Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Issued by NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
927 FXUS63 KFSD 091144 AFDFSD Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 644 AM CDT Sun Aug 9 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Lingering storms in southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa will push southeast of the area over the next hour or two. Severe weather is unlikely. - Late Sunday evening into Monday could be a focus point for strong to severe convection in western into central South Dakota. While uncertain, one or two clusters of severe storms may develop. - Nearly daily precipitation risks will continue well into next week, however chances remain low due to the high uncertainty in the forecast. && .UPDATE... Issued at 352 AM CDT Sun Aug 9 2026 Taking a look across the area, our focus continues to sit near the ND/SD border this morning as a few stronger have developed mainly in response to a lingering warm front and a weak short wave. Over the course of the morning, expect this activity to gradually congeal and dive southeastwards into our area over the next several hours (3am- 8am). As this developing activity becomes more outflow dominant should see the damaging wind threat increase with the potential for up to 70 mph wind gusts possible. Until that time, the initial semi- discrete cells will carry a marginally large hail threat with up to quarter possible with decent mid-level lapse rates. While the CAMs continue to struggle with the the evolution of this activity, current trends continue to favor the HiresW-ARW which has the most consistent placement with current radar imagery. With this in mind, current thoughts are things will continue to follow the 850mb moisture/thermal gradient down a Huron to Sioux Falls to Storm Lake, IA line with most of the activity northeast of this line. Should see most of this activity exit the region by 7am to 8am. Otherwise, quieter conditions should return to the area afterwards with highs peaking in the upper 70s to upper 80s by early afternoon. With more humid conditions expected (60s to low 70s dew points), heat index values will approach the low to upper 90s in areas along and south of I-90 with the highest values concentrated along the Missouri River Valley. While this falls just short of advisory criteria, make sure to stay hydrated as lighter surface winds won`t provide much relief from the oppressive conditions. Lastly, with an active pattern aloft; can`t rule out additional showers and thunderstorms overnight into Monday morning. Nonetheless, most guidance continues to handle coverage and evolution poorly so hopefully future model runs can provide some clarity moving forward. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 123 PM CDT Sat Aug 8 2026 THIS AFTERNOON: We`re continuing to watch a slowly northeastward advancing mid-lvl cloud deck early this afternoon. This cloud layer marks the advancing edge of moisture (and instability) advecting within the 850:700 mb layer. A parcel lifted from this level still appears to be fighting a bit of inhibition, which will keep only very low PoPs in the forecast as this moves northeast. Elsewhere, wildfire smoke aloft remains quite thick, and may have slight impacts on high temperatures this afternoon. TONIGHT: The forecast remains somewhat uncertain this evening and overnight, though there are at least better signals for where convection may form after dark today. Latest short term guidance points to two distinct areas of focus. One near the SD/ND border into west central Minnesota where current AC field ends up by sunset. The initiation of at least a 25 to 35 knot LLJ should be enough to develop a few storms. It`s possible that a minor shortwave could also drop southeast after midnight helping push this activity towards Highway 14 and SW Minnesota by daybreak. A second area to watch will be northwest and north central Iowa where slightly stronger LLJ convergence develops. Any activity that forms should pass along the far eastern CWA by 12Z. Realistic MUCAPE between 1500-2000 J/KG with 20-25 knots of shear may produce a few stronger storms with large hail. SUNDAY: A continued uncertain forecast remains for Sunday. Morning convection should weaken by mid-morning as the LLJ weakens and any activity pushes east of the CWA. In it`s wake, there remains no strong triggering mechanisms for any convection further west and low- lvl and surface flow may turn more northeasterly by mid-day. Nevertheless while we may see CAPE values push 2500-3000 J/KG, HREF probabilities of less than 100 J/KG CIN remain only around 25%, suggesting that surface based convection may be hard to come by. Wildfire smoke will again be quite thick on Sunday, and have lowered temperatures a degree or two. Though the ongoing drought may also counter act some of those limiting effects. SUNDAY NIGHT: Slightly increased PoPs arrive late Sunday evening into Monday as there seems to be some mid-lvl vorticity moving through the region. While highly uncertain on the track, this could at least pose some risks for stronger convection forming early in the evening in western SD/ND on the nose of an increasing LLJ. This convection will be initially surface based and capable of very large hail. There are some hints that these storms could congeal and begin to produce a bit more wind as they reach central SD. The limiting factor in the eastward progression could be a very dry sub 600 mb layer as these storms reach the James River valley. MONDAY-WEDNESDAY: The first half of the week continues to look very uncertain given the quasi-zonal or slightly northwest flow pattern aloft. It`s certainly possible one or more of these days will feature a rain chance, but these are all dependent on any weak eddy in the flow. There continues to be some consistency again today on one of these waves arriving Monday evening into Tuesday and again into Wednesday morning. The available instability would suggest at least a continued low-risk for a severe storm or two, though wind shear continues to be borderline. Temperatures remain near their seasonal normals in the lower to middle 80s. THURSDAY-FRIDAY: No changes in this portion of the forecast, where mid-lvl flow flattens and becomes westerly. PoPs will be elevated into Thursday as a cold front may pass through the region. There continues to be growing signs of a slight cooldown into the weekend. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z MONDAY/... Issued at 640 AM CDT Sun Aug 9 2026 Storm threats have largely diminished this morning except in and around KMJQ where a lingering storm is pushing off to the southeast. An area of MVFR stratus near and south of I-90 is continuing to push slowly southward, with additional areas of stratus developing behind it. This will continue to keep MVFR conditions at the terminals through a large part of the morning before scattering out in the afternoon. Additional showers and storms will be possible tonight along with some patchy fog. However, with a low confidence storm forecast also leading to a low confidence fog forecast, left out any mention of these threats at the TAF sites tonight/early tomorrow morning. Winds will be mainly on the lighter side through the period, out of the northeast through most of the day, with winds gradually turning more easterly tonight. Highest wind gusts late this morning into the early afternoon will be west of the James River where a couple gusts to 20 kts will be possible. && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. IA...None. NE...None. && $$ UPDATE...05 DISCUSSION...Dux AVIATION...Samet