Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Des Moines, IA
Issued by NWS Des Moines, IA
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898 FXUS63 KDMX 010432 AFDDMX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Des Moines IA 1132 PM CDT Tue Apr 30 2024 ...Updated for the 06z Aviation Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... - Enhanced Risk This Afternoon/Evening for Very Large Hail and Damaging Thunderstorm Winds - Heavy rain and marginal severe weather Wednesday night into Thursday. Localized hydrology impacts possible. - Active weather resumes this weekend and at the beginning of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 255 PM CDT Tue Apr 30 2024 Upper air analysis paints a broad area of troughing over southwest Canada with embedded shortwave energy propagating around the feature. One of note in the northern Plains will generate severe weather for Iowa today as it ejects across the region this afternoon. A secondary surface low placed over Nebraska will begin to phase into the main system, but will work together to intensify low level moisture advection. This process was already noticeable this morning as an advection wing of showers and storms progressed into the state, outrunning the instability axis. High dew point values will pool along an approaching cold front in the west, driving CAPE values into the 1000s range in southwest Iowa. Wind fields are favorable for storm organization with 50kt+ winds out of the West at H500 paired with diffluent flow aloft and enhanced southerly low level flow mentioned earlier. The wind field is near textbook for dominating right-moving supercells. Plenty of directional and speed shear aloft with an impressive looking low level wind field. The highest confidence threats would be hail and wind with storms, especially in the early stages of their lives when they are discreet. Large rotating updrafts with sufficient instability and ventilation are primed for large hail production. The 18z OAX sounding further supports hail production with 700-500mb lapse rates valued at 8.3 C/km. Inverted-v soundings below will allow for the acceleration of cold pools and, consequently, severe winds. Can expect possible hail in excess of 2 inches with larger storms and winds approaching 70mph in the favorable downdraft regime. Some uncertainty lingers on how these two threats will evolve as the sun sets and the LLJ influence increases. CAMs illustrate a gradual evolution of a linear mode of sorts with embedded UH streaks in the line. Thu UH streaks are large from the anticipated large updraft regions of storms with some updrafts noticeably deviating off Bunkers motion and into the better instability, further increasing the streamwise vorticity ingest. Whatever cell/cluster can get going along the instability axis will likely be the dominating storm and inhibit upscale growth of cells further to the north of it. CAMs have been consistent in placing this storm somewhere in central Iowa, but cannot say in certainty who would be directly impacted. Now, to cover the tornado threat. As it sits, there is a 5% risk of a tornado within 25 miles of of a point. If you observe soundings from the RAP for this afternoon, the tornado chances appear to be higher. The main difference is in the LCLs. Consensus for the area appears to be LCLs generally around 1500m which is too high for tornadoes. The RAP has some consistency in its run in really pooling moisture along the cold front this afternoon, lowering the LCLs to favorable heights for tornadoes. If the LCLs in the environment are lower, the storm will be able to ingest some of the streamwise vorticity found in the lowest km of the environment. Helicity values in this region of the atmosphere are in the 100s which is more than enough for tornadogenesis. That all being said, we are not expecting tornadoes to be the primary threat today, but that doesn`t mean they aren`t out of the question. The potential for tornadoes is higher the further into the moisture axis you traverse as this will be the region of the best potential for lower cloud bases. A close analysis of the near storm environment will be needed as the storms involve because further environmental factors such as boundary ingestion could further encourage tornadogenesis. A brief pause in precipitation is expected during the daytime Wednesday, but the Gulf opens up again through the day ahead of another approaching area of low pressure which will work to enhance jet speeds Wednesday evening and overnight, generating PWAT values nearing 1.5 inches in the southwest. Warm cloud depths will exceed 3500m. An MCS is anticipated to move into portions of southern Iowa ahead of even more rainfall anticipated with the main shortwave during the day Thursday. The MCS will settle for a path generally along wherever the instability axis sets up across the south. Consequently, the recovery of instability for Thursday will be questionable, causing uncertainty in severe weather chances. Nonetheless, the LLJ with advance further into the state through the day and continue to support additional rainfall statewide. Climatologically, PWAT and specific humidity values are in the upper 90th percentiles and near the top of the GEFS QPF model climatology. The ECMWF EFI covers much of the state in values between 0.7 and 0.8. The same area is circled in a shift of tails contour, signifying further that the QPF amounts are near the top of the model climatology. The grand ensemble 24 hour QPF exceeds 1 inch for especially the southern part of the state, given that this is a course output, locally high amounts are possible and will be better evaluated as the hi res window captures the event fully. Some river response is expected with HEFS putting some sites in action stage. The rest of the period remains mild and active with additional rain chances returning over the weekend. Temperatures will remain near 70 degrees. Active weather remains the theme into early next week. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1131 PM CDT Tue Apr 30 2024 Conditions have improved across all sites late tonight as convection has pushed east of the area. Overnight and into the day Wednesday the primary change in weather will be shifting winds between the departing low tonight and the incoming low on Wednesday night. Scattered showers will move into the area Wednesday afternoon, becoming more widespread through the evening and overnight Wednesday night. Current impacts are at the end of the TAF period and additional detail will be added in subsequent updates. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...Jimenez AVIATION...Hagenhoff