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Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Quad Cities, IA IL
Issued by NWS Quad Cities, IA IL
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285 FXUS63 KDVN 011701 AFDDVN Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL 1201 PM CDT Mon Jul 1 2024 ...Updated for 18z Aviation... .KEY MESSAGES... - Beautiful day ahead of us, with temperatures in the 70s and increasing clouds. High pressure will slowly push east today, with increasing moisture ahead of the next wave. - Several rounds of showers and storms are expected from Tuesday night through Wednesday morning, with chances retuning again Wednesday night through Thursday. Severe weather and flash flooding are both possible with any storms, especially Tuesday PM, as repeating storms are expected. - Unfortunately, Independence Day is looking to be a wet day, as a warm front brings the potential for widespread showers and storms once again. Too soon to determine severe risk. - Moderate to Major River Flooding continues, with further changes to the forecast expected due to fluctuations in the QPF forecast. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Issued at 240 AM CDT Mon Jul 1 2024 High pressure will be the rule through the day, leaving us with another beautiful day, with temperatures in the 70s throughout. Today will be very similar to yesterday, with the main difference being an increase in cloud cover. This increase in cloud cover can be attributed to increasing moisture, as ridging builds overhead and LLVL southerly flow kicks in. The best of the moisture return will be west of the forecast area through the day, which is a good thing, as a large bout of energy pushes through the area today, as a wave develops over the Rockies. With such dry air in place today, we are not expecting any precipitation with this. Tonight, we start to see the moisture increase slowly from the west. The main focus for this moisture will be along our western border, especially in our northwest. In these areas, PWATs will quickly rise into the 1.75-2.00" range, favoring heavy rainfall in any storms that develop. Guidance does not have the best grip on when we will start to see precipitation, with the HREF being a good happy medium at the moment. Currently, the HREF starts to introduce measurable precipitation to our west around 09-12z tonight, which is about 4- 7am local time. Thus, this will be quite late, with chances increasing through the day tomorrow. This will be discussed more below. We are not expecting much on the side of excessive rainfall with any storms that we get tonight, as convection seems to be more scattered in nature, rather than widespread heavy rainfall. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Issued at 240 AM CDT Mon Jul 1 2024 Much of the forecast below is from the previous forecast package, as they covered this event very well. Some updates were made, resulting from latest trends in guidance, but the big picture largely remains the same. Up front, one of the more notable changes was the introduction of an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) for Severe Weather in southeast Iowa, with all hazards in play. Also, with several chances for heavy rain this week, we may need to start considering headlines for the Flash Flood Potential, especially as we approach Tuesday night and then again Thursday. More widespread showers and storms are expected Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday, as stronger synoptic forcing aided by a shortwave aloft and the right entrance region of a 100-120 kt 250 hPa jet steak overspread the Upper Midwest, while at the surface a cold front moves through. This will be especially true through the nighttime hours, which seem to be the best chance for widespread heavy rainfall. The primary concern for this period remains heavy rain and flash flooding. NAEFS and ENS continue to support PWATs climbing to 1.75 to around 2.00 inches by 00z Wednesday, which is 2 to 3 standard deviations above climatology and approaches the 99.5 percentile or is near max of their respective climatologies. Ensemble guidance shows high probabilities of at least 1.00 inch from Tuesday evening through Wednesday AM, especially across the northwest 2/3rds of the service area, with 60-90% favorability amongst guidance. However, given the convective nature and magnitude of the synoptic ascent doubling the PWAT would give a general idea of the higher limit, which in this case with PWATs around 2.00 inches would yield potentially higher amounts of around 4.00 inches. With rivers rising, we will be watching this heavy rain potential closely, as this will lead to fluctuations in the river forecast. In addition, the significant moisture advection (IVT) and a southwesterly LLJ of 40 kt could contribute to backbuilding and an elongated MCS, resulting in a risk of flash flooding. This flash flood threat looks to be highest especially across east-central and northeast Iowa, into northwest Illinois, where rainfall in the past week has accumulated 125-200+ percent of normal and soils are saturated. Severe weather potential may exist by Tuesday PM, as deep layer shear 0-6km increases to 35-45+ kts aided by the approaching shortwave trough. Models try to build in the instability during this time, especially west of the Mississippi River with MLCAPE increasing to 1000-2000+ j/kg. Initial supercell potential will exist before upscale growth into a line of storms, transitioning to a wind threat, provided sufficient destabilization occurs. As previous shift mentioned, one thing to watch for is any potential OFBs from Tuesday AM convection, which could serve as a focus for redevelopment and an earlier severe/flash flood threat Tuesday PM. Otherwise, Tuesday evening/night would be most favored for the severe. If rain/clouds persist for much of Tuesday, that could limit instability or keep the primary instability axis further west. Bottom line, extent of instability and initial placement and timing of the surface convergence will play a key role in how far east/south the severe threat reaches. A brief respite in the wet weather is expected Wednesday AM/PM, but the emphasis is on brief, as a surface warm front passes north into the area as early as late Wednesday night/early Thursday AM with convection potential increasing (30-60%) south of I-80. Then, the shower and storm potential increases over the rest of the area on the 4th of July into Thursday evening, as a vigorous shortwave trough evolves into a closed low while traversing near the international border to the north. Ensembles point to PWAT values of 2.00+ inches pooling near and south of the boundary supporting a heavy rain threat. The frontal location will be critical to where this heavy rain threat eventually sets up, and will bear watching in the coming days given the ongoing river flooding and saturated soils in some areas. With this forecast in mind, we may be preparing to see more of nature`s fireworks, rather than actual fireworks. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 1157 AM CDT Mon Jul 1 2024 VFR conditions expected to persist through this evening. There is a slight chance (10-20%) for a brief shower late this afternoon and early evening at KCID and KDBQ, however there is a copious wedge of dry air sub-cloud and so it may be more sprinkles than anything with no impacts. By later tonight and Tuesday morning (after 06z through 15z), the shower and storm chances will be increasing with a veering SW low level jet and abundant moisture advection with the greatest chances at KCID and KDBQ requiring prevailing SHRA/TSRA mention, with lower chances PROB30 at KMLI while potential appears too low for mention at KBRL right now. MVFR to local IFR conditions (mainly for visibility) will be found in the storms and heavier showers. Winds will be predominantly from the E/SE around 10-15 kt and then occasionally gust 20-25 kt. LLWS is possible at KCID and KDBQ late tonight/Tuesday morning, but too much uncertainty as winds may not decouple completely tonight and marginal criteria precludes mention with the 18z TAFs. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...None. IL...None. MO...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Gunkel LONG TERM...Gunkel/McClure AVIATION...McClure