


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
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839 FXUS63 KLSX 301118 AFDLSX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 618 AM CDT Sat Aug 30 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Mostly dry conditions will continue, with temperatures falling below normal after today, resulting in a very comfortable Labor Day Weekend. A more dramatic, albeit temporary, cooldown is all but certain on Thursday. && .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Sunday Afternoon) Issued at 306 AM CDT Sat Aug 30 2025 The Mid-Mississippi Valley remains vaguely under the influence of a surface ridge centered across the Great Lakes, though mid-level shortwave impulses continue to stream south amidst the cyclonic flow aloft. These features are promoting anything from mid-level clouds to isolated, weak showers generally along the Mississippi River where low-level moisture is locally-higher. So far tonight, all activity is staying north of the forecast area in eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. However, most deterministic guidance does feature continued weak, persistent mid-level vorticity maxima along the Mississippi River today. Along with the local maximum in low- level moisture, another day of isolated showers is in the cards. Those in far northern Missouri and west-central Illinois may hear a rumble of thunder, with MUCAPE values pushing 1000 J/kg there, but most of the convection will be too shallow to glaciate and produce lightning. Otherwise, a largely dry and seasonable day will mark the first full day of the Labor Day weekend. Showery activity will linger into the early evening until the loss of daytime instability ends this threat. Winds back a bit overnight but remain somewhat easterly to southeasterly, keeping any warm air advection at bay. Sunday`s temperatures will likely (80% chance) be stunted a bit compared to today`s due to increased cloud cover and a low (10-15%) chance for light rain in northeast and central Missouri. These low rain chances will be forced by a slow-moving mid- level wave that will attenuate and stall in the region through early next week, keeping pesky rain chances (15-35%) in place. MRB && .LONG TERM... (Sunday Night through Friday) Issued at 306 AM CDT Sat Aug 30 2025 The wave that stalls somewhere in western Missouri Sunday, according to a majority of available guidance, will continue to promote showery activity focused mainly to our west. While a few showers may manage to drift east enough to bring light rain to central and southeast Missouri through Monday, the bigger impact will be the cooler temperatures as a result of more abundant cloud cover. The beginning of climatological autumn will certainly feel like it. Temperatures monday will struggle to warm above 80 degrees north and west of St. Louis, and won`t be much warmer than 80 for St. Louis and south/east. By Tuesday, a more well-defined shortwave develops in most guidance, which will result in a more concrete threat for precipitation, particularly south of I-70 where atmospheric moisture will be most readily available. That said, the moisture profile looks fairly unimpressive even in the worst-case scenario, which will very likely (90%+ chance) prevent any heavy rain threat. Right behind this, the much-advertised cold front that will usher in a more substantial cooldown will cross the region on Wednesday. With limited moisture available to it and the potent closed ULL, showers will be scattered at best and any rain that falls will be on the lighter side (chances of seeing 0.50 inches of rain are virtually zero). Very anomalously-cold air aloft and at the surface will rush in behind the front, keeping temperatures up to 15 degrees below early-September normals on Thursday. Overnight lows will also be comparatively chilly, with all areas outside of the immediate St. Louis metropolitan area forecast to fall into the 40s early Friday morning. Temperatures do moderate a tad as weak warm-air advection attempts to establish by next weekend, but below-normal temperatures and dry conditions will likely persist nonetheless. While this spells picturesque sensible weather for outdoor activities, we are entering our driest time of year having seen very little rain recently. While evaporative demand will be fairly low with temperatures so cool, the drought will not be alleviated by any stretch given the current forecast. MRB && .AVIATION... (For the 12z TAFs through 12z Sunday Morning) Issued at 607 AM CDT Sat Aug 30 2025 Intermittent valley fog has developed in the Missouri River bottoms, leading to varying VSBYs at KSUS. Otherwise, VFR conditions prevail this morning. Fog will dissipate with sunrise within the next few hours, and VFR conditions will continue through the rest of the TAF period under light easterly winds. Attention will be paid to KUIN, which has a 15-20% chance of showers this afternoon. Similar to yesterday, showers will be fairly isolated and the chance for lightning is very low. No mention of precipitation was added to the TAFs at this time, but the need for it will be monitored closely. MRB && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...None. IL...None. && $$ WFO LSX