Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Grand Forks, ND
Issued by NWS Grand Forks, ND
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413 FXUS63 KFGF 200340 AFDFGF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 940 PM CST Wed Nov 19 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A more active and cooler pattern arrives next week, but the predictability of specific impacts is low. && .UPDATE... Issued at 940 PM CST Wed Nov 19 2025 Some lingering light rain in portions of west central and north central MN, but tapering off and no impacts expected. Some light mist has been developing in parts of the Red River Valley along the axis of the surface trough, with vis down to 3-5 miles at times. For not not seeing much lower than that but will continue to keep an eye out for fog as the trough axis moves east. UPDATE Issued at 704 PM CST Wed Nov 19 2025 Band of rain continues to extend from Upper Red Lake to just northeast of Fargo, so adjusted POPs accordingly. Still getting a few areas of light rain further west that are not showing up on radar, but overall should see a decrease in the more measurable rain and possibly a bit of fog/drizzle setting up behind it. At this point not seeing too much in the way of visibility reductions in our area, but will continue to monitor as the evening progresses. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 142 PM CST Wed Nov 19 2025 ...Synopsis... Currently, surface low pressure is traveling across southern Canada. To its south, a broad area of isentropic lift has sparked off showers/light rain. Rain should end from southwest to northeast this afternoon/evening. Stratus will remain, and with the atmospheric column saturated from the surface to 800 mb, pockets of drizzle will develop tonight on the MN side of the FA. Thereafter, we will remain drier into the weekend as northwest flow takes a firm hold over the region. There are hints of a very subtle/weak shortwave Friday night into Saturday, but any precipitation would be extremely light with no impacts. Temperatures through the weekend will remain anywhere from a few degrees above average to nearly 20 degrees above average. For reference, average high temperatures are in the lower 30s pretty much area wide by this time of November. ...Active and Cooler Next Week... A pattern shift arrives early next week, with a trough digging over the northwestern and eventually north central US. In turn, this will bring a major cool down in temperatures. High temperatures from Monday to Wednesday are forecasted to drop from the 40s to the 20s. While there is high confidence in temperatures cooling down substantially, the signal for snow is less clear. Ensembles are in good agreement that the first period of interest for snow is Tuesday into Tuesday night, as a surface low tracks somewhere along the International Border. A track such as this has major implications as for how much snow we receive, as our FA remains on the edge. Therefore, a track just a bit more to the south would increase snow in our northern FA. Being nearly a week out, there is plenty of time to watch how this feature evolves. As the low departs, drier weather will build in for Wednesday into the Thanksgiving holiday. Even though it will be dry, conditions will be breezy and cool. Confidence in the synoptic pattern from Thanksgiving onwards is low, as ensembles show a wide variety of scenarios. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 704 PM CST Wed Nov 19 2025 MVFR to IFR ceilings with light rain in some spots, with best chances at the MN airports. The MVFR to IFR ceilings will continue for much of the night, and there is some indication of fog or mist formation behind the main rain that is currently exiting the forecast area. Model ensembles have around a 30 to 40 percent chance for visibility less than half a mile in western MN after midnight. However, at this point highest probs are not at the airports, so will keep vis in the TAFs at 1 mile or above for the time being. Should see improvements to vis as winds shift to the northwest around 10 kts later tonight and tomorrow morning. Eventually ceilings will improve also, with most sites VFR by the end of the period. && .FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...None. MN...None. && $$ UPDATE...JR DISCUSSION...Rafferty AVIATION...JR