Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wichita, KS
Issued by NWS Wichita, KS
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429 FXUS63 KICT 090911 AFDICT Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 311 AM CST Tue Dec 9 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Unseasonably warm temps today, with 60s likely for most locations. Warm temps will quickly return for Thursday, with highs again getting back into the 60s. - Colder air will start to move into the area Friday, with a more substantial surge of cold air moving-in for Saturday and especially Sunday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 311 AM CST Tue Dec 9 2025 Currently have northwest flow aloft setup through most of the CONUS with water vapor imagery showing an upper impulse sliding across the Great Lakes region. Meanwhile, a more robust upper wave is about to move into the Northern Rockies. At the surface, high pressure extends from the Lower Mississippi Valley through the Appalachians. Upper perturbation over the Northern Rockies will quickly track southeast today and will be moving into the Northern Plains by this evening. As this wave passes off to the north, west and southwest winds will provide great downslope conditions this afternoon, boosting highs into the 60s. Warmest temps today will be west of I-135, where the deeper mixing will be located. If we can get mixing deep enough, it`s not out of the question that our western fringes could approach 70 degrees this afternoon, with a great chance that most areas reach the 60s. By Wed morning, upper impulse will be tracking southeast across the Mid Mississippi Valley with a weak cold front pushing through the Plains. This will knock highs down into the low 50s for Wed, which is still several degrees above seasonal highs. We will get back into more good downslope for Thu which will push highs back into the 60s for most areas. GFS and ECMWF have come into better agreement for the Fri-Sun time frame which does lead to some higher confidence. They both have a weak upper wave tracking out of southern Manitoba and into the Western Great Lakes by Thu night. This will allow another cold front to push through the forecast area by Fri afternoon. However, the more impressive surge of cold air will arrive on Sat, as a more impressive shortwave rotates out of south central Canada and into the Upper Mississippi Valley/Western Great Lakes by Sat evening. So confidence is high in below normal temps for both Sat and Sun, with highs Sun struggling to make it above freezing. Just like the last couple of weeks, the cold air will not last long, as we get back to seasonal temps by Mon. Confidence also remains high that we are not looking at any precip events through the next 7 days, with the best snow chances staying to the north. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 1047 PM CST Mon Dec 8 2025 VFR conditions expected through the period. Southerly winds will turn southwest over the next couple hours. Winds will increase after 16Z with southwesterly gusts for central Kansas locations between 20-25 knots. Some mid-level clouds overnight will clear during the day, returning around 00Z. && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...RBL AVIATION...AMD