


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI
Issued by NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI
123 FXUS63 KMKX 111410 AFDMKX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan WI 910 AM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Active weather continues today into Saturday, with additional periods of showers and storms (50-70%). - Areas south of I-94 toward the WI/IL border have the better potential to see heavy rainfall, localized flooding, and a few strong to severe storms this afternoon and evening. - Mostly dry conditions are likely Sunday through at least early Tuesday, with shower/storm chances returning later Tuesday or Wednesday. && .UPDATE... Issued 910 AM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025 An area of light rain associated with an MCV/lead shortwave will continue to move east across southern Wisconsin this morning. Slightly drier air in the mid levels to our east will help eat away at this rain with time. A frontal boundary currently located across the I-80 corridor will lift northward toward and perhaps into far southern/southeastern Wisconsin early this afternoon, ahead of another shortwave moving in from Iowa. Modest instability and shear will result in a risk for severe storms along and south of the front. Wind will be the primary risk, but sufficient low level shear and instability will be in place for a few QLCS spin-ups, if clusters/linear segments can become well-enough organized. This severe risk will persist into the mid to late evening hours. Heavy rain will also be a threat, with high PWATs and the potential for multiple rounds of storms. Locations south of I-94 will have the greatest chance of seeing flood concerns, though the risk will be closely tied to the track of individual storm clusters. Boxell && .SHORT TERM... Issued 346 AM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025 Today through Saturday: Overall a tricky forecast with this active pattern for the end of the week. Early this morning we are monitoring two remnant MCV features that may be a focus for morning shower activity. The northern MCV is meandering over the lower portion of the Wisconsin River Valley between WI Dells and Wausau. Have been seeing sporadic shower activity associated with this feature, but given this is the only forcing supporting this activity, shower coverage remains limited and brief. However if this feature stays parked over the area through the day, then this could be a focus for additional development. The secondary MCV feature is from the remnant line of convection across northern IL. Currently seeing a bit of an uptick in moderate to heavy rainfall associated with this feature as it is on the nose of a 30kt 850mb low-level jetlet. This feature looks more progressive and is moving across southeast WI, but still could see half to an inch of rainfall. While not expecting thunder with this round given the increased CIN and instability remaining south, cannot rule out a rumble or two along with localized higher amounts exceeding an inch. This feature is progged to move out as the LLJ pushes east through daybreak. Then the focus shifts to the second in a series of mid-level shortwave troughs located over the SD/MN/NE/IA border early this morning. Currently producing widespread showers and thunderstorms from eastern NE and across IA. Expecting this and will continue activity to continue through daybreak and spread into northern IL. However, a diminishing trend is shown by the latest 00z-06z CAMs through the mid morning hours. Still may see some remnant shower activity along the WI/IL for the first half of the morning. Then as the shortwave trough axis swings eastward, expecting this to be the main forcing mechanisms for the redeveloping convection across IA/northern IL and into southern WI through the afternoon and evening. While there is agreement between the models on the focus of the afternoon/evening convection along the WI/IL border, there are still several factors that may impact development, strength, and impacts. First off is the cloud cover from the upstream ongoing storms as if it lingers would limit temps from warming up and building high enough instability (>1000 J/kg) for upscale growth this afternoon. If we see more clearing and warming temps, then chances for strong to possible severe storm potential would increase for areas south of I-94 toward the WI/IL border. Another factor is where the surface boundary/weak area of low pressure sets up. Growing consensus has it favoring the WI/IL border, but can shift north favoring stronger development, while staying south would limit stronger development and the instability building into the CWA. Another factor could be the aforementioned MCV features along with any lingering outflow from early morning activity. Very difficult to pinpoint if these features would linger or not, but they could be a focus for additional development this morning or early afternoon, which may erode the environment earlier on. But also could even be a trigger for activity further north (north of I-94) outside of the current area with the better potential. Nevertheless, there is enough agreement for us to go with higher PoPs along the border this afternoon (>60%). While the strong to severe potential remains conditional (from the factors above), there does seem to be enough deep layer shear (0-6km >30kt) and if things materialize with storms taping into the favorable environment and grow upscale, then we could see sporadic pockets of damaging winds and maybe even some small hail and a brief spin-up is not out of the realm of possibility for areas south of I-94. Otherwise, the main impact would be heavy rainfall with a potential for areas south of I- 94 to see up to an additional 2 inches and possible even more. If it falls over areas that received heavy rainfall yesterday then can see localized flooding, especially over low-lying and urban areas. Overnight tonight expecting activity to shifts east and diminish a bit, but lingering showers may persist as the main longwave trough digs across the northern Plains and into the Upper Midwest for Saturday. This looks to bring another window for scattered shower and thunderstorm activity to southern WI, but will be dependent on how the environment can recover from today`s activity. Models varying on how they handle Saturday activity, but the potential is there. Wagner && .LONG TERM... Issued 346 AM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025 Saturday night through Thursday: Rain chances will end Saturday night as the upper trough finally exits to the east. High pressure controls our weather regime Sunday/Monday, though this appears to be short lived as another trough begins to make a dent in the western CONUS ridge. This feature, generally speaking, arrives in the Tuesday/Wednesday time frame. Expect at/above average temperatures for the first half of the week, with highs well into the 80s and heat index values poking into the 90s. Periodic rain chances return from late Tuesday through Thursday. As we have seen with our most recent messy and active pattern, there isn`t an indication this will be a clean trough passage. As a result, the PoP forecast is slightly pessimistic. There will be some dry periods, but pinpointing at this juncture is folly. There is general model and ensemble agreement in the upper trough exiting by Thursday night, with surface high pressure building into the region thereafter. Gagan && .AVIATION... Issued 910 AM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025 A mix of IFR and MVFR this morning will give way to MVFR and VFR late this morning and early this afternoon. Thunderstorms are then expected to impact much of the area later this afternoon and evening, with IFR ceilings and visibility, along with gusty and erratic winds. MVFR and IFR ceilings, and perhaps some areas of fog, will be possible late tonight following the precipitation. Boxell && .MARINE... Issued 346 AM CDT Fri Jul 11 2025 Active pattern today into Saturday with periods of thunderstorms as a broad low pressure slowly lifts across northern IL/southern WI today before merging into a stronger low pressure tracking across Ontario into Saturday. This will result in increasing southerly winds ahead of the system but as the low moves overhead Saturday expect light winds before it pushes out of the area. Expect a brief window of more westerly winds overnight Saturday into Sunday as high pressure skirts to the south of Lake Michigan. Southerly winds then return later Sunday into the start of next week as the high pressure slides further east. Wagner && .MKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. LM...None. && $$ Visit us at weather.gov/milwaukee Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at: www.facebook.com/NWSMilwaukee www.twitter.com/NWSMilwaukee www.youtube.com/NWSMilwaukee