM CDT Sun Jun 30 2024 Part two of a dry & quiet weekend continues today with sunny skies, light winds, & warmer temperatures in the low to mid 70s. Dry conditions will continue through most of the day Monday, but our next widespread soaking rainfall comes Monday evening into Tuesday as a surface low along the US/Canada border slowly drags a frontal boundary through the region. Strong southerly flow ramps up Monday morning & advects Gulf moisture into the region, with precipitable water values potentially exceeding 2" by late Monday night. The precipitation with this system looks to come in two waves, the first begins Monday afternoon over the Dakotas but will likely take until the evening or even overnight hours to reach much of Minnesota & Wisconsin. This wave is largely driven by low-level forcing by the strong warm-air advection, & some upper-level support from a shortwave along the leading edge of an intensifying 90-100 kt jetstreak. Increasing shear and ample instability will create a threat for strong to severe thunderstorms with this wave, but this looks to be more likely across the Dakotas during the afternoon. A lull in the precipitation appears likely Tuesday morning, but another round of thunderstorms is expected to develop Tuesday afternoon & evening - this time along the surface frontal boundary. The severe environment looks better across our area with this second wave on Tuesday, especially across southern Minnesota & western Wisconsin. Rainfall amounts are still tricky to nail down owning to the limitations of resolving convection at this range, but ensemble guidance show high probabilities of at least an inch of rain for much of the area, with the highest probabilities across southern Minnesota & western Wisconsin. Guidance shows a general spread between the two systems, with the Monday night rain potentially more likely across central MN & western Wisconsin, while the Tuesday evening rain more likely across southern Minnesota. This scenario would likely result in a widespread 1-2" across the entire area by Wednesday morning. However, if both waves happen to train over the same area, which would be most likely across southern Minnesota into western Wisconsin, then these areas could see in excess of 2-3" of rain with much less falling across central Minnesota. Rivers across the have generally all crested by this weekend, but additional rises are likely wherever the heaviest rain falls through Tuesday. Drier conditions develop midweek as the flow aloft weakens & becomes more zonal, but another round of showers & thunderstorms looks likely for the 4th of July & into Friday as a broad shortwave trough develops & moves over the Upper Midwest. Confidence is lower for this system following the Monday-Tuesday wave, but locally heavy rainfall & strong severe thunderstorms are possible, with ensemble guidance again showing high probabilities for rainfall amounts >1" over the area. There is still a lot of spread in timing among models, but our highest PoPs from the NBM ensemble are centered on the evening of the 4th. Probably a bit too early to cancel any fireworks displays, but at least some thunderstorms on the 4th look pretty likely at this point. A chance for showers and thunderstorms continues over the weekend, but with not nearly as strong a signal for heavy rain or thunderstorms.
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&& .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/... Issued at 1028 PM CDT Sat Jun 29 2024 VFR conditions expected throughout this duration with nearly no clouds once they dissipate this evening. High pressure will steadily slide across MN/WI through Sunday night. This will maintain light wind speeds with varying direction and keep skies mainly clear. The only wrinkle may be fog formation prior to sunrise tomorrow morning at KEAU close to the river there. KMSP...No additional concerns. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ MON...VFR. Chc MVFR/-SHRA day, MVFR/TSRA likely overnight. Wind SE 15G25 kts. TUE...MVFR. Chance MVFR SHRA/TSRA. Wind SW 10-15 kts. WED...VFR Wind WSW 15G25 kts. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...None. WI...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...ETA AVIATION...JPC