Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
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831 FXUS63 KLSX 300348 AFDLSX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 1048 PM CDT Fri May 29 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Chances of showers and thunderstorms (30-60%) continue through Monday, mainly across central and southeast Missouri. - Dry weather is favored for the rest of next week along with near normal temperatures. && .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Saturday Afternoon) Issued at 226 PM CDT Fri May 29 2026 Scattered showers and thunderstorms have continued through much of the day across portions of central/southeast Missouri. This is in an area of modest instability (~500 J/kg SBCAPE per SPC mesoanalysis) ahead of a weak midlevel impulse. This activity has been mainly along/west of an old backdoor "cold" front that manifests itself now moreso in a dewpoint/instability gradient. The main impact from these storms is high rainfall rates and intermittent lightning. Hourly rainfall rates of 1 to as much as 2"/hr have been observed, with instantaneous rates as high as 4+"/hr. The atmosphere is definitely conducive to efficient rainfall rates, with observed precipitable water values near 1.8" (>99th percentile) and deep warm cloud depths. As instability decreases this evening, the coverage of showers and thunderstorms should take a downturn. Weak low-level moisture convergence however does keep the threat for isolated to widely scattered showers (and possibly a rumble of thunder) overnight tonight. Similar to this afternoon, most if not all of these showers should be confined to central/southeast Missouri with dry weather favored farther to the northeast. There is very little change in the overall weather pattern heading into the weekend with light easterly flow at the surface and a east/northeast to west/southwest dewpoint/instability gradient. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are once again expected on Saturday, mainly in central/southeast Missouri with the highest coverage peaking in the afternoon hours when diurnal instability is maximized. While there are no major differences when looking at tomorrow compared to today, there are some subtle changes. There is not a midlevel impulse moving through the region, so there should be lesser coverage of showers/storms compared to today. In addition, there are slightly lower precipitable water values expected. This combination portends to a lesser threat for locally heavy rainfall. Gosselin && .LONG TERM... (Saturday Night through Next Friday) Issued at 226 PM CDT Fri May 29 2026 (Saturday Night - Monday) Forecast uncertainty increases Saturday night into Sunday. Deterministic guidance depicts another midlevel shortwave trough moving through the mid-Mississippi Valley, but vary with the timing/track of this feature. Chances of showers and thunderstorms should increase ahead of the aforementioned trough sometime between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The timing of this feature is also key because there will be 25-30+ knots of flow ahead/to the southeast of this feature. That is enough deep-layer shear to potentially help yield some multicell clusters capable of damaging winds and/or hail up to the size of 1" IF it comes through during the afternoon hours. Chances of showers and thunderstorms continue through Monday, with the best chances (30-60%) west of the Mississippi River. This is where higher surface dewpoints/instability will reside, with locations further east feeling more influence from the relative dry easterly flow (coming across the Great Lakes). (Monday Night - Next Friday) Ensemble guidance is in good agreement showing an overall amplification of the upper air pattern across the CONUS early next week. As deeper troughing carves out across the Great Lakes/eastern US, more substantial drier (and probably slightly cooler) air should advect in from east to west and overspread the entire region. There is high confidence in a drier pattern with seasonably low dewpoints (~25th percentile), though how much cooler is still uncertain. Two of the four clusters (53% of LREF members) of the 500-hPa pattern show a deeper midlevel trough located further southwest. In that solution, slightly cooler highs than forecast may occur. If the weaker/further east solution verifies, temperatures would tend to be at or even a bit above normal for early June. Regardless, the expectation is for lows at least back closer to normal, if not slightly below normal, due to less cloud cover and the aforementioned lower dewpoints. Gosselin && .AVIATION... (For the 06z TAFs through 06z Saturday Night) Issued at 1038 PM CDT Fri May 29 2026 KCOU and KJEF have the greatest chance of seeing impacts through the TAF period. Ample low-level moisture thanks to repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms across central Missouri on Friday has increased the potential for fog. Confidence is low on where the worst of the fog will form, and there is a low chance for IFR visibilities at KCOU and KJEF. Any fog that develops will dissipate after sunrise, but our attention then turns to the potential for showers and thunderstorms at KCOU and KJEF. Direct impacts are uncertain, and while the current forecast calls for afternoon timing, showers and thunderstorms could move over these terminals during the late morning and/or early evening. As for KUIN, KSUS, KSTL, and KCPS, confidence is high that VFR flight conditions will prevail through a majority of the TAF period. There is a very low chance that showers impact KSUS, KSTL and/or KCPS during the afternoon, and whether or not they do so won`t be clear until mid to late morning. Elmore && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...None. IL...None. && $$ WFO LSX