324  
FXUS63 KABR 220634  
AFDABR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD  
134 AM CDT THU OCT 22 2026  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- SOUTHERLY WINDS INCREASE FRIDAY, WITH WIDESPREAD 30-40 MILE PER  
HOUR GUSTS EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON. THERE IS A ROUGHLY 10-30%  
CHANCE FOR GUSTS TO REACH 45 MILES PER HOUR OR MORE OVER EASTERN  
SOUTH DAKOTA AND WESTERN MINNESOTA.  
 
- WARM CONDITIONS, STRONG WINDS, AND DRY VEGETATION WILL LEAD TO  
ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA THURSDAY,  
AND ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN SD AND WEST CENTRAL MN FRIDAY.  
 
- THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, HIGHS WILL REACH THE UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S.  
THESE TEMPERATURES ARE 20-25 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL, AND WILL APPROACH  
RECORD HIGHS.  
 
- RAIN CHANCES RETURN FRIDAY WITH A 20-30% CHANCE OF LIGHT SCATTERED  
SHOWERS OVER NORTHEASTERN SD AND WESTERN MN. ADDITIONAL CHANCES FOR  
SHOWERS COME SATURDAY ALONG A COLD FRONT, WHERE THERE IS A 20-50%  
CHANCE TO SEE 0.1 INCH OF RAIN OVER NORTHEASTERN SD AND WESTERN MN.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
ISSUED AT 134 AM CDT THU OCT 22 2026  
 
AS HIGH SURFACE PRESSURE IS MOVING TO THE EAST OVER THE GREAT LAKES,  
A LOW SURFACE PRESSURE WILL BE DEVELOPING OVER NV AND MOVING TO THE  
NORTHEAST TO BE OVER MT TODAY. THIS WILL BE CAUSING THE PRESSURE  
GRADIENT OVER SD TO TIGHTEN, WHICH HELPS TO STRENGTHEN THE WINDS  
ALOFT. THESE STRONGER SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL START TO MIX DOWN  
OVER CENTRAL SD THIS AFTERNOON, WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH. OVERNIGHT  
THE STRONGER WINDS WILL SPREAD TO THE EAST OVER NORTHEASTERN SD AND  
WEST CENTRAL MN AS A LOW LEVEL JET DEVELOPS OVER THE AREA. FRIDAY  
MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON, THE HREF HAS A 30-50% CHANCE FOR THE  
WINDS TO BE GUSTING UP TO 45 MPH OR MORE ALONG THE EDGES OF THE  
PRAIRIE COTEAU. THE ENSEMBLES ON THE OTHER HAND KEEP THE CHANCE FOR  
THIS BELOW 30%. THESE WINDS ARE RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF WIND ADVISORY  
CRITERIA, AND THE UPCOMING MODEL RUNS WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED TO SEE  
IF AN ADVISORY IS NEEDED. THESE STRONGER WINDS AND THE DRY  
VEGETATION OVER THE AREA ARE LEADING TO HIGH GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER  
OVER CENTRAL SD ON THURSDAY AND HIGH TO VERY HIGH OVER CENTRAL AND  
NORTHEASTERN SD AND WEST CENTRAL MN. THE ONE THING KEEPING THE FIRE  
DANGER FROM INCREASING, AND A RED FLAG WARNING BEING NEEDED, IS THE  
HIGHER HUMIDITY VALUES. THURSDAY THE MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS  
ABOVE 35% AND FRIDAY THE VALUES EAST OF THE MISSOURI RIVER WILL BE  
ABOVE 35% AND TO THE WEST WILL BE BETWEEN 30-45%: LOWEST OVER JONES,  
STANLEY, AND LYMAN COUNTIES.  
 
WHILE THE LOW SURFACE PRESSURE WILL NOT BE MOVING OVER SD AS IT  
HEADS INTO CANADA, ITS FRONTAL BOUNDARIES WILL. A WARM FRONT HAS  
MOVED IN TODAY AND WILL STICK AROUND FOR A BIT FRIDAY. THE  
SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS BEHIND THIS WARM FRONT WILL MOVE MORE WARMTH  
INTO SD, CAUSING TEMPERATURES TODAY AND FRIDAY TO BE 20-25 DEGREES  
WARMER THAN NORMAL, WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S. SOME  
MOISTURE WILL BE MOVING IN THURSDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT ALONG THE  
SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW. THIS MOISTURE WILL INTERACT WITH THE LOW LEVEL  
JET AND THE WARM FRONT MOVING OUT ON FRIDAY TO CAUSE SOME ISOLATED  
SHOWERS THURSDAY NIGHT TO SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS EARLY FRIDAY  
MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN SD. THERE  
WILL BE ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN SHOWERS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO  
SATURDAY MORNING AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. THE MODELS VARY  
HOW LONG THE FRONT AND ITS RAIN SITS OVER PORTIONS OF EASTERN SD  
SATURDAY, WHICH THEN IMPACTS HOW MUCH RAINFALL IS EXPECTED. THE HREF  
HAS A 20-40% CHANCE FOR 0.1 INCH OF RAIN TO OCCUR OVER NORTHEASTERN  
SD BY FRIDAY NIGHT WHILE THE ENSEMBLES HAVE 10-20%. THE ENSEMBLES  
THEN HAVE A 20-50% CHANCE FOR 0.1 INCH TO OCCUR FROM BOTH ROUNDS OF  
RAIN FROM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY COMBINED. SO, NOT MUCH RAINFALL IS  
EXPECTED.  
 
THE COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH WILL CAUSE SOME STRONG POST FRONTAL  
WINDS TO DEVELOP OVER CENTRAL SD LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY  
MORNING. THERE IS A 30-60% CHANCE FOR WINDS TO BE SUSTAINED AT OR  
GREATER THAN 30 MPH, AND 30-60% CHANCE FOR GUSTS TO BE 45 MPH OR  
MORE WEST OF THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY. THIS COLD FRONT WILL ALSO BRING  
A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE TO TEMPERATURES BY COOLING THINGS OFF AGAIN.  
SUNDAY'S TEMPERATURES WILL BE AROUND NORMAL TO 10 DEGREES BELOW  
NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, WITH HIGHS IN THE MID 40S TO LOW  
50S.  
 
THE NEXT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL THEN COME IN SUNDAY  
AFTERNOON/EVENING INTO MONDAY. THIS PRECIPITATION WILL BE DEVELOPING  
FROM A LOW PRESSURE OVER CO THAT HAD A FRONTAL BOUNDARY STRETCHING  
OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THE MODELS SHOW RAIN DEVELOPING ALONG THIS  
FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND OVERRUNNING IT TO THE NORTH INTO SD. THIS IS  
SUPPORTED BY THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE AREA ALOFT AS  
WELL AS THE PRECIPITATION BEING IN AN ENTRANCE REGION OF A JET.  
THERE IS VARIABILITY IN THE MODELS AS TO HOW FAR NORTH THE RAIN  
GETS, AS IT WILL BE INTERACTING WITH THE HIGH PRESSURE AT THE  
SURFACE OVER ND AND SD. ADDITIONALLY, THE MODELS VARY THE TIMING,  
TRACK, AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS. THIS WILL NEED TO BE SOMETHING TO KEEP  
AN EYE ON IN UPCOMING MODEL RUNS, ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE WILL BE  
TEMPERATURES NEAR FREEZING SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING WHEN  
SOME OF THE PRECIPITATION COULD BE OCCURRING.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1230 AM CDT THU OCT 22 2026  
 
TERMINALS KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG  
 
VFR CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. LIGHT  
SURFACE WINDS WILL SWITCH TO THE SOUTH-SOUTHEAST ON THURSDAY  
AND GUST BETWEEN 20 AND 25 KTS FOR MOST AREAS BY LATE MORNING  
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON, STRONGEST OVER KPIR/KMBG.  
 
 
   
ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
SD...NONE.  
MN...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...12  
AVIATION...10  
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