067
FXUS63 KFGF 031903
AFDFGF

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Forks ND
103 PM CST Sat Jan 3 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Wintry mix Sunday, with a trace to 1" of snow/sleet and a
  glaze of ice starting in the late morning and persisting
  through the evening.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 103 PM CST Sat Jan 3 2026

...Synopsis...

Progressive ridging currently centered over the Rockies will quickly
translate east by tomorrow with a shortwave cresting the flattening
ridge and low level warm advection via thermal ridging providing a
setup favorable for a wintry mix Sunday. Ridging then completely
washes out and flow becomes zonal for the early to mid week period
as a few week disturbances sweep east bringing a few chances for
freezing drizzle (track dependent and low confidence). Looking
towards the later half of the week zonal flow turns SW with Colorado
low type action looking likely for the Midwest/Great Lakes by the
end of the week/next weekend. Ensembles and even synoptic based
conceptual models both support this evolution but weakness in the
Bermuda ridging may prove enough to largely escape impacts this time
with areas south of us getting the worst of it potentially. Will
certainly be something to monitor but for now would trend more
towards skepticism for heavy snow in our region.

-Sunday

Broad warm air advection from near the surface up through 700mb and
potentially strong FGEN will provide ample ascent with a saturated
DGZ falling into a near to slightly above freezing layer (1-2C) with
a deep freezing layer below that getting as cold as -8 to -10C
making sleet a high probability for at least a portion of the area.
Further to the north in the Lake of the Woods area things look to
remain snow with a 50/50 shot at a slushy 1" though most areas
likely seeing only a few tenths. Along the southern edge there may
be loss of ice nuclei aloft proving to be more of a freezing drizzle
type setup but as one travels more into the core of the precip band
nuclei saturation increases and it turns more to a freezing rain
type sounding with a few hundredths to a tenth of an inch of ice
possible where this gradient sets up. The problem is there is still
enough model spread in the placement of this to delay headline
decisions and will thus punt for now. Overall expect a trace to 1"
of snow/sleet and a mix of freezing rain/drizzle along the south
edge decreasing in accumulation with south/westward extend mainly
affecting areas of northwest Minnnesota.

- Tuesday

Another weak wave with low level warm advection looks poised to
present another freezing drizzle type set up similar the one
preceding the Dec 28th winter storm with freezing drizzle/freezing
fog being the predominant hazard type over a 48 hour period.

Things then look to clear out for the mid week with surface high
pressure but then attention turns towards the weekend. While
confidence in the track of the low is minimal if not non existent
the synoptic set up indicates a Colorado low is poised to pass into
the midwest Friday/Saturday with colder air on its backside as
northwest flow takes hold. As stated above would currently lean
towards the impacts being more south of our area but knowing the
likelihood for things to change would strongly recommend monitoring
the forecast for this period for at least the next few days.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/...
Issued at 1125 AM CST Sat Jan 3 2026

Widespread MVFR to IFR today with localized pockets of LIFR
down to 200ft. A few flurries north of HWY 2 affecting DVL, GFK,
and TVF this afternoon with the parent forcing mechanism still
a bit uncertain and thus lowered confidence in when they may
end. Next aviation threat will be Sunday morning as broad warm
advection brings a band of wintry mix including freezing rain
and sleet to the Valley and MN terminals through Sunday
evening. MVFR to IFR will be expected through this period with
winds Southerly at 10-15kts and gusts to 20kts.

&&

.FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ND...None.
MN...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...TT
AVIATION...TT