


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Rapid City, SD
Issued by NWS Rapid City, SD
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590 FXUS63 KUNR 181710 AFDUNR Area Forecast Discussion For Western SD and Northeastern WY National Weather Service Rapid City SD 1110 AM MDT Sat Oct 18 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Showers ending this morning; breezy over northwest SD. - Sunny and warmer on Sunday - Windy on Monday, with low end precipitation chances. - Dry, with warming temperatures Tuesday-Friday. && .DISCUSSION...(Today Through Friday) Issued at 216 AM MDT Sat Oct 18 2025 Water vapor imagery shows a strong wave digging down the backside of a trough, which is centered across the northern Great Plains. A cold front is crossing the CWA...just passing Rapid City in the last couple of hours. KUDX radar shows the frontal boundary and light rain over NW SD through the northern Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains. Winds are gusting to 25-35 mph directly behind the front. A secondary front will cross the CWA later this morning, bringing a resurgence of wind today. Steep lapse rates due to cold pool aloft will support showers this morning...and allow gusty winds to transfer to the surface. Forecast profiles over NW SD show 700mb winds in the 35-40kt range, so think gusts will generally be 40-45 mph with occasional gusts up to 50 mph. Not enough to warrant a wind advisory today. Showers will push through the CWA through mid morning, then depart to the SE by noon. Light snow will be possible across the higher Black Hills, but surface temps near or just above freezing should prevent any notable accumulation. Sunshine will return for the afternoon, with highs in the mid 40s to mid 50s. Upper ridging quickly builds in Sunday, bringing in warmer SW flow. Highs areawide are expected to be 20 degrees warmer with plenty more sunshine. Warmth doesn`t last long, as the next trough/upper low approaches the region Sunday night into Monday. Surface low/front crosses the Dakotas Sunday night...and a tightening pressure gradient on Monday as cold air advection continues. Light showers are possible, but the bigger story will be the wind. Models show gusts reaching into advisory/warning criteria. Will keep an eye on this for potential headlines. Ridging builds afterward and remains in control for much of the week, bringing dry weather and a warming trend to the region. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS Through 18Z Sunday) Issued At 1108 AM MDT Sat Oct 18 2025 VFR conditions expected through the TAF period. Northwest winds with gusts to 40kt are expected across portions of the western SD plains this afternoon and evening. && .UNR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. WY...None. && $$ DISCUSSION/KEY MESSAGES...13 AVIATION...Wong