Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Duluth, MN

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101 FXUS63 KDLH 022030 AFDDLH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Duluth MN 330 PM CDT Thu May 2 2024 .KEY MESSAGES...
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- Continue to ride the rain chance rollercoaster with waves of precipitation moving through today, Friday evening into Saturday, and again Monday into Tuesday. - Normal to above normal temperatures through the weekend and into early next week. - Some severe weather possible with the Monday-Tuesday chance of precipitation.
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&& .DISCUSSION...
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Issued at 326 PM CDT Thu May 2 2024 Yet another round of rain is moving through the area this afternoon, with areas of mostly stratiform rain showers across the Northland. Behind the initial push of rain, lower clouds and light rain/drizzle have been observed. Expect at least light rain to stick around through the afternoon and early evening hours, with areas of moderate rainfall mixing in a times. This will all slowly propagate north, slowly clearly from south to north into Friday morning. As this precipitation moves out, some fog could build overnight on both land and lake. Tomorrow, expecting a fairly dry and warm day for much of the Northland. The one exception may be along portions of the International Border, where some scattered light rain showers may persist through early to mid afternoon and cloud cover will keep temperatures in the 50s. Elsewhere, expecting temperatures in the 60s, possibly near 70 in NW WI. Winds will become gusty out of the southwest tomorrow afternoon with efficient mixing up to around 850mb. Gusts of 25 to 35 mph possible, the strongest along the Iron Range and into the MN Arrowhead. Into the later after noon and evening, our next round of rain starts to creep in, along a baroclinic zone and strong upper level jet. Deterministic guidance continues to paint this as a SW to NE oriented band of rainfall that will develop up to the northeast, and then push across eastward, brining another 0.10-0.25" of rain for much of the area. A brief moment of ridging and high pressure (remember what that is?!) builds in Sunday, with sunshine and warm temperatures expected. This will be one of the longer periods of no rainfall that we`ve seen in the last 10 days. Clear skies continue into Monday morning, but starts to fill back in through the day, as a deep upper level trough swings across the Plains. Timing is a little uncertain on the arrival of this system to our area, and I would not be surprised to see the arrival time slow down as we get closer. Regardless, into Tuesday, this system is expected to spin up and deepen further, bringing a potent shot of rainfall and the potential for some severe weather to the area, and then additional rainfall in the occluded quadrant of the storm into mid week. Ensemble mean QPF is around 075- 1" of rain, but there are some members that suggest locally heavy rainfall could be possible. Will have to keep an eye on not only the severe threat, but the potential for some local flash flooding, especially considering our newly moistened landscape.
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&& .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/...
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Issued at 1251 PM CDT Thu May 2 2024 A broad area of low pressure with two low pressure centers, one over western North Dakota and another over eastern Iowa, will bring light rain, reduced visibility, and lower ceilings to the terminals this afternoon through Friday morning. While 1730Z regional WSR-88D mosaic represents a precipitation-free area over west-central Minnesota, surface observations indicate drizzle and light precipitation with fog, mist, and reduced visibility. Areas of heavier precipitation over northeast MN and northwest WI produced pockets of MVFR visibility and a few IFR ceilings. Think the trend toward lower flight categories will overspread the terminals this afternoon and evening. Look for LIFR conditions to develop at DLH, HIB, and HYR tonight. LLWS will be a concern at BRD and INL overnight as a low-level jet develops to the south and east of the Dakotas low as it moves over northwest Minnesota into northwest Ontario. LLWS is possible at HIB, although most guidance has that terminal situated between two stronger axes of winds aloft. As the low pressure systems push northeast of the region Friday morning, expect flight categories to improve.
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&& .MARINE /FOR NEAR SHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/...
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Issued at 326 PM CDT Thu May 2 2024 Northeast winds continue to strengthen yet this afternoon and evening, brining elevated wave heights to Western Lake Superior, especially the head of the lake. Northeast winds should back off overnight. Friday, expect winds to turn southwesterly and become strong up to 25 knots through the day. Due to warmer temperatures on land, expecting the strongest winds further up in the atmosphere to not make it to the surface of the lake, but they may be sampled by larger ships measuring wind further up. For the open water discussion, refer to the NWS Marquette Area Forecast Discussion at weather.gov/mqt.
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&& .DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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MN...None. WI...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM CDT Friday for LSZ142>146.
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&& $$ DISCUSSION...Levens AVIATION...Huyck MARINE...Levens