Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
839 FXUS63 KLSX 302325 AFDLSX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 625 PM CDT Sat May 30 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms are forecast through Monday, but confidence is low on the specifics (timing, areas impacted) with respect to each round. - Dry weather is forecast Tuesday through Thursday along with near normal temperatures. && .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Sunday Afternoon) Issued at 250 PM CDT Sat May 30 2026 Morning showers and thunderstorms that managed to stay tied to a cold pool have propagated eastward through much of central Missouri over the past few hours. Similar to yesterday, they have been highly efficient rainfall producers with highly anomalous precipitable water values (>1.7"; ~99th percentile), deep warm cloud depths, and low echo centroids. Downstream, more diurnal activity has begun as daytime instability climbs. This should be mainly scattered in nature, though there may be pockets of more widespread showers and thunderstorms across parts of east central/northeast Missouri downstream of an MCV that was evident on local radar reflectivity exiting central Missouri. Similar to yesterday, the expectation is for activity to lessen in coverage and strength through the evening hours as daytime instability wanes. The late evening/early overnight hours are largely expected to be dry, but we will be watching widespread thunderstorms in east/northeast Kansas. This activity is forecast to largely progress to the east/northeast with the mid/upper level flow. However, the low-level jet does veer about 20-30 degrees late tonight, which could help initiate additional thunderstorms further to the south and west. The best chance (40-60%) of showers and thunderstorms is across central Missouri northeast into west-central Illinois from about daybreak through the mid morning hours. Similar to today, I would expect activity to percolate through the morning hours, with areas/segments that are able to stay closely tied to their respective cold pools. Locally heavy rainfall may be a threat once again, though the propensity for storms to have some forward propagation and slightly less anomalous precipitable water values suggest a lesser threat compared to the past couple of days. Uncertainty increases for the afternoon hours in terms of whether or not we see any additional convective initiation (CI). There is a lot working against CI, with rising mid/upper level heights behind an earlier midlevel shortwave trough and morning/ongoing activity helping to lessen instability. There may be some surface convergence somewhere in/near our western counties that could be just strong enough to help develop a few thunderstorms, but this is a relatively low probability (~20%). There will be more flow aloft Sunday afternoon (30-35 knots) so IF we can get CI in the afternoon, there would be a threat for a strong-severe thunderstorm or two. Hail up to the size of quarters would be possible in any transient supercell, with damaging winds possible as well. Temperature wise, Sunday will be a challenge. While widespread low to mid 80s are forecast, I have little doubt that some areas will struggle to get into the upper 70s due to clouds/rain. Exactly where (and how widespread) that will occur however even 24 hours out is very difficult. Gosselin && .LONG TERM... (Sunday Night through Next Saturday) Issued at 250 PM CDT Sat May 30 2026 (Sunday Night - Monday) Another round of showers and thunderstorms is expected late Sunday night into Monday morning on the nose of a 20-30 knot low-level jet and downstream of a midlevel shortwave trough. Similar to late tonight/Sunday morning`s round, there is uncertainty with the track/timing of these storms. The general consensus though is for storms to move east/southeast out of northeast/central Missouri through at least portions of the area. This activity may weaken with time as the low-level moisture convergence weakens. Additional showers and thunderstorms seem unlikely to develop given rising mid/upper level heights. There is enough midlevel flow though to watch for the possibility of CI as there could be a couple of strong- severe thunderstorms IF any storms that do develop. Subtle areas of surface convergence (maybe remnant outflow?) look to be the only potential forcing to help initiate storms, but sometimes that is just enough. (Monday Night - Next Saturday) There remains high confidence in a dry period behind a backdoor cold cold front Monday night through Thursday. The incoming air mass has trended slightly stronger over the past 24-48 hours (i.e., cooler and drier). The surface anticyclone on Wednesday across the Great Lakes is forecast to be near 1026 hPa, or near the 99th percentile of climatology. Temperatures at 850 hPa drop to near +10 to +14C from east to west, or about 1-3C below normal. Another air mass indication is surface dewpoints, and they are forecast to drop into the upper 40s to mid 50s. These values would be roughly between the 10th and 25th percentile for early June. There also should not be much in the way of clouds through midweek, so slightly below normal lows and near normal highs are generally expected with light easterly winds south of the aforementioned surface anticyclone. Temperatures are expected to moderate late in the work week as low- level flow turns out of the southwest. There are also signs that a midlevel shortwave trough may approach the Great Lakes Friday into next Saturday, which could bring a cold front along with a chance of showers and thunderstorms back into our region. Gosselin && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Sunday Evening) Issued at 618 PM CDT Sat May 30 2026 Showers and thunderstorms are rapidly diminishing across the region, with mostly dry conditions expected through at least the early overnight hours. Showers and thunderstorms currently over central Kansas will eventually make their way into central Missouri early to mid-morning, but confidence in their specific timing is low. The current forecast at KCOU and KJEF is when probabilities peak, but the window for impacts may be shifted a couple of hours earlier or later. Confidence is then even lower with how far eastward these showers and storms get; therefore, impacts have been left out of the KUIN, KSUS, KSTL, and KCPS TAFs for now. With all of the rainfall today, another round of fog can`t be ruled out across portions of the area, but confidence is currently low in its formation. Trends through this evening will build confidence in this outcome, with a more confident yes/no forecast expected by the 06z TAFs. Elmore && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...None. IL...None. && $$ WFO LSX