Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Goodland, KS
Issued by NWS Goodland, KS
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340 FXUS63 KGLD 071836 AFDGLD Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Goodland KS 1136 AM MST Sun Dec 7 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Wind shifts as surface and upper level troughs move through. - Several cold fronts move through, the more noteworthy one being Thursday, which may bring in significantly cooler weather. - Precipitation chances return Thursday for some of the forecast area. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 1131 AM MST Sun Dec 7 2025 Latest upper air analysis shows a ridge over the West Coast and a closed low over Southeast Canada. Between the two features northwest flow continues. Within the flow a subtle short wave trough was moving south through the Plains. Flurries have been reported with a small area of precipitation ahead of the trough. At the surface a trough was progressing eastward. Behind the trough winds were turning to the northwest. This morning low clouds and fog were in place ahead of the surface trough. For the rest of today the surface trough will progress through the forecast area. Northwest winds will become breezy over the west half of the forecast area during the late morning and first half of the afternoon. These winds will become light by sunset. Tonight winds will be light and lows will be similar to last night. Monday another subtle upper level short wave trough will progress through the forecast area. Am not anticipating any precipitation with this trough due to the large dew point depressions shown in the soundings. Like today, a surface trough will progress through the forecast area turning westerly winds to the northwest. These winds will become breezy by late morning over East Central CO, and may extend east to Highway 27. Further east the winds will be too high above ground to reach the surface. With some warm air advection occurring highs will be warmer than today. Monday night westerly winds and higher dew points will cause lows to be warmer than tonight. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... Issued at 1131 AM MST Sun Dec 7 2025 Tuesday highs will be unseasonably warm ahead of the next cold front to move through due to increased warm air advection. Westerly winds will be breezy over the northern half of the forecast area. Tuesday night a pre-frontal trough moves through. Further east an upper level short wave trough moves through the Midwest. Behind the surface trough winds turn to the northwest. Later in the night a cold front moves through, turning winds to the north behind it. Due to large dew point depressions shown in the soundings, am not anticipating any precipitation with the frontal passage. North winds may become breezy if the pressure rises are fast enough behind the front. Wednesday laminar upper level flow moves over the forecast area. At the surface a low pressure and trough move onto the High Plains, turning the winds to the west or southwest. These winds will also bring in warmer air, thus limiting the effect of the cold front from the prior night. During the night a very subtle upper level short wave trough will move over the Plains. Precipitation chances continue to remain mostly north of the forecast area. Thursday the subtle upper level short wave trough continues to move southeast over the Plains. Meanwhile a cold front will move through from the north. North winds may be breezy behind the cold front in the morning. During the night another round of precipitation may move into the forecast area ahead of a subtle upper level short wave trough. Models disagree with how far west this trough will shift the jet stream. The further west scenarios bring chances for precipitation to the forecast area, though very minimal amounts. However, northwest upper level flow is a favorable setup for narrow bands of moderate to heavy snow to form. Have no confidence regarding whether this will happen for Thursday night or not at this time range, but it is worth noting. If this does happen, the lead time is usually a day or less of knowing if there is a potential for a narrow band of moderate/heavy snow to form or not. Friday and Saturday cold air advection will continue. The further west the jet stream is positioned, the stronger the cold air advection will end up being. If this becomes a trend highs will continue to cool in the coming days. The 25th percentile for highs/lows on Friday is in the 20s, with lows in the single digits, which may end up being what happens. Next weekend another upper level short wave trough may move through the Plains; too far out to know where specifically it will track. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/... Issued at 1015 AM MST Sun Dec 7 2025 VFR to MVFR conditions forecast for the TAFs. Breezy winds at KGLD will lighten by 22z. The MVFR ceiling at KMCK will continue until 20z, or shortly after, based on the speed of the clearing to the west. After 20z, the main impact will be wind direction changes with a surface trough moving in from the west this afternoon, and then winds turning back to the west tonight. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...None. CO...None. NE...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...JTL LONG TERM...JTL AVIATION...JTL