


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Bismarck, ND
Issued by NWS Bismarck, ND
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158 FXUS63 KBIS 181701 AFDBIS Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Bismarck ND 1201 PM CDT Sat Oct 18 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Widespread below freezing temperatures tonight into Sunday morning. - Windy southwest this afternoon. Breezy elsewhere. Windy statewide on Monday. - Near seasonable temperatures expected through early next week, followed by a warming trend to above normal mid to late week. && .UPDATE... Issued at 1155 AM CDT Sat Oct 18 2025 For the midday update we bumped up winds in the southwest this afternoon. Bufkit soundings show wind gust potential above our current NBM guidance. Perhaps a few gusts of 45 to 50 mph. Sustained winds are near low end advisory criteria for a few hours. Will hold off on a wind advisory for now but will monitor. Otherwise, made some minor adjustments for sky cover based on latest satellite analysis. Think there may be a bit more in the way of diurnally driven clouds yet this afternoon. Very dry stratospheric air over the region this afternoon will make for some steep lapse rates. We`ll see if there`s enough moisture around to get any clouds develop. UPDATE Issued at 857 AM CDT Sat Oct 18 2025 Made some minor adjustments to sky cover and pops. Precipitation has all but ended over western and central ND this morning. Perhaps a sprinkle or two in the James River Valley so maintained some small pops there this morning. Skies have cleared over a good portion of western and north central ND, and clouds will be clearing from the south central during the morning. Do expect a round diurnally driven clouds to develop a bit later this morning and into the early afternoon before dissipating later in the day. Could see some sprinkles or a brief shower with this activity but for now will hold off on introducing any pops. Any precip would be negligible. UPDATE Issued at 648 AM CDT Sat Oct 18 2025 Chances for showers will remain through the morning as a cold front moves through, although current radar trends showing this activity becoming more isolated currently. Overall made some minor PoP adjustments based and radar trends. This front as also cleared out any lingering fog in the northeast, thus have removed fog mention for the remainder of the morning. Otherwise the forecast remains on track. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 354 AM CDT Sat Oct 18 2025 Weak cold front associated with a clipper system to the north will push through today. Some shower activity will accompany this front this morning along with abundant cloud cover. Look for these clouds and showers to diminish the afternoon, with slightly cooler temperatures in the 50s forecast. Breezy northwest winds will be found behind this front today. Pressure rises and cold air advection with this front look to peak this morning, leveling out this afternoon. Mid level winds are not forecast to be particularly strong today as well. Thus kept NBM winds for today, which are still breezy yet not quite wind advisory level. There could still be a few sites that see sustained winds near 30 mph and winds gust near 40 mph today. Ridge of high pressure then moves in tonight, diminishing winds and clearing skies. Colder overnight lows will be found as a result, although there remains some uncertainty on how much cold air moves into the area given the track of the high is well to the south. A steady west wind may also help keep temperatures from dropping tonight. For now made sure lows were as low as NBM 50th. This would put widespread freeze temperatures to most areas except the James River Valley. Given some uncertainty on how much cold air is present tonight, have held off on any freeze products for the time being. High moves eastward on Sunday switching winds to the south. This brings slightly warmer temperatures and mainly dry conditions. Sunday night through Monday, dueling surface lows each with a weak cold front will bring the next chances for showers across the area. These chances begin Sunday night into Monday morning, with the second round Monday afternoon into Monday night. The increase cloud cover should temper overnight lows Sunday night into Monday, yet bring cooler highs on Monday. SPC has general risk for thunderstorms Monday in eastern ND, although instability looks limited at this time. Main concern for monday will be strong winds on the backside of the second low on Monday. This could bring some strong at least advisory level winds to the area, thus have blended in NBM90th for winds on Monday into Monday evening. Surface ridge could then diminish winds and precipitation chances Monday night. More cold temperatures could also return with this ridge, with forecast lows at or below freezing currently forecast for most of the CWA. A cooler yet mainly dry post system day is then expected for Tuesday, with highs forecast in the upper 40s to mid 50s. The rest of next week then still looks to see a warming trend as zonal flow transitions to weak ridging aloft. This brings a mainly dry forecast with temperatures forecast to warm through the week. NBM spreads still remain about 10 degrees although the cooler side still has highs in the 60s while the warmer spreads are in the 70s. Low temperatures at night could also be mild, with NBM spreads generally showing above freezing temperatures at night. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1155 AM CDT Sat Oct 18 2025 VFR conditions are expected through the 18Z TAF period. Expect strong northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with some gust to around 45 mph possible. Breezy conditions elsewhere this afternoon. Mainly mid level clouds expected today, with possibly some diurnally driven sprinkles or brief showers, but with limited coverage expected, will not include in any one TAF attim. Winds diminish this evening, then turn more southerly over western ND Sunday morning. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ UPDATE...TWH DISCUSSION...Anglin AVIATION...TWH