


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Green Bay, WI
Issued by NWS Green Bay, WI
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348 FXUS63 KGRB 161115 AFDGRB Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Green Bay WI 615 AM CDT Wed Jul 16 2025 Updated aviation portion for 12Z TAF issuance .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered strong to severe storms are expected today. The main hazards are damaging winds and heavy rain. A Flood Watch is in effect this afternoon and evening for central and east- central Wisconsin. - Very warm and humid today, especially across central and east- central Wisconsin. Cooler and less humid conditions are expected late this week. - Small craft should exercise caution on the bay of Green Bay this afternoon. A Small Craft Advisory is in effect for the bay and nearshore areas of Lake Michigan tonight into Thursday morning. - Dry on Thursday and Friday, followed by rain and thunder chances late Friday evening and Saturday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 323 AM CDT Wed Jul 16 2025 Short Term...Today...Tonight...and Thursday Synoptic Setup: A frontal boundary will linger across central Wisconsin today, which will be the focus for a thunderstorm complex to track through the area this afternoon and this evening as a Mesoscale Convective Vortex tracks through southern Wisconsin. This complex, seen on Water Vapor satellite imagery over northwest Iowa, should track through the area rather quickly, on the order of 3 to 6 hours depending on the speed and track of the MCV. Showers and thunderstorms will then wind down from west to east later tonight as the low tracks east and the cold front pushes to the south. Cooler temperatures and drier conditions are then expected on Thursday as high pressure builds in across the western Great Lakes. Flash Flood Potential: Despite a fairly fast moving thunderstorm complex expected to track through Wisconsin this afternoon and this evening, the atmosphere will be very juicy. PWAT values across central and east-central Wisconsin are expected to be 1.75 to 2.25 inches, or 150-175% of normal and near the climatological maximum for this time of year. 6 hour ensemble probability- matched mean indicates 2 to 3 inches is possible, with amounts as high as 4 inches not off the table as this system rolls through. Ensemble probabilities of exceeding 2 inches are a healthy 40-70% in this region with a respectable 20-40% probability of exceeding 3 inches. Flash Flood Guidance across the southern half of the forecast area is only around 1.5 inches for 1 hour and 2 to 2.5 inches for 6 hours. Given these fairly low numbers for FFG and high numbers and probabilities from the model QPF, there is a high enough threat for Flash Flooding to issue a Flood Watch for central and east-central Wisconsin this afternoon and into this evening. Any urban areas, such as the Fox Valley, will be especially susceptible given the plethora of hydrophobic surfaces in these areas. Severe Weather Potential: Recent CAMs runs indicate the best potential for severe weather today appears to be across southern Wisconsin as the MCV has trended south from previous runs. That being said, SBCAPEs do rise to 1000 to 1500 J/kg across southern portions of the region along with 30-40 knots of bulk shear. This could bring strong to severe storms across central and east- central Wisconsin if it can track through the area early enough before the cold front pushes south, with the main threat being damaging winds. Any storms near or north of the MCV or cold front would also pose a threat for tornadoes given the enhanced 0-1 and 0-3 km SRH indicated by hodographs in that region. CAMs models indicate the southern 2 tiers of counties will be most at risk for severe weather this afternoon if our area is affected. Long Term...Thursday Night Through Tuesday Surface high pressure will lead to dry weather Thursday night and Friday, with any precip holding off until at least Friday evening. A surface boundary/weak front will move across Wisconsin form the northwest on Saturday. Some weak forcing ahead of the front could generate some showers/isolated thunderstorms late Friday evening (15-25%), followed by a higher chance (30-45%) of rain and thunderstorms on Saturday, coinciding with the surface front, followed by a mid- level shortwave into Saturday evening. While it is still early, models generally show less than 1000 J/kg of CAPE and modest shear and lapse rates. While cannot rule out isolated strong storms, it appears the threat for widespread severe storms is currently low. Pwats climb to 1.50-1.75 inches south of Hwy 29 on Saturday. This is in the 90th percentile of climatology, so can not rule out some localized heavy rain or minor flooding, but widespread threat is low. High pressure returns on Sunday resulting in another dry day. Temperatures and humidity levels will gradually increase throughout next week. In addition, weak disturbances and frontal boundaries will create on and off chances for showers and thunderstorms next week. It will not rain all day or in every location, but confidence in the specifics is low. It is too early to determine any severe potential for next week. Temperatures will be below normal on Friday with lows in the mid 40s to mid 50s, and highs in the low to middle 70s. Readings will trend near normal through early next week, and then rise a few degree above normal. && .AVIATION...for 12Z TAF Issuance Issued at 555 AM CDT Wed Jul 16 2025 MVFR/IFR conditions have settled in across north-central Wisconsin, while VFR/MVFR conditions have persisted across central and east-central Wisconsin. The MVFR conditions across central and east-central are mainly due to some patchy ground fog, which should dissipate in a few hours. For the rest of today, lingering low clouds and rain showers, with some embedded storms also possible, will continue across parts of northern WI during the morning. Then an area of showers and storms is expected to move east across of the area this afternoon. The showers/storms will bring MVFR CIGs (possibly IFR at times), along with a threat for gusty winds and heavy rain. Latest CAMs have the strongest storms just missing the area, but still can`t rule out some stronger storms. Most of the storms look to exit over Lake MI by 01-02z, with lingering showers and low ceilings into this evening. && .GRB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch from 1 PM CDT this afternoon through this evening for WIZ030-031-035>037-045. Flood Watch from 3 PM CDT this afternoon through this evening for WIZ038>040-048>050. && $$ DISCUSSION.....Kurimski/KLJ AVIATION.......Kurimski