Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Bismarck, ND

Home |  Current Version |  Previous Version |  Text Only |  Print | Product List |  Glossary On
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
967
FXUS63 KBIS 041820
AFDBIS

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
120 PM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Thunderstorm chances will continue again today with an
  isolated to scattered chance for severe weather east of the
  Missouri River. The biggest hazards are half dollar size hail,
  60mph winds and locally heavy rain. A tornado is possible in
  the James River Valley.

- Another isolated to scattered severe chance of storms Saturday
  in the west.

- Warm and humid conditions today with a cooling trend through
  the rest of the weekend. Daily thunderstorm chances will carry
  over into early next week.

&&

.UPDATE...
Issued at 1252 PM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025

A line continues to develop east of the Bismarck area and
another area of scattered shower is developing in the southwest.
Convection is mostly elevated right learning to a low risk of
severe weather but the CAMs have stuff intensifying later this
afternoon with damaging wind gusts and quarter size hail the
main concerns. No major updates are needed at this time.

UPDATE
Issued at 941 AM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025

Thunderstorms and showers continue to develop across northern
South Dakota moving into the south central in the next hour or
two. Showers and thunderstorms will form along the boundary in
South Dakota moving west to east this afternoon. Showers and
thunderstorm will continue to expand eastward with a line
filling out. No updates are needed at this time as the forecast
remains on track.

UPDATE
Issued at 626 AM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025

Showers have formed in the southwest and north central.
According to the NBM and some CAMs these will continue through
the day. Right now they might be too light to hit the ground.
The cloud bases are very high, but the air is moist already so
at the very least there is probably a drizzle with these.
Otherwise today`s severe weather forecast still remains in the
same location.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 350 AM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025


Storms continue to linger in the north central, leftover from
Thursday evening`s severe storms. The CAMs have them fully
moving out or dissipating before sunrise.

Today will be another warm and muggy day with temperatures in
the lower 80s west, to lower 90s east. Dew points will still
remain in 60s to 70s again. With southwest flow still aloft and
this warm and humid air, severe weather is again excepted today.
This time east of the Missouri River where dew points are in the
70s. A surface low pressure will move into the southeast, while
a cold front sweeps through the northern part of the state.
After daytime heating ahead of the front, the front will kick
storms off in the afternoon, possibly somewhere between The
Missouri River and The James River all south of Minot. We will
see however with the CAMs being not very accurate Thursday. The
CAPE in a few models is over 2500 J/kg in our east, whereas
others have it closer to 1500. The shear is a little low, models
have it between 15kts and 30kts. They seem to agree that the
high shear is closer to the Devils Lake basin. SPC upgraded our
southeast to a slight risk. SPC does have a tornado risk in
eastern ND, but it stretches to the James River Valley area.
With the higher CAPE but lower shear, we will go with half
dollar size hail and 60mph winds in the slight risk area. Storm
mode looks like it will be linear. The signal is also there for
heavy rain and localized flash flooding, closer to the James
River. Our current QPF forecast is 1 to 1.5 inches this
afternoon and overnight. PWATs are high with all this moisture
in the air.

Another wave of southwest flow will move in from Montana
Saturday, causing another day of a slight risk of severe storms.
This time it is in the far west. The end of the CAM runs have a
QLCS moving in from Montana in the evening. Most models however
have all the CAPE south and west of the state, but shear could
be anywhere from 35kt to 50kts.

Through early next week, temperatures will be around the 80s
with daily chances of showers and thunderstorms as multiple
waves and low pressure system move through. Then a ridge could
move in and temperatures warm back into the low 90s. Late next
week, a bigger trough could move in with more chances for
showers and thunderstorms. It seems like we are now making up
for the drier June with all these storms.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1252 PM CDT Fri Jul 4 2025

VFR conditions will continue today, however there maybe
temporary visibility reductions heavy rain from TSRA.
Thunderstorms and showers will continue this afternoon mainly
impacting KJMS through the evening hours. SHRA is possible
across all sites expect KXWA this afternoon. A cold front will
continue to move through the state this afternoon and evening
resulting in a wind shift to northerly winds by tomorrow
morning. FU from fireworks in the Bismarck area will likely
cause visibility reductions at the terminal this evening through
the overnight hours. This has been the case the last few
Independence Days.

&&

.BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

$$

UPDATE...Johnson
DISCUSSION...Smith
AVIATION...Johnson