Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Marquette, MI
Issued by NWS Marquette, MI
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955 FXUS63 KMQT 081942 AFDMQT Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Marquette MI 242 PM EST Fri Nov 8 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Dry weather weather through Saturday with above normal temperatures, then rain returns Saturday night and Sunday. - Blustery west to northwest winds on Monday, especially over the Keweenaw and eastern Lake Superior shoreline areas where gusts of 40-45 mph are possible. - Next chance for widespread precipitation possible Wednesday/Thursday, but uncertainty on specifics is high && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Issued at 242 PM EST Fri Nov 8 2024 Water vapor imagery and RAP analysis show mid-level ridging over the Northern Rockies into Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba with downstream trof over se Canada and the ne U.S. A cutoff low is centered over NM. At the sfc, upstream ridge is supporting building high pres over the Upper Mississippi Valley. After rapid development of stratocu this morning, mainly across n central and eastern Upper MI, incoming dry air mass has eroded much of those clouds this aftn. However, air mass is cold enough over eastern Lake Superior (850mb temp around -4C per latest RAP analysis) for some lake stratocu to develop over the lake and stream into eastern Upper MI. Current temps are in the mid 40s to lwr 50s, but as high as the mid 50s F far s central. So, about 5-10 degrees above normal for this time of year. With sfc high pres ridge moving across the fcst area during the evening, the evening will be quiet with winds diminishing to calm/near calm. Sct-bkn stratocu will continue to stream into the eastern fcst area this evening until arrival/passage of high pres. Otherwise, clear skies will prevail tonight. Expect min temps from the low/mid 20s in the interior, coldest e, to the low/mid 30s F along portions of the Great Lakes. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 344 AM EST Fri Nov 8 2024 Surface and upper-level ridging will continue to dominate the region, keeping Upper Michigan dry through Saturday with above normal temperatures expected on Saturday in the upper 40s and lower 50s. By Saturday night into Sunday, the focus shifts to a closed low now over the desert Southwest which will be poised to lift through the Central Plains on Saturday and into the Upper Great Lakes later this weekend, bringing our next shot of rain late Saturday night into Sunday evening. Models still not in great agreement on the sfc low track into the Upper Great Lakes on Sunday but guidance suggests any rainfall will be light, generally in the .1 to .2 inch range based on ensemble probability QPF fields, highest south central and east along the most probable sfc low track. After a brief period of ridging and drying on Sunday night, a Clipper shortwave moving through northern Ontario and associated CAA behind it under a gusty nw wind flow into the Upper Great Lakes should initiate some light showers across the area on Monday, especially into northwest and eastern portions of the U.P. on Monday. With 850 mb temps expected to dip as low as -7C and Lake Superior sfc temps 9-10C, expect the overwater instability to generate some lake effect rain/snow showers Monday afternoon/evening especially in the far east, although coverage of lake effect showers will likely be offset by dry low levels as noted by inverted-V look to fcst soundings. Increased mixing from the unstable conditions will allow west to northwest winds to gust perhaps as high as 40-45 mph across the Keweenaw and eastern shoreline areas on Monday. Ridging and continued subsidence building in from the west behind the shortwave should quickly end any remaining lake effect pcpn by late evening Monday. Highs on Monday will quickly range from the mid 40s northwest to the lower 50s south and east. After a period of drier conditions under ridging on Tuesday, our attention then turns to a shortwave/frontal boundary moving through the region in the Wednesday/Thursday time frame. Model agreement on forecast details at this time is poor with this midweek system, lending great uncertainty to the forecast details. Deterministic models and ensemble members offer a wide range of solutions and spread with perhaps the GFS/GEFS hinting at a deeper solution than the ECMWF/EPS. Given the great uncertainty, for now will stick closer to the model blend on pops and temps at this time. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 1240 PM EST Fri Nov 8 2024 High pres approaching from the w will move across the Upper Great Lakes tonight. Associated dry air mass will allow VFR to prevail at IWD/CMX/SAW thru this fcst period. NW to N winds around 10kt, but gusting to near 20kt at SAW, will diminish to light under 5kt late aftn/early evening as the high arrives. S winds will set in overnight, but will remain under 10kt thru Sat morning. && .MARINE... Issued at 344 AM EST Fri Nov 8 2024 After westerly gales of 35 to 40 kts end around sunrise over the east half of Lake Superior, winds then veer northwest 15-30 kts by late morning (highest east half) and then weaken to 20 kts or less late in the day as surface high pressure builds in from the west. Winds will remain light, less than 20 kts, into tonight. As the surface high pushes east of the Upper Great Lakes on Saturday a surface low will gradually be lifting north through the Central Plains. This will result in southerly winds increasing to 20-25 knots on Saturday, highest north and east half. The Plains low will eventually reach northern Lake Michigan on Sunday at 29.6 inches as winds become light, generally less than 20 kts late Saturday night into Sunday evening. A deeper low pressure of 29.3 inches moving east through northern Ontario will bring a front and associated shot of cold air across Lake Superior on Monday. The unstable conditions will cause gusty west to northwest gales to develop Monday into Monday evening with model ensemble probability showing a high potential for at least low-end gales (70-90%) across central and eastern Lake Superior. Ridging builds in quickly Monday night as winds fall below 20kts Monday night into Tuesday morning, but as the high pushes east southerly winds will ramp up to 25 to 30 kts late Tuesday with EPS ensemble probability showing a 30-50% chance of low-end gales Tuesday night into Wednesday over northern and eastern sections of the lake ahead of another approaching frontal system during the midweek period. && .MQT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Upper Michigan... None. Lake Superior... None. Lake Michigan... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Rolfson LONG TERM...Voss AVIATION...Rolfson MARINE...Voss