


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Aberdeen, SD
Issued by NWS Aberdeen, SD
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
034 FXUS63 KABR 041151 AAA AFDABR Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Aberdeen SD 651 AM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Heat and humidity will continue today. However, heat indices are forecast to stay below 100 degrees this afternoon, with cooler temperatures and dewpoints on Saturday. - Showers and thunderstorms are expected (55-75% chance), initially,over central South Dakota this afternoon with this activity slowly moving and being reinforced by additional thunderstorms (75-95% chance) across the eastern half of the state this evening through Saturday morning. - Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2+ inches is possible this afternoon through tonight mainly east of the Missouri River. Localized areas could exceed 2 inches, especially over portions of north central through northeastern SD into west central MN. - The weather pattern stays active into early next week with rain chances Saturday night, and again Monday afternoon/evening. && .UPDATE... Issued at 648 AM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025 See below for an aviation forecast discussion for the 12Z TAFs. && .DISCUSSION /TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON/... Issued at 430 AM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025 At 3 AM CDT, skies are mostly clear and temperatures are in the 70s. Winds are southerly around 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30+mph at times while a southwesterly low level jet of 30 to 45 knots happens just off the surface. The seven day forecast features an upper level ridge; currently centered over the middle of the CONUS, but forecast to flatten a bit over this CWA days 3 and 4 into zonal flow, before it pumps back up over the western CONUS Tuesday/Wednesday and then propagates back over the nation`s mid-section Wednesday/Thursday. While the ridge remains overhead today, it`s looking like another warm day, with high temperatures expected to warm up into the 90s across much of the CWA. However, presently, guidance does not introduce temp/dewpoints high enough to generate widespread apparent T`s (heat indices) of 100F degrees or higher. As a result, not starting the day off with a Heat Advisory. The day shift can throw one out, if it starts looking like temp/dewpoint forecast are getting off track. So, aloft, there is a shortwave over the central high plains that is forecast to rotate north and east around this upper level ridge over the region. And, at the surface, the map shows two surface trofs (one over western SD and one back over northeast MT/northwest ND). Models generally agree on holding this western SD/lee-of-the-Rockies surface trof in place over western/central SD through early this afternoon, while gradually dropping the MT/ND boundary (a cold front) south and east into the CWA by early this evening and running it down out of the southeast corner of the CWA Saturday morning. Expecting, with an environment that is weakly capped, CI should be generally somewhere between 1 PM CDT and 4 PM CDT in/near this lee- side surface trof across the far western forecast zones. ML CAPE over 2000J/kg and deep layer shear at or less than 25 knots should promote a storm mode of pulse to perhaps multi-cellular convection this afternoon with a marginal hail threat. With a nearly saturated sounding (high pwats) environment and (almost saturated) mid-level lapse rates on the order of 5.5C to 7C/km, wind concerns do not appear to come into play during the afternoon. But, perhaps strong/damaging winds could be possible later in the evening/overnight as drier air starts to entrain into the boundary layer with any storms that develop along the cold front as it moves through the CWA. Both the NAM and RAP indicate a brief uptick in deep layer shear across the pre-cold frontal environment over the eastern third of forecast zones this evening between ~02Z and 06Z. During this time, 0-3km CAPE is forecast at or above 75J/kg and 0- 1km shear vectors increase from the southwest to ~15-25 knots, all lending support to the notion that perhaps a wind threat could materialize with thunderstorms after they cross over the James River valley and head toward west central Minnesota. But, more than anything, there is a growing sensitivity and concern that thunderstorms today/tonight will be slow-moving and rather moisture- laden, capable of generating excessive (1-2+ inches of rain and/or 1- 2 inches/hour) heavy rainfall and/or heavy rainfall rates. SPC`s Day 1 slight risk (level 2 out of 5) now extends down just a little bit into this CWA, and WPC`s Day 1 ERO also maintains a slight risk of excessive heavy rain across the northern tier counties of this CWA. By mid-day Saturday, high pressure nosing into the region, along with low level CAA/dry air advection, should be bringing any lingering precipitation chances across the CWA to an end. However, there is a circulation noted in Water Vapor this morning over Nevada that is progged to make its way into the eastern part of Wyoming/Montana by Saturday afternoon, initiating afternoon/evening convection within a deep layer shear environment (40-50+? knots) much more supportive of organizing into one or more bowing line (strong wind) segments that could potentially reach all the way to Pierre, SD Saturday night (sometime after 1 AM CDT Sunday). SPC`s Day 2 marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) covers a portions of this CWA far western forecast zones. There could be another round of convection developing/moving over the CWA by Monday afternoon. Otherwise, it looks like there will be break in precipitation chances for a couple of days before showing up again right at/just beyond the end of the 7-day forecast period. Cooler conditions are expected over the CWA Saturday and Sunday (and possibly into Monday) before low level WAA can potentially set back up Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 648 AM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025 Terminals KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG Excluding thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, where heavy rain may reduce visibility to less than 6SM, VFR conditions are expected through tonight. && .ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. && $$ UPDATE...10 DISCUSSION...10 AVIATION...10