Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Chicago, IL
Issued by NWS Chicago, IL
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317 FXUS63 KLOT 021141 AFDLOT Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Chicago/Romeoville, IL 641 AM CDT Tue Jul 2 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Showers and isolated thunderstorms this morning, mainly north of I-88 - Additional showers/storms expected to reach the I-39 corridor this evening, then decreasing in coverage and intensity as they attempt to move east toward/east of the I-55 corridor - Typical July warmth and humidity through the week with periodic chances for showers and storms late Wednesday night through Friday && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 302 AM CDT Tue Jul 2 2024 Through Wednesday: Shortwave trough extending from southern MN to southwest Iowa will continue to move east-northeastward today across the western Great Lakes. There appears to be at least a couple of small MCVs embedded within this larger trough with fairly widespread convection from WI southwestward across IA. This activity is being fed by an axis of higher moisture and moderate elevated instability which is gradually spreading east toward northern IL. Observational trends and short range model guidance suggest that this convection will outpace the better moisture and instability as it spreads eastward. That, plus weakening moisture transport and convergence due to the diurnal weakening and veering of the low level jet should result in convection weakening as IA convection spreads east into IL early this morning. Given current radar trends and latest CAM guidance, have bumped up pops this morning north of I-88 where some showers and perhaps a couple thunderstorms are looking increasingly likely, particularly western CWA. Shortwave trough and embedded MCVs should push east of the area this afternoon likely bring an end to the rain by late morning or early afternoon. Clearing skies and strengthening warm air advection with brisk southerly winds should help boost high temps well into the 80s this afternoon most of the area. Pair of shortwave troughs, one over southern Colorado and a second more robust one over Wyoming, will both translate east and northeastward into the Midwest later today. Combination of these waves and heating/destabilizing air mass ahead of an associated cold front should allow for strong-severe convection to break out over northern MO into IA later this afternoon. While this activity is expected to push eastward toward northern IL this evening, guidance is in strong agreement that it will encounter an increasingly hostile environment likely leading to substantial weakening possibly its demise overnight. Have sharpened up the pop gradient from east to west across the CWA tonight, maintaining categorical pops by evening toward the I-39 corridor, tapering off to just chance/slight chance pops late tonight into northwest IN and adjacent portions of eastern IL where rain is looking pretty unlikely tonight. There has been a sizable trend in guidance toward pushing the effective surface boundary safely south of our CWA Wednesday afternoon, taking the threat of re-newed storm development along the front during the afternoon out of our CWA. Did maintain some chance pops southeastern CWA in case front slows and guidance reverse course. Also, kept some slight chance pops for showers in the morning, in case any lingering showers can survive into the morning hours. Increasingly, it is looking like all or most of our CWA will be rain free Wednesday. While front will move across the area Wednesday, in true summer cold front fashion, the cooler and drier air will lag well behind the front. So with skies clearing out Wednesday, it should be another warm to very warm day with highs well into mid-upper 80s and moderate humidity with afternoon dewpoints in the 60s. - Izzi Wednesday Night through Monday: The front is expected to stall out south of our area Wednesday night which should yield mostly dry conditions. Despite the area being north of the front, dew points are expected to remain in the mid to upper 60s Wednesday night which won`t allow for much cooling with temperatures projected to bottom out in the upper 60s to around 70s by Thursday morning. While our area remains dry, guidance continues to show a storm complex developing across the central Plains and tracking eastward along the stalled front Wednesday night into the day on Thursday. Given that guidance continues to favor the front stalling more into southern IL, the bulk of any associated shower and/or storm activity from the aforementioned complex should remain south of our area. However, the front will be trying to lift back northward during the day on Thursday which may allow a few storms to materialize in our southern CWA Thursday afternoon. Therefore, have maintained some 30 to 40 percent chances for thunderstorms for areas south of I-80 on Thursday, but suspect we may be able to reduce these values further if new forecast trends continue to favor the southern solutions. Regardless, many dry hours our expected for outdoor July 4th festivities, especially for areas north of I-80, with high temperatures in the low to mid-80s. Heading into Thursday night, an upper-level trough is progged to pivot into the Upper Midwest and eventually the Great Lakes by Friday morning. As the trough pivots overhead, a cold front is expected to develop near the Mississippi River and get pushed southward through northern IL and northwest IN Thursday night into the day on Friday. Given that the environment ahead of the cold front is forecast to remain warm and humid, showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop along the boundary and track across the area. While there is still some timing uncertainties as to exactly when the front and associated precipitation will arrive Thursday night, the general consensus is that the front should hold off until after 10 PM Thursday evening. Therefore, suspect that conditions for viewing fireworks should be decent aside from increasing cloud cover ahead of the front but still recommend keeping an eye on forecast trends in case something changes. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to persist through much of the day on Friday as the aforementioned front continues to progress its way across the area. Though, precipitation is forecast to gradually taper from northwest to southeast Friday evening as the front exits. A surface high is then expected to move overhead in the wake of the front Friday night and persist through a good portion of the upcoming weekend. However, guidance continues to show the upper trough stalling over the Great Lakes through the weekend which may be able to kick off the occasional shower and/or thunderstorm if sufficient instability can materialize. Given that this period is still 5+ days out, have maintained the 20 to 30 percent POPs offered by the NBM but suspect that these POPs may be overdone since the region will be under northwest flow and beneath rather dry mid- levels. Regardless of how the precipitation chances play out, temperatures and humidity are expected to remain near typical early July readings with daily highs in the low to mid-80s and dew points in the 60s to around 70. Yack && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 641 AM CDT Tue Jul 2 2024 Forecast concerns for the terminals... - Scattered showers this morning, especially near RFD - Breezy south-southeast winds this afternoon - Another round of showers and thunderstorms this evening and overnight with a cold front - MVFR ceilings behind showers/storms overnight into Wednesday morning An upper-level disturbance continues to pivot northeastward across Iowa this morning which continues to generate a broad area of showers and thunderstorms across the Midwest. However, the coverage of thunderstorms is expected to diminish as the disturbance interacts with the drier airmass overhead later this morning. Therefore, the shower coverage is expected to become more scattered with eastward extent with the greatest coverage likely to remain near the IL-WI line and RFD. Regardless, a few showers may get as far south as ORD and MDW where a VCSH mention has been maintained for this potential. Additionally, there is also an outflow boundary tracking southward out of Wisconsin which may result in a north-northeast winds shift if it reaches the terminals. Given how defuse the boundary is on radar and the stout synoptic winds, confidence is low that it will actually reach the terminals (especially ORD and MDW) so no formal mention has been added to the TAFs but will continue to monitor. Showers will taper off by 18z this afternoon leaving rain-free and VFR conditions through the rest of the afternoon. Though, the south-southeast winds will increase as showers end with gusts in the 20-25 kt range expected through sunset. As speeds ease this evening, directions will gradually become south- southwesterly ahead of a cold front where they will remain through the night. As the aforementioned cold front moves into northern Illinois this evening, another round of showers and thunderstorms is expected to develop along the front. While this second round of showers and storms will be in a gradually decaying state as it moves through the area, guidance continues to show a decent coverage of showers with at least isolated thunder through the night. Therefore, have maintained the existing timing for -SHRA at the terminals which remains reasonable based on latest guidance. Additionally, the PROB30s for thunder have also been maintained but confidence on how widespread thunder will be, especially with southward extent, has begun to diminish. So there may need to be further adjustments made to the PROBs in future TAFs. Showers and storms tonight will taper toward daybreak Wednesday morning, but MVFR ceilings are expected to develop on the tail end of the showers and persist into Wednesday morning. Generally guidance has been in decent agreement that most ceilings will be in the 1500 to 2000 ft range, but there are some indications that lower values, near the IFR range, may be possible especially near RFD. Regardless of magnitude, the lower ceilings are expected to scatter out by Wednesday afternoon and remain VFR through the rest of this forecast period. Yack && .LOT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...Beach Hazards Statement until noon CDT today for ILZ006. IN...None. LM...Small Craft Advisory until noon CDT today for Winthrop Harbor to Wilmette Harbor IL. && $$ Visit us at weather.gov/chicago