Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Issued by NWS Sioux Falls, SD
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087 FXUS63 KFSD 021738 AFDFSD Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 1138 AM CST Mon Feb 2 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Pockets of light snow will progress through the area this evening and overnight with mainly light accumulations expected (a dusting or less). A transition to freezing drizzle will be possible overnight. - Near to above normal temperatures will persist over the next several days with the warmest conditions expected by Thursday. - With no major system ahead over the next week, expect mostly quiet conditions to persist. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 254 AM CST Mon Feb 2 2026 TODAY & TONIGHT: A slightly cooler day ahead! Taking a look across the area, a dreary start continues as lower-level clouds (stratus) continues to blanket the area this morning. Similar to yesterday, we should keep overcast skies around for most of the day. However, our surface winds will be a lot lighter than yesterday. Otherwise, the first half of the day will remain quiet as temperatures peak in the upper teens to mid 30s for the day with the coolest conditions north of a Huron to Sioux Falls to Storm Lake, IA line. By the second half of the day, we`ll see another clipper wave swing across the Northern Plains by late afternoon promoting increased snow chances (20%-30%) from the early evening into the overnight hours. With QPF expected remaining below 0.10" of an inch, most areas can expect a dusting or less with the potential for light snow to transition to pockets of freezing drizzle and/or flurries overnight. Otherwise, most of this activity should gradually dissipate into the start of Tuesday as temperatures decrease into the low double digits to low 20s for the night. TUESDAY-THURSDAY: Looking into Tuesday, a surface high will slide through the area keeping any developing precipitation chances confined to the western and central portions of SD. Otherwise, temperatures will continue to hover near to just above normal thresholds with highs mainly in the 20s to mid 30s through Wednesday. By Thursday, broad northerly flow aloft will help usher in a mid-level ridge. Increasing warm air advection (WAA) on the backside of the ridge will help temperatures approach their warmest points for the week with highs mainly in the 40s to low 50s expected. Otherwise, a dry cold front will swing through the region by late Thursday slightly decreasing our temperatures into the weekend. THE WEEKEND: Heading into the weekend, upper-level ridging over the western conus will begin to break down shifting us back to northwesterly flow aloft. The pattern will remain active aloft with another weak wave swinging through between Saturday and Sunday with limited precipitation chances (<10%). However, temperatures will continue to hover in 30s to mid 40s through Sunday as the quieter conditions continue. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 1137 AM CST Mon Feb 2 2026 MVFR/IFR stratus continues to sit across the central part of the area late this morning. The stratus is covering all TAF sites. Light snow/unknown precip (UP) has been reported from some light echoes on radar along highway-14. These echoes will continue progressing eastward but little if any impacts are expected from them. The stratus will continue to sit across the area for the rest of the daylight hours. A second round of precipitation will begin to push into the area from the northwest this evening. Light freezing drizzle is possible during the initial onset of precipitation. However, due to the more isolated beginning coverage of precipitation, have left out any mention of freezing drizzle from all TAFs and instead have gone with PROB30 groups for light snow. Light snow showers will push from northwest to southeast through the night, exiting the area before sunrise tomorrow morning. This will leave MVFR ceilings slowly rising to VFR levels to finish out the TAF period. && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. IA...None. NE...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...05 AVIATION...Meyers