Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Cheyenne, WY
Issued by NWS Cheyenne, WY
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873 FXUS65 KCYS 122010 AFDCYS Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Cheyenne WY 210 PM MDT Mon Aug 12 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop this afternoon. Storms will have the potential to produce torrential rainfall, gusty winds, and isolated large hail. - An active pattern continues through the week ahead with near normal temperatures and daily chances for afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. && .MESOSCALE... Issued at 140 PM MDT Mon Aug 12 2024 Daytime insolation has allowed the atmosphere to begin to percolate across portions of far southeast WY. 18Z RAP mesoanalysis via SPC depicts steep lapse rates of 9 degrees C/km in the H5-H7 lower levels, and effective bulk shear from 0-6km between 30-45 knots along the stationary frontal boundary that is presently draped on a north to south transect from the Front Range to the North Laramie Range. Additionally, surface-based CAPE of doing quite well in response to the daytime sunshine, as integrated amounts of 1000-2500 J/kg from the I-25 corridor toward the Sandhills of west-central NE exists. Unsurprisingly, we have had Cu fields and agitated towering cumulus develop in the past 1-2 hours along the South Laramie Range, with a couple of strong thunderstorms initiating in the same area. PWATs are in the 90-99th %ile so far today, with deep Theta-e moisture advection being evidenced on the GOES-16 satellite imagery. Southeast flow from the south and central Plains has kept the low cloud cover near the CO/NE/KS border. In the next 1-2 hours, expect more clearing across our cwa, with additional thundershowers occurring across the I-80 corridor and east of I-25. With the slow-moving convection being anticipated to develop/continue soon, we will have increased chances for isolated flooding ticking upwards this afternoon. Hi-res model guidance does hint at multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms through this evening, and into the overnight hours. Highest concern through the evening and overnight hours is potential heavy rainfall accumulation in central and south NE Panhandle. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 330 AM MDT Mon Aug 12 2024 After a brief break in the wet pattern yesterday, moisture is returning to the area today with more widespread thunderstorm activity expected this afternoon. GOES satellite water vapor channel imagery shows that the shortwave that passed through the area yesterday is now moving across the Dakotas. The subsident pocket of dry air is shifting eastward also, with the driest air now in central and eastern Nebraska. As the upper level ridge axis slowly shifts east today, the flow aloft will shift from northwest to west and subtly southwest, allowing for the monsoon moisture tap to open up fully again. High cirrus and much better mid to upper level moisture is already visible moving from southwest to northeast across our area this morning. Meanwhile at the surface, we have a weak surface high over the northern plains and a weak surface low over southeast Colorado. East to southeast surface winds in between these two features are pushing low level moisture back into the high plains. Good radiative cooling ahead of the approaching cirrus deck is resulting in fairly widespread fog forming along portions of the I-80 corridor from the summit east towards Sidney. In the areas where the fog coverage is highest (eastern Laramie, Kimball, and Cheyenne counties), a Dense Fog Advisory has been issued through 9AM. Heading into this afternoon, the return of moisture will set the stage for a more active day of afternoon convection. By this afternoon, both precipitable water and integrated water vapor transport will be above the 90th percentile of climatology over much of the area. The next vort-max aloft will arrive this afternoon and kick off another round of modest isentropic lift which should start to pop up convection on radar between 12PM and 2PM. Nearly saturated soundings will indicate primarily a heavy rainfall threat with fairly slow moving thunderstorms. However, mid level lapse rates and vertical wind shear look to be more than sufficient to get a few storms to become strong to severe. While the plentiful moisture points more towards stronger storms producing ample amounts of small hail, isolated large hail is still possible along with the usual strong winds. The environment for strong to severe storms will be most favorable inside roughly a Laramie to Glendo to Bridgeport triangle. Isentropic lift will continue all the way through the night and into Tuesday morning, so some shower and isolated thunder activity is expected to remain on the radar for most of the short term forecast period. Some of this nocturnal activity could still produce heavy rainfall and hail. Tuesday will have a similar environment to Monday across the area. Moisture looks even higher, pushing the 97.5 to 99th percentile in some areas. Dewpoints in the 60s may cover most of the NE panhandle and even into far eastern Wyoming, while nearly saturated air remains in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere. A more potent shortwave aloft is expected to push through the area and force another round of scattered to numerous thunderstorms. As a result, we`ll be looking at another locally heavy rainfall threat. Most model guidance shows weaker lapse rates Tuesday, which may reduce the hail threat. However, an increase potential for upscale organizing compared to Monday may lead to a slightly higher threat for strong thunderstorm winds. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Issued at 209 PM MDT Mon Aug 12 2024 Upper-level troughing will be positioned over northern Idaho with a strong ridge across the central CONUS on Wednesday. 500mb vorticity maxima will eject out ahead of the trough, enhancing lift across the region. Northwesterly flow at 700mb will continue through the day as a 700mb trough moves off to the east of the region. Surface dewpoints across western Nebraska will be in the mid-50s to low-60s with dewpoints closer to the 40 to 50F mark across southeast Wyoming. The PW values are progged to increase into the 1.1-1.3 inch range across western Nebraska and closer to an inch across southeast Wyoming. With upper-level support pushing across the area at this same time, isolated to widely scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible Wednesday afternoon and evening. Forecast NAM and GFS soundings suggest weak steering flow with minimal shear across western Nebraska. With PW values well over 1.0 inches, weak steering flow, and MLCAPE around 1000-1500 J/kg, slow moving, heavy rain producers are possible Wednesday afternoon. SPC has a Marginal Risk of severe weather just off to the east on Wednesday. Temperatures will be warm, but more seasonable for this time of years. Highs will range from the mid-70s to upper-80s across the Panhandle. For Thursday, a secondary upper-level low attempts to move into the region, but a ridge is progged to build over the Intermountain West. This ridge will push the low further to the north. Despite this, several 500mb vorticity maxima will eject out ahead of the low and be absorbed into the building ridge. These maxima should enable enough synoptic lift to get storms going again for Thursday. Coverage does not look to be as good on Thursday, due to the less concentrated synoptic lift over the region and the displacement of the low to the north. Weak MLCAPE will be present across western Nebraska, around 500 J/kg. Bulk shear will be weak as well Thursday, so any showers and thunderstorms that do develop with the disturbance aloft will likely not be severe and will struggle to maintain themselves. Highs will be slightly cooler than Wednesday due a delay in the warmest 700mb temperatures moving overhead. Highs will be in the mid-70s to low-80s across the region. The remaining long term forecast will be dominated by a building upper-level ridge across the western CONUS. The ridge will still be rather flat on Friday, so precipitation chances remain as a few disturbances traverse through the ridge. However, Saturday onward, the ridge will become amplified. Precipitation chances will decrease significantly for the weekend, but could see some isolated convection due to daytime heating and terrain-induced lift. Highs for the weekend will be in the mid-80s to mid-90s with warm temperatures continuing through the early half of the weekend. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 1136 AM MDT Mon Aug 12 2024 VFR conditions everywhere except SNY at this time. The low clouds at SNY are expected to lift by 19Z and return to VFR conditions. Next concern switches to afternoon showers and thunderstorms near all terminals. The mostly likely terminals to be impacted are CDR and BFF, but cannot rule out thunderstorms impacting every terminal. Gusty winds are expected this afternoon and through the overnight hours. SNY and AIA may go down in low stratus and fog again overnight. && .CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WY...None. NE...None. && $$ MESOSCALE...BW SHORT TERM...MN LONG TERM...AM AVIATION...AM