


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wichita, KS
Issued by NWS Wichita, KS
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330 FXUS63 KICT 161930 AFDICT Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 230 PM CDT Mon Jun 16 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Storms possible late tonight into Tuesday morning. - Strong to severe storms likely Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night. - Dry and warm to close out the week before rain chances return. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 229 PM CDT Mon Jun 16 2025 Water vapor imagery early this afternoon highlights strong mid/upper flow over the Great Basin behind a weak shortwave traversing the Plains. The beginnings of a weak surface trough is positioned from northeast Colorado to northeast Nebraska, while southerly winds have been observed over Kansas thus far today. .TONIGHT THRU TUESDAY MORNING... Storm development continues to be anticipated per short-term consensus along the aforementioned surface trough this afternoon. Shear vector orientation suggests this will quickly grow upscale into an MCS, with steering influenced by the LLJ later this evening into the overnight hours. Model trends continue to suggest this activity will make it further south than originally thought, so chances for rain have been brought as far south as the Kansas- Oklahoma border through mid-morning. Currently thinking activity may make it as far east as the Flint Hills before the LLJ weakens, so not feeling too bullish on storms making it too far into far southeast KS. With solid instability (> 2500 J/kg) and DCAPE (> 1000 J/kg), the primary threats with these storms look to be strong winds and heavy rainfall. .TUESDAY AFTERNOON THRU WEDNESDAY MORNING... The surface trough is progged to move into central and northeast Kansas throughout the afternoon and evening hours on Tuesday. MLCAPE exceeding 3000 J/kg continues to appear likely out ahead of the boundary, and with effective shear in the 30-40 kt range, the environment will initially be conducive to supercells capable of strong winds, large hail, a few tornadoes, and heavy rainfall. The exact location of this initial development remains a bit uncertain at this point as outflow from the morning MCS is expected to be the forcing mechanism for storms ahead of the surface trough. If tonight`s system is able to maintain itself further south than expected, it may favor development in areas as far south as the US- 400 corridor. However, some short-term models highlight development as far north as the I-70 corridor before these are swept to the southeast as the surface boundary moves through. All told, activity is ultimately expected to grow upscale into a second MCS heading into the late evening and overnight hours as the system slowly propagates to the east. This slow propagation along with outflow touching off additional convection may further provide flooding concerns overnight into Wednesday morning. The latest CAM ensembles carry this MCS through southeast KS before it dissipates over southwest MO late Wednesday morning. .WEDNESDAY THRU MONDAY... Looking ahead toward the end of the week, mid/upper ridging resumes and is expected to lead to warm and dry conditions. Long-range models then hint at the ridge sliding east by the weekend, bringing southwest flow aloft back to the region and the potential for rain to start next week. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 1216 PM CDT Mon Jun 16 2025 VFR conditions are expected through a good chunk of this evening. Thereafter, thunderstorm chances will increase from the northwest, especially across central Kansas. The primary threats with these storms would be localized wind gusts greater than 40-50 kts, heavy rainfall, and small hail. Uncertainty is high regarding the location and timing of these thunderstorms, so only covered the threat with PROB30 groups for now. && .ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...JWK AVIATION...ADK