


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
Issued by NWS St. Louis, MO
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710 FXUS63 KLSX 180358 AFDLSX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 1058 PM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Dangerous heat and humidity will continue for at least one more day Monday, and potentially into Tuesday for portions of the area. - Scattered thunderstorms are forecast again on Monday afternoon, but more widespread rain chances (30-50%) come with a cold front Tuesday afternoon/night. && .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Monday Afternoon) Issued at 229 PM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025 Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue over the next several hours into the early evening. Similar to yesterday, there is very little/no steering flow or deep-layer shear. Individual showers and thunderstorms should not survive too long, sending out nearly concentric outflow boundaries. These outflow boundaries then should generate new convection, with the west/southwest flank likely being favored. Steep low-level lapse rates and high DCAPE values (>1000 J/kg) suggest sufficiently tall thunderstorms will produce microbursts. Most of these should stay mainly in the 30-50 mph range, but one or two may have enough longevity to produce some near severe wind gusts. These storms also should be pretty efficient rainfall producers given precipitable water values around 1.75" (~90th percentile of climatology). The overall flash flood threat is low given the short duration of individual thunderstorms, but if one is able to survive long enough or there is any training there could be some extremely localized hydrological problems. As mentioned above, the favored area for showers and thunderstorms should continue to move westward early this evening, more into parts of central and southeast Missouri. This is because renewed convective development should in theory reinforce the westward movement of the composite outflow boundary. A loss of some daytime instability should once again lead to the weakening and eventual dissipation of any lingering showers and thunderstorms by late evening. The remainder of the overnight period is likely to be dry, though there is more of a broad, weak low-level jet with some weak moisture convergence in northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois. This suggests there could be an isolated shower or weak thunderstorm or two overnight, but coverage should be too low to add the inclusion of any mentionable PoPs. Another complex of thunderstorms/MCS is likely to be ongoing Monday morning across the mid-Missouri Valley into the Upper Midwest. This activity should weaken and eventually dissipate shortly after 1500 UTC as the low-level jet weakens. There may be a remnant outflow boundary that attempts to move into northeast Missouri and west- central Illinois, but this is highly uncertain. Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop by early afternoon in parts of east central and southeast Missouri where capping is weakest. Chances expand in area as individual concentric outflows serving as the focus for additional development. The overall environment should be nearly identical as today (and yesterday), so gusty winds via microbursts and extremely localized heavy rainfall are the concerns once again. Another hot and humid day is on tap on Monday, though there may be a bit more cloud cover earlier in the day so highs may be a tick or so cooler for much of the area. In addition, dewpoints should tend to be a bit lower. We definitely saw some pooling along today`s remnant outflow boundary and are less likely to see that type of boundary in our area tomorrow. However, it still will be quite hot and humid overall with highs mainly in the low to mid 90s and peak heat index values around 105 degrees for most locations. Gosselin && .LONG TERM... (Monday Night through Next Sunday) Issued at 229 PM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025 (Monday Night - Wednesday) The concern for Monday night into Tuesday continues to be on MCS development upstream across the mid-Missouri Valley. Deterministic guidance are a bit all over the place, but generally have at least scattered showers and thunderstorms in/near areas northwest of I-70 in Missouri and I-55 in Illinois. Moisture convergence weakens especially after 1500 UTC as the veering low-level jet abates. This should lead to the dissipation of showers and thunderstorms across the area, but even in this scenario several questions remain. Is the convection organized enough to produce a southward propagating outflow boundary? How much does lingering cloud cover impact temperatures? When does renewed convection develop along/near either the synoptic cold front and/or the remnant outflow boundary? Long story short, there are a lot of questions regarding temperatures on Tuesday afternoon. Therefore, did not extend any part of the ongoing heat advisory through Tuesday. The best chances remain in southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois with the LREF showing 40-60% chances for at least a peak heat index of 100 degrees. As alluded to by the previous forecaster though, these probabilities have decreased about 10-20% from yesterday. There is a scenario where a more-organized MCS moves into parts of the area Tuesday morning and completely augments the environment in our whole CWA. While I do not think this is particularly likely, there has been a tendency for convection to survive a lot longer than anticipated since July which also gives me pause in extending any heat headlines into Tuesday. The timing of the synoptic front also looks slightly sped up compared to 24-48 hours ago, likely bisecting the area around 0000 UTC Wednesday and clearing out of the area closer to 0600 UTC. Wednesday will be cooler, though the lower humidity (like many summer fronts) really lags behind the initial boundary. Temperatures will be a lot cooler (highs mainly mid to upper 80s), so even with the lingering humidity, it will feel quite a bit better and put a definitive end to the heat if convection does not do it on Tuesday. An elongated midlevel shortwave trough is also forecast to move through the mid-Mississippi Valley on Wednesday. Some lingering moisture combined with steepening midlevel lapse rates beneath the aforementioned trough should lead to scattered showers along with a few thunderstorms, mainly along/south of Interstate 70. (Wednesday Night - Friday Night) Mostly near normal temperatures along with dry weather (and lower humidity) are forecast then through Saturday with a ridge of surface high pressure across the region. (Next Weekend) Some slight moderation in temperatures is expected ahead of the next cold front on SaturdaY. Speaking of which, recent trends have shown a stronger mid/upper level trough moving into the Great Lakes on Saturday. The air mass behind the associated cold front has also trended cooler and is starting to look fairly impressive for late August. The surface high is strong on the NAEFS (~1022 hPa: >90th percentile of climatology) along with 850-hPa temperature anomalies on the GEFS/EPS means of 2-6C. The main source of uncertainty is how far southwest this anomalously cool air will get as the EPS is more focused into the Great Lakes/eastern seaboard. Meanwhile, the GEFS plunges well-below normal temperatures through the mid-Mississippi Valley. Not surprisingly, the spread on the NBM is quite large for temperatures, depicting IQR spreads of 6 to 10 degrees. So while confidence in below normal temperatures has increased, the magnitude and longevity is unknown. Another sign that this is more of a fall like front is that precipitation chances look meager along the boundary. The combination of weak moisture return and the mid/upper level forcing for ascent staying well to our northeast suggests this may be a mostly dry, if not completely, dry frontal passage. Gosselin && .AVIATION... (For the 06z TAFs through 06z Monday Night) Issued at 1058 PM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025 Another round of thunderstorms is possible Monday afternoon/early evening. It will be a similar theme as seen over the past couple of days with scattered coverage favored from KJEF eastward through the metro terminals. KUIN`s thunderstorm chances will depend on a separate area of convection over Iowa and whether outflow from the thunderstorm complex makes it far enough south to influence conditions at the terminal. A few thunderstorms will produce locally heavy rain and downburst winds, but this will be isolated to the strongest cells. This environment makes it very difficult to pinpoint exact locations and timing. Thus, PROB30 groups were utilized to address general timing for peak coverage and intensity. Outside of Monday`s thunderstorms, VFR is expected. Scattered to broken high clouds will gradually thin out overnight with more intense convection departed farther to the north than in the past couple of nights. Light and variable surface winds are expected to increase slightly Monday, but remaining below 10 knots. Predominant flow is forecast between 170-150 degrees around the metro terminals and 210-180 degrees from central Missouri through west-central Illinois. Maples && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...Heat Advisory until 8 PM CDT Monday for Audrain MO-Boone MO- Callaway MO-Cole MO-Crawford MO-Franklin MO-Gasconade MO- Iron MO-Jefferson MO-Knox MO-Lewis MO-Lincoln MO-Madison MO- Marion MO-Moniteau MO-Monroe MO-Montgomery MO-Osage MO-Pike MO-Ralls MO-Reynolds MO-Saint Charles MO-Saint Francois MO- Saint Louis City MO-Saint Louis MO-Sainte Genevieve MO- Shelby MO-Warren MO-Washington MO. IL...Heat Advisory until 8 PM CDT Monday for Adams IL-Bond IL-Brown IL-Calhoun IL-Clinton IL-Fayette IL-Greene IL-Jersey IL- Macoupin IL-Madison IL-Marion IL-Monroe IL-Montgomery IL- Pike IL-Randolph IL-Saint Clair IL-Washington IL. && $$ WFO LSX