Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Dodge City, KS
Issued by NWS Dodge City, KS
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046 FXUS63 KDDC 140522 AFDDDC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Dodge City KS 1222 AM CDT Fri Jun 14 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered severe thunderstorms are expected Thursday evening, with strong outflow winds the primary threat. - Another round of severe thunderstorms appears possible Friday afternoon and evening as storms roll out of eastern CO. - Multiple chances for precipitation exist through the long term as upper level troughing takes hold over the western CONUS this weekend through much of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 200 PM CDT Thu Jun 13 2024 Midday water vapor satellite imagery and RAP upper air analysis indicates a ~596-dm ridge is centered over the southern plains, while the main belt of the subtropical jet is spread out over the northern CONUS. At the surface, broad high pressure extending from Dixie Alley into the central/southern plains is resulting in southwest winds across our area, and these downsloping winds along with mostly clear skies has supported temperatures rising well into the 90s to low 100s. A weak cold front associated with a low pressure system in eastern Canada has recently crossed into northern KS, and will continue to sag southward through the remainder of the afternoon. This boundary will be the focus for some mid-afternoon thunderstorms across southwest KS. With temperatures in the 90s/100s and dewpoints mixing out into the upper 50s/low 60s, MLCAPE is expected to be in the 1500-2500 J/Kg range. However, weak northwesterly 500-mb flow will limit deep layer shear to 20-25 kts, which will act to limit storm organization. That said, latest HREF does depict a semi-organized linear convective system developing near KS-96 and moving south-southeast with time, along with some activity moving out of southeast CO. The primary hazard with these storms will be damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, although some large hail up to golf balls will be possible early in the convective cycle. Thunderstorms will move into OK 08Z, and the rest of the overnight period will be quiet as the cold front washes out over our area. Daytime Friday, short range ensembles agree a compact upper level shortwave trough will move from the Desert Southwest Friday morning to the central Rockies by Friday evening. 500-mb height falls will support a slightly cooler afternoon, but temperatures are still expected to peak in the 90s. As the upper trough approaches, increasing forcing for ascent will result in thunderstorms developing over the Rocky Mountains, and move east into eastern CO. Eventually, these storms are progged to move into western KS, but there is still considerable uncertainty among HREF members regarding severity. Given stronger winds aloft associated with the upper level impulse, deep layer wind shear will be much more supportive of organization, which would suggest storms will have no trouble reaching western KS and posing a primarily severe wind gust threat. This thinking is aligned with the latest Convective Outlook from the Storm Prediction Center which places roughly the northwestern half of our area in a Slight Risk (Level 2 of 5). Once again, thunderstorm activity will be clear of southwest KS by sunrise Saturday morning. Over the weekend and into next week, medium range ensembles agree upper level longwave troughing will take shape over the western CONUS. With slightly lower 500-mb heights and plenty of southwesterly flow across the central Rockies, afternoon highs will remain generally in the 90s along with multiple opportunities for precipitation as both the ECMWF EPS and GEFS show probability of QPF > 0.01" in the 30-60% range each day through next Thursday. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 1219 AM CDT Fri Jun 14 2024 At the onset of this TAF period overnight, winds will generally be light with an easterly component. Later in the morning after sunrise, winds will gradually increase in speed out of the southeast as the pressure gradient tightens in response to an approaching low pressure system. Thunderstorms are expected to affect most, if not all terminals toward the end of this TAF period, but for this synoptic TAF cycle, we will only introduce thunderstorms (VCTS) at GCK and LBL terminals as the timing of storms across southwest Kansas tomorrow evening looks to be fairly late on the latest short-term, high-resolution models. && .DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...Springer AVIATION...Umscheid