247  
FXUS63 KDMX 031920  
AFDDMX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA  
220 PM CDT THU APR 3 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- RAIN LIKELY (60+%) SOUTHEAST LATE FRIDAY, LESSER CHANCES  
NORTHWEST  
 
- COOL, BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT  
WEEK, INCLUDING A FEW NIGHTS WITH WIDESPREAD SUB-FREEZING LOWS  
 
- DRY MUCH OF THE WEEKEND INTO TUE, THEN LOW CHANCES (<=30%) FOR  
PRECIP RETURN TUE NIGHT-THU  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
ISSUED AT 219 PM CDT THU APR 3 2025  
 
THE PARENT ROCKIES LONG WAVE TROUGH THAT BROUGHT WIDESPREAD  
SHOWERS AND STORMS TO IOWA EARLY WEDNESDAY, AND WIDESPREAD  
SEVERE WEATHER TO THE MID-MS AND OH RIVER VALLEYS LAST NIGHT  
WILL EVOLVE SLOWLY OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH STRONGER NORTHERN  
STREAM INFLUENCES EVENTUALLY CHANGING OUR REGIME TO A DRIER,  
COOLER PATTERN BY THE WEEKEND. THERE WASN'T A WHOLE LOT GOING  
ON THIS AFTERNOON WITH VARIABLE CLOUD COVER DRIVEN BY  
CONFLICTING FACTORS. HIGH CLOUDINESS IN WEAK KINEMATIC LIFT  
CONTINUED TO REACH SOUTHERN IA FROM THE ACTIVE SOUTHWEST FLOW  
ALOFT, WHILE UNDERNEATH LOW LEVEL CYCLONIC FLOW AND NEGATIVE  
THETA-E ADVECTION KEPT THINGS DRY WITH NOTHING BEYOND STRATUS  
NORTH.  
 
THE MID AND UPPER LEVEL KINEMATIC CONTRIBUTIONS WILL PERSIST  
INTO TOMORROW, BUT THE THERMODYNAMIC SUPPORT WILL INCREASE AS  
THE H85/H7 BAROCLINIC ZONE TO OUR SOUTH LIFTS NORTHWARD INTO IA.  
THIS WILL INCREASE CHANCES FOR LIGHT RAIN, MAINLY SOUTHEAST  
LATER INTO THE DAY AND EVENING, WITH MID-UPPER LEVEL LIFT  
ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPROACHING DAKOTAS TROUGH ALSO ADDING LIGHT  
RAIN CHANCES NORTHWEST. THERE COULD ALSO BE A VERY SMALL WINDOW  
ON THE TRAIL END OF THAT SYSTEM WERE TEMPS COULD FAVOR A BIT OF  
LIGHT SNOW, BUT THAT POTENTIAL IS QUITE MINIMAL AT THIS TIME.  
 
BY SATURDAY, LARGE SCALE SUBSIDENCE SHOULD MOVE IN AS THE  
NORTHERN STREAM TROUGH ADVANCES THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS INTO  
THE GREAT LAKES WITH BRISK NORTHWEST WINDS USHERING IN COOLER  
TEMPERATURES. THIS WILL BE REINFORCED BY THE PASSAGE OF A GREAT  
LAKES PV ANOMALY EARLY MONDAY WITH ANOTHER FRONTAL PASSAGE AND SHOT  
OF COOLER AIR AND SOMEWHAT ANOMALOUSLY HIGH SURFACE HIGH  
PRESSURE INTO THE UPPER MS VALLEY EARLY TUESDAY. HIGHS SATURDAY  
AND MONDAY MAY NOT MAKE IT OUT OF THE 40S IN MOST PLACES, AND  
WIDESPREAD SUB-FREEZING LOWS ARE ANTICIPATED SATURDAY AND  
ESPECIALLY MONDAY NIGHTS. WITH CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS, LOWS  
IN THE UPPER TEENS MONDAY NIGHT ARE NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION  
NORTH WITH WIDESPREAD 20S ELSEWHERE. THE LOCAL OFFICE CONSENSUS  
IS THAT CONDITIONS ARE STILL CONSIDERED TOO EARLY IN THE  
GROWING SEASON TO INITIATE FROST OR FREEZE HEADLINES, HOWEVER  
THAT MAY BE RE-EVALUATED IN THE COMING DAYS, ESPECIALLY THE  
SOUTH HALF OF THE STATE, DEPENDING ON PARTNER FEEDBACK.  
 
THE PATTERN IS THEN EXPECTED TO TRANSITION TO SOME DEGREE OF  
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH LOW CONFIDENCE ON HOW ACTIVE IT WILL  
BE AND OUR RESULTANT PRECIP POTENTIAL TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY.  
RECENT GFS DETERMINISTIC RUNS HAVE REMAINED STRONGER WITH BOTH  
THE WAVE ALOFT AND ITS SURFACE REFLECTION, WHILE RECENT ECMWF  
RUNS HAVE BEEN WEAKER. PREVIOUS ENSEMBLE RUNS WERE STAYING  
WITHIN THEIR PARENT MODEL CORE TRENDS (GEFS MORE BULLISH), BUT  
12Z GEFS AND EPS 24HR MEDIAN QPF ARE CONVERGING SOMEWHAT AND NOW  
MORE SIMILAR SUGGESTING A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD APPROACH WITH LIGHT  
RAIN SOMETIME WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY BUT WITH TIMING  
UNCERTAINTIES. THE NBM SEEMS TO GRASP THIS TREND ACCORDINGLY  
WITH LOW CHANCES (<=30%) SPREAD OUT OVER 48 HOURS. THE FLIP TO  
NORTHWEST FLOW IS ALSO EXPECTED TO RETURN TEMPERATURES TO NORMAL  
OR ABOVE WITH HIGHS IN THE 60S BY WED AND THU.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1242 PM CDT THU APR 3 2025  
 
CONFIDENCE IS LOW ON ITS TREND, BUT MVFR STRATUS IS EXPECTED TO  
REMAIN FAIRLY STEADY STATE ACROSS NORTHERN IA INTO AT LEAST THE  
EARLY EVENING HOURS AFFECTING KFOD, KMCW, AND KALO, AND  
POSSIBLY LONGER AT KMCW. LOOKING INTO FRIDAY, WIDESPREAD HIGH  
CLOUDINESS IS ANTICIPATED AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM WITH PRECIPITATION  
POTENTIAL MAINLY HOLDING OFF SOUTHEAST NEAR KOTM UNTIL AFTER  
THE VALID PERIOD (04/18Z).  
 
 
   
DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...SMALL  
AVIATION...SMALL  
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