


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
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752 FXUS63 KLSX 100944 AFDLSX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 444 AM CDT Fri Oct 10 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Showers and a few thunderstorms are likely (50-70%) across northeast/central Missouri and west-central Illinois this morning, but severe storms are not expected. Some pockets of soaking rain are possible, but only for a limited area, and drought conditions will persist overall. - Slightly above normal temperatures and largely dry conditions are favored for the next week, with only a few opportunities for light rain Monday and again later in the week. && .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Saturday Afternoon) Issued at 303 AM CDT Fri Oct 10 2025 The most pressing item of interest during the short term period is the approach of a cold front from the northwest this morning, which is set to bring some scattered showers and a few thunderstorms to parts of the area early in the day. As of 3:00 AM, the actual surface boundary remained well to our northwest and draped across eastern Nebraska and northwest Iowa. Ahead of this front, numerous showers and weak thunderstorms have developed across northwest Missouri and central Iowa, and this activity is moving slowly southwest toward our area. This convection is being fueled largely by warm air advection and elevated instability, with between 500 and 1000 J/kg of MUCAPE being analyzed by SPC mesoanalysis in this area. However, very little effective shear exists in the storm layer, and this activity is largely unorganized as of yet. As we approach sunrise, at least a few of these storms are expected to reach northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois, and may drift as far south as central Missouri later in the morning. However, almost all available guidance suggests that this elevated instability will weaken as the day progresses, and very little in the way of surface-based instability is projected to develop either. Meanwhile, most CAMS do not maintain robust convection past mid- morning, and most precipitation is expected to diminish by the time it reaches as far southeast as the St. Louis metro area. Considering the lack of wind shear and the diminishing instability with time, severe thunderstorms are not expected. However, we can`t rule out a few instances of small hail in northeast Missouri before storms begin to weaken later in the morning. While some pockets of soaking rain will be possible, this is not expected to be widespread, and this rain is not likely to have a meaningful impact on drought conditions. Otherwise, the cold front is expected to slowly push through the area and stall somewhere across southern Missouri and Illinois by tonight and linger there through tomorrow. Considering that this front will be weakening as it arrives and won`t feature strong cold air advection behind it, temperatures today and tomorrow are likely to be generally warm, with values in the low to mid 70s north of I- 70 and near 80 degrees across the Ozarks and southwest Illinois. No additional precipitation is expected beyond this morning`s showers. BRC && .LONG TERM... (Saturday Night through Thursday) Issued at 303 AM CDT Fri Oct 10 2025 Following today`s cold front, the axis of an upper-level ridge will slowly drift overhead by Sunday. Meanwhile, a large low pressure system moving across the northern plains and upper Mississippi Valley will drive southerly return flow, and the combination of these factors will result in a modest warming trend Sunday and possibly into Monday as well. As such, we can expect temperatures to climb into the low 80s area-wide to end the weekend. However, the temperature forecast gets a bit less certain Monday onward due to the potential for additional cold fronts, similar to the one we will see today. Sometime between Monday and Tuesday, another cold front is likely to move into the area and stall. While this front (and possibly others later in the work week) do not appear to be particularly strong and will be fighting a persistent upper level ridge, it does appear that this will help to slow our warming trend a bit, especially in our northern areas. Still, ensemble temperature spreads remain relatively large from early to late next week, owning to timing and strength differences of the various fronts among ensemble members. Meanwhile, these cold fronts also maintain at least some modest precipitation chances, although most of the mentionable (15% or greater) precipitation chances remain just outside of our area in the operational NBM and official forecast. We suspect that these probabilities may be a bit too low, particularly on Monday, but considering that even if rain does fall the amounts are likely to be very light, we have opted to maintain the largely dry forecast for now. In other words, while we may get some light rain at times throughout the work week, drought conditions are very likely to persist overall BRC && .AVIATION... (For the 12z TAFs through 12z Saturday Morning) Issued at 438 AM CDT Fri Oct 10 2025 The main concern during the 12Z TAF period is the potential for showers and thunderstorms during the first 2 to 4 hours of the period, primarily at UIN/COU/JEF. Numerous thunderstorms have developed upstream as of 0930Z, and are slowly moving toward these terminals. While this activity is likely to weaken as it reaches each terminal, a few strikes of lightning and bursts of heavy rain will be possible. This threat is highest at the very beginning of the period, and will wane as the morning progresses. Some MVFR clouds will also be possible throughout the day and into the evening, but most model guidances keeps ceilings just above VFR thresholds. Elsewhere, some patchy steam fog will again be possible at SUS at the start of the period, but this is not likely to last long after sunrise. Precipitation is not likely to impact St. Louis area terminals. Otherwise, some patchy steam fog will again be possible at SUS and CPS overnight and early tomorrow morning, but the possibility of lingering low clouds and warmer overnight temperatures limits confidence that fog will develop. BRC && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...None. IL...None. && $$ WFO LSX