Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Omaha/Valley, NE

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226
FXUS63 KOAX 040437
AFDOAX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1137 PM CDT Fri May 3 2024

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Thunderstorms are expected this evening into the overnight
  hours with a 5 to 10% chance of damaging hail and wind.

- There is a chance of severe thunderstorms (15 to 30 percent
  chance) Monday afternoon and evening.

- Additional chances for showers and storms possible through the
  end of the week, but no organized threat for severe storms.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 251 PM CDT Fri May 3 2024

This afternoon - Saturday:

There are still some high clouds around the area this afternoon,
causing some echos to show up on radar, but we`re not seeing
anything reach the ground. Winds are out of the southeast and
temperatures are in the upper 60s to around 70 here around 2 PM,
and should rise into the low 70s for highs this afternoon. We`re
watching a cold front associated with a low pressure system out
over the Nebraska Panhandle this afternoon which will move
through overnight tonight. This will bring a line of showers and
thunderstorms through around 10 PM to 6 AM. We are under a
marginal risk for severe weather from the Storm Prediction
Center. The environment out ahead of the cold front does have
up to 500 J/kg of MUCAPE indicating enough instability for
thunderstorms, and combined with 50-60 kt of 0-6 km Bulk Shear
indicates a threat of up to quarter-size hail and damaging
winds. This line should move through fairly quickly, but we
could see up to an inch or more of rain in places. Once the main
line moves through, expect a post-frontal rain shield to trail
the main line, tapering off an hour or two later.

Low clouds will hang around through the morning on Saturday,
with the sun coming out Saturday afternoon. Temperatures will be
a bit cooler with highs only in the low-to-mid 60s with breezy
winds out of the north gusting to 25 mph in the morning,
dropping off during the afternoon.

Sunday-Monday:

Another upper-level trough will start to dig into the Four-
Corners region on Sunday, approaching our area. Sunday should be
a fairly nice day with light winds in the morning becoming
southeasterly and starting to increase during the afternoon
ahead of the approaching system. Temperatures will stay on the
cooler side with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s.

We`ll see the surface low start to develop on the lee side of
the Rockies Sunday evening with a surge of moisture lifting
north out of the Gulf of Mexico associated with the Low-Level
Jet across central and eastern Nebraska. We probably won`t see
precipitation start Sunday night, but we`ll see increasing
clouds with chances for rain starting Monday morning.

We`ll want to watch Monday evening for potential severe weather
as the main upper-level wave pushes the dry-line across our
area. This is our best opportunity for severe weather, with
large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes all possible. There is
some possibility that stronger storms developing to our south
cut off a lot of our moisture which could limit our severe
potential, as the greater severe weather threat does appear to
be to our south. We do still want to monitor this time frame,
though. Storms do appear likely to be out of our area by Tuesday
morning.


Tuesday-Thursday:

No other notable severe weather risks to mention through the
rest of the forecast. We do see a shortwave move through Tuesday
night that could bring another round of more modest storms
through Tuesday night into early Wednesday. Through the end of
the week we see a broad trough set up across much of the central
CONUS with a fairly baroclinic pattern that could bring
additional low chances for showers and storms, but no organized
threat for severe weather. High temperatures stay in the 60s and
70s and lows in the 40s and 50s.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/...
Issued at 1132 PM CDT Fri May 3 2024

The main concern of the TAF period continues to be the line of
storms moving into eastern Nebraska over the next few hours.
Those storms have already moved into the KOFK vicinity with
lightning and rain, though ceilings and visibilities have yet
to take a hit into MVFR or lower. Gusts as strong as 40 kts
appear likely at KLNK when the line arrives around 0530 to
0600z, while areas north near KOMA see less intense storms with
gusts as strong as 30 kts from 0645 to 0800z. Ceilings and
visibilities are expected to take a hit behind the main line,
with low-end MVFR ceilings and visibilities forecast through
around or just after sunrise, with the area seeing clouds move
out by late afternoon.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
IA...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...McCoy
AVIATION...Petersen