Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Green Bay, WI
Issued by NWS Green Bay, WI
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677 FXUS63 KGRB 251959 AFDGRB Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Green Bay WI 159 PM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 Forecast discussion for routine afternoon forecast issuance .KEY MESSAGES... - A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for north-central Wisconsin from late tonight through early Thursday morning. Heavy snow of 6 to 12 inches is expected, with locally higher amounts in excess of 18 inches possible in the northwest corner of Vilas County. - A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Lincoln and Langlade Counties for 3 to 5 inches of snow and hazardous travel conditions. The advisory has been expanded to include Marathon, Wood, Portage, northern Marinette and northern Oconto counties for 2 to 5 inches of snow and hazardous travel conditions. - Strong northwest winds gusting 35 to 45 mph, locally up to 50 mph, will develop on Wednesday. This will lead to blowing and drifting snow in the winter headline areas and difficult driving conditions for high profile vehicles across the entire area. A Wind Advisory has been issued for the rest of the area that does not have winter headlines for Wednesday. - Another round of accumulating snow could impact travelers this weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 159 PM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 A low pressure system near the MN/IA border continues to deepen as it heads east towards the western Great Lakes region. As this low pressure tracks east and intensifies over Wisconsin tonight through Wednesday, the focus of this forecast revolves around highly impactful winter weather during one of the busiest travel days of the year. Short Term...Tonight through Wednesday Night Precipitation Trends: The low will continue to intensify as it tracks across north-central and far northeast WI tonight. Strong QG and frontogenetical forcing will accompany the low, leading to widespread precipitation across the area. The heaviest precipitation is forecast to occur within the trowal airstream over north-central WI. While thermal profiles look too warm for snow initially in the evening, strong lift and heavy precipitation rates combined with northeast winds advecting in colder air should lead to a gradual transition from rain to snow starting around mid evening over Vilas county and reaching the Lake Michigan shoreline by mid to late morning Wednesday. As the comma head precipitation sweeps across the area on Wednesday in strong cold advection, precipitation will change to snow at nearly all locations (except maybe the Door Peninsula) by Wednesday morning. Nearly all locations will have the potential to see 1-2 inches of snow on Wednesday. Most snowfall will diminish in coverage and intensity by late Wednesday afternoon or evening, becoming confined to the snowbelt of Vilas County. Heavy Snow Potential: Thermodynamic profiles look quite favorable for heavy snow accumulations from late tonight through about mid- afternoon due to a large dendritic growth layer over north-central Wisconsin. Lake enhancement looks quite favorable for Vilas County from Wednesday morning through Wednesday night, with delta- Ts around 14-17C, favorable wind trajectories, and equilibrium levels increasing to around 10 kft. The heaviest synoptic QPF and lake effect will occur in the snowbelt of Vilas County, where there is a 60-90% chance of 10 inches or more of snow accumulations. There is a signal (greater than 50% chance) of snow reaching greater than 20 inches in the far northwest corner of Vilas County. Consequently, Vilas County was upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning. Surrounding areas in Oneida, Forest, and Florence counties are expected to see snowfall amounts ranging from about 3 to 8 inches, but uncertainty is higher there due to potential dry slot issues. Given the strong winds, blowing and drifting snow, and heavy travel weekend, the Warning continues for these counties. Lincoln and Langlade counties are in an Advisory for 3 to 5 inches. Even though lower snowfall amounts are expected in northern Marinette, northern Oconto, Marathon, Wood, and Portage counties the combination of 2 to 4 inches of snow along with very gusty winds means either Winter Weather or Wind Advisory conditions (or both) will be met. Given the main impact is winter weather will lean towards a Winter Weather Advisory given the snow and blowing snow potential. Strong Winds: With strong subsidence in cold advection on the back side of the low, strong northwest winds are likely to occur late tonight through Wednesday. Gusts of 40-45 mph appear likely (50-80% chance) across most of the area. Winds may be slightly lower in the heavy snow area (30-40 mph). The strong winds combined with heavy snow will make for very difficult travel over north-central WI late tonight and Wednesday. Travel could become impossible in Vilas county if the higher end snowfall amounts materialize. Given the likelihood of strong winds will issue a Wind Advisory for areas not already in any winter headlines as the snowfall amounts do not rise to the level of Winter Weather Advisory. Model soundings indicate there is the potential for some gusts to approach High Wind Warning criteria; however, current probabilities are not quite high enough to go with the higher headline (up to 10 percent). Long Term...Thursday through Monday Strong low pressure will be departing the region over Quebec on Thursday. Strong cold advection will be ongoing in an amplifying pattern across North America. Lake effect snow showers will likely continue into Thursday over north-central WI and perhaps the northern Door Peninsula, with flurries possible over far northeast WI outside of these areas. An additional 1-3 inches of snow seems possible in Vilas County as delta-Ts remain in the mid to upper teens with favorable wind trajectories. While light snow will likely continue into Thursday night, dry air finally arrives from the west over western Lake Superior, which should put an end to any significant accumulations. Gusty winds to 35 mph are likely on Thanksgiving Day, making for a blustery holiday. An amplifying long wave trough over the center of the continent will lead to energy crossing the region on Saturday. This system has trended deeper and faster, with a higher impact on the region during the weekend after Thanksgiving and focused more on Saturday and Saturday night with the highest impacts. Recent snowfall probabilities have subsequently taken a noticeable turn upward; with the probability for 2 inches or more of snow 50 to 80 percent across the region with the highest probabilities across east- central Wisconsin and the lakeshore. Yet another system could pass close to the region by early next week. && .AVIATION...for 18Z TAF Issuance Issued at 1120 AM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 A deepening low pressure system will create precipitation regionwide at times through Wednesday and poor flying conditions. A widespread mix of LIFR and IFR conditions are present across the region late this morning. Some improvement in conditions is expected this afternoon, but IFR/MVFR visibilities are likely to stick around. Precipitation is expected to be widespread tonight. Rain will change over to snow from west to east tonight into Wednesday morning. A couple inches of snow may accumulate by the end of the TAF period at Rhinelander. Several inches of accumulations are likely north of Rhinelander. Winds will be on increase as well late tonight, but moreso on Wednesday when gusts are likely to reach up to 30 to 40 knots at times by mid to late morning and last through the afternoon. && .GRB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to 6 AM CST Thursday for WIZ005. Winter Storm Warning from midnight tonight to 6 PM CST Wednesday for WIZ010>012. Winter Weather Advisory from 9 AM to 6 PM CST Wednesday for WIZ013-021. Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM to 6 PM CST Wednesday for WIZ018-019-030-035-036. Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 6 PM CST Wednesday for WIZ020-022-031- 037>040-045-048>050-073-074. && $$ DISCUSSION.....Kurimski AVIATION.......Kurimski