046
FXUS63 KBIS 062022
AFDBIS

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
322 PM CDT Mon May 6 2024

.KEY MESSAGES...

- There is a conditional risk of a few strong thunderstorms this
  afternoon and evening, mainly across southwest and south
  central parts of the state.

- Strong southeast winds gusting to around 50 mph are expected
  across central and eastern North Dakota this evening.

- Strong westerly winds are possible in southwest North Dakota
  on Tuesday.

- Warmer and drier weather is favored later in the week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 318 PM CDT Mon May 6 2024

Currently, a surface low sits across western South Dakota and
northeastern Wyoming, with an attendant warm front oriented
northwest to southeast across roughly the same area. Some windy
conditions are still present across much of central and eastern
portions of the state, with the highest measured sustained winds
around 25 to 35 mph. As such, the current Wind Advisories will
continue as planned, expiring at midnight CDT. Some showers are also
making their way north through the central parts of the state, with
an occasional rumble of thunder possible. These showers should
remain rather tame, as the instability in this area is not too
strong. Temperatures should max out in the mid 50s to lower 60s
today, with overnight lows in the 40s to 50s.

The previously mentioned warm front is slowly moving roughly north,
along with the surface low, which is fueling the development of some
strong storms in western South Dakota. As the afternoon progresses,
this front will move north towards North Dakota, bringing along with
it the potential for continued severe storm development along it. As
a result, parts of southwestern and portions of far south central
North Dakota are currently under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 8
PM CDT (7 PM MDT), as well as a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) from
the SPC. The main hazards expected with this event will be winds up
to 60 mph, large hail up to quarter size, and the potential for a
tornado or two. While the ingredients are certainly supportive of
strong storm development, our main concern with this setup is
whether or not the instability will remain in our area for long
enough to get anything going. The most recent deterministic analysis
of SBCAPE suggests a narrow corridor focused along and moving with
the warm front, with values maxing out around 1500 to 2000 J/kg.
However, as soon as this corridor of instability moves into Bowman
and Adams counties, it begins to weaken rather quickly, nearly
dissipating entirely around 8 or 9 PM. 0 to 1 km shear values ahead
of the front are forecast to be around 20 to 30 kts, which combined
with forecasted 0 to 1 km SRH values of 150 to 300 m2/s2, help
support the possibility of a tornado or two, albeit being weak and
short lived tornados. Modest mid level lapse rates are expected to
be present as well, but once again, the timeframe is rather short
for all of these ingredients to line up, and as such, the overall
severe threat is expected to be short lived as well.

Overnight and into Tuesday, this large low pressure system is
expected to move further north into North Dakota, before weakening
and moving southeast into the Great Lakes region through the second
half of the week. Wrap around moisture will bring continued showers
to the area through tonight and Tuesday, with chances tapering off
into Wednesday. Current probabilistic guidance suggests portions of
far western North Dakota will see a 50 to 60% chance of exceeding
1.00" of rain through Wednesday morning, with those chances dropping
to around 10% in central North Dakota. Chances for exceeding 0.50"
of rain in the same timeframe are in the 60 to 80% range for almost
the entire area. Rainfall totals continue to slightly decrease with
each subsequent model run, but overall, the chances for receiving
precipitation remain in the 40 to 70% range for a majority of the
area. Temperatures Tuesday will be a bit lower than today, with
highs mainly in the 50s to lower 60s.

After this wet period, long range guidance suggests the start of a
drying and warming period, as signs point towards the development of
a large ridge across the western CONUS, building east into the Great
Plains through the end of the week and into the weekend. High
temperatures are forecast to warm into the upper 60s and lower 70s
by Thursday, continuing through the weekend. Current NBM spreads for
temperatures on Thursday and Friday are pretty tight, suggesting
increased confidence in a warm and dry end to the work week.
Following that, while temperatures are expected to remain warm, the
spread increases as a result of guidance beginning to disagree with
the synoptic flow pattern heading into the weekend. However, warmer
temperatures in general are expected to continue regardless of the
outcome.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/...
Issued at 1246 PM CDT Mon May 6 2024

A strong low pressure system will continue to bring aviation
impacts to western and central North Dakota through the forecast
period, with widespread MVFR to IFR ceilings. Periods of
showers and scattered thunderstorms can also be expected today
through tonight. Southeast winds will remain elevated through
this evening with gusts to 35-45 kts this afternoon, strongest
over central and eastern North Dakota. Winds will gradually ease
this evening, but will start turning northwest over southwest
North Dakota early tomorrow morning, possibly becoming strong
over the far southwest.

&&

.BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Advisory until midnight CDT /11 PM MDT/ tonight for
NDZ003>005-011>013-019>023-025-034>037-042-045>048-050-051.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...Besson
AVIATION...JJS