928  
FXUS63 KFSD 031945  
AFDFSD  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD  
245 PM CDT THU APR 3 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- PRECIPITATION CHANCES RETURN TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. ALTHOUGH  
RAIN WILL BE THE DOMINANT PRECIPITATION TYPE, PERIODS OF A  
RAIN/SNOW MIX OR ALL SNOW ARE EXPECTED.  
 
- BENEFICIAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY WITH A 70+% CHANCE FOR  
EXCEEDING A QUARTER OF AN INCH AND A 60+% CHANCE FOR EXCEEDING  
A HALF AN INCH OF RAIN. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN AN  
INCH.  
 
- DRY WEATHER RETURNS FOR THE WEEKEND THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT  
WEEK. NEAR TO ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES RETURN.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
ISSUED AT 243 PM CDT THU APR 3 2025  
 
CURRENTS-FRIDAY NIGHT: DREARY AND COOL CONDITIONS CONTINUE THIS  
AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING WITH STRATOCU OVER THE AREA.  
TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 40S, AND EXPECT SOME HIGHS IN THE 50S  
WITH PEEKS OF SUNSHINE. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS CONTINUE  
TONIGHT.  
 
NEXT SHORT WAVE MOVES THROUGH THE POSITIVELY TILTED UPPER LEVEL  
TROUGH AND SPLIT MID LEVEL TROUGH TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY, ALONG WITH  
AN UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK. CAMS AND OTHER DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE  
ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE EXACT TIMING AND EVOLUTION OF THE  
PRECIPITATION - ESPECIALLY DURING THE DAY FRIDAY AND EAST OF THE  
JAMES RIVER. MAIN QUESTION FOR TIMING AND COVERAGE COMES FROM WHERE  
AND WHEN THE BETTER FORCING WILL LINE UP WITH THE BEST MOISTURE.  
MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD FALL AS RAIN TONIGHT WITH  
TEMPERATURES IN THE 30S, ALTHOUGH SOME SNOW MIXES IN BRIEFLY NORTH  
OF I-90 AND IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.  
 
PRECIPITATION CHANCES REMAIN SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN DURING THE DAY AND  
EVENING FRIDAY DUE TO MODEL VARIANCE IN TIMING. COLD FRONT/SECONDARY  
TROUGH AXIS WILL MOVE THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING  
HOURS (SLOWER THAN PREVIOUS FORECAST), WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM  
TROUGH TRACKING EAST AS WELL. THIS SWINGS IN SOME COLDER AIR AS THE  
PRECIPITATION SLIDES TO THE EAST. SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT THIS  
SHOULD BE A RELATIVELY "CLEAN" TRANSITION FROM RAIN TO SNOW AS THE  
SATURATED COLUMN COOLS AT RELATIVELY THE SAME TIME/RATE. THUS, NOT  
EXPECTING MUCH - IF ANY - SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN. IF THE FIRST WAVE  
TAKES/EXPENDS MOST OF THE MOISTURE, THERE MAY BE LESS ACCUMULATIONS  
WITH THE SECOND WAVE FRIDAY NIGHT. HIGHS FRIDAY IN THE 40S AND 50S  
WITH LOWS IN THE 20S FRIDAY NIGHT.  
 
OVERALL, BENEFICIAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED, WITH PROBABILITY  
OF AREAS WEST OF THE JAMES RIVER SEEING OVER 0.25" OF LIQUID  
EQUIVALENT IN 24 HOURS MORE THAN 70% AND OVER 0.5" OVER 60% NEAR THE  
MO RIVER IN SOUTH CENTRAL SD. AS FOR SNOWFALL, AMOUNTS WEST OF THE  
JAMES WILL BE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON WHEN THE COLD AIR MOVES IN. WITH  
THE SLOWER PROGRESSION OF THIS, ACCUMULATION MAY BE HARD TO COME BY.  
GENERALLY LESS THAN AN INCH OF SNOW EXPECTED FOR THE HIGHER  
ELEVATION AREAS. MOST OF THE ACCUMULATION COMES FRIDAY EVENING AND  
NIGHT.  
 
SATURDAY-MONDAY: UPPER TROUGH CONTINUES TO MOVE THROUGH SATURDAY.  
HIGHS RECOVER INTO THE 40S, SO ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION FRIDAY NIGHT  
WILL BE SHORT LIVED. LOWS IN THE 20S. SLIGHTLY WARMER ON SUNDAY  
AHEAD OF THE NEXT WAVE AND COLD FRONT WHICH WILL SWING THROUGH  
SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. BRIEF WARM UP SUNDAY BRINGS TEMPERATURES  
IN THE 50S, RETURNING TO THE UPPER 30S AND 40S TO START THE WORK  
WEEK. LACK OF MOISTURE WITH THIS WAVE KEEPS DRY WEATHER IN PLACE.  
 
MOST OF NEXT WEEK: BY EARLY TO MID NEXT WEEK, WEAK RIDGING BUILDS  
ACROSS THE WESTERN CONUS, SLIDING EASTWARD. SHORT WAVE MOVES THROUGH  
THE OVERALL PATTERN MID NEXT WEEK, BUT MODEL GUIDANCE CURRENTLY  
VARIES SIGNIFICANTLY ON TIMING OF THIS FEATURE. BETTER MOISTURE  
APPEARS TIED TO THE SURFACE LOW TO THE SOUTH, SO NOT EXPECTING MUCH  
IN THE WAY OF PRECIPITATION. MODEL PROBABILITIES OF A TENTH OF AN  
INCH OF RAIN DURING THIS PERIOD ARE LOW (LESS THAN 30%).  
 
MORE ROBUST RIDGING MOVES INTO THE ROCKIES TOWARD THE END OF NEXT  
WEEK LEADING TO PREVAILING NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. GUIDANCE HAS  
BEEN TRENDING DOWNWARD ON HOW WARM WE'LL BE WITH THE NORTHERN JET  
STREAM STALLED JUST TO OUR EAST, BUT STILL EXPECT ABOVE NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES (HIGHS IN THE 50S AND 60S AND LOWS IN THE 30S TO 40S).  
 

 
   
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 1228 PM CDT THU APR 3 2025  
 
MVFR STRATUS HAS BEEN HANGING ON A BIT LONGER THIS AFTERNOON,  
WITH MVFR STRATOCU DEVELOPING AS WELL. MODELS ARE STRUGGLING TO  
HANDLE THIS OVERALL, BUT HAVE GONE A BIT MORE PESSIMISTIC IN  
TIMING TO THE RETURN OF VFR CEILINGS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  
FURTHER REFINEMENT MAY BE NEEDED DEPENDING ON THE COVERAGE OF  
THE STRATOCU.  
 
WINDS BECOME LIGHT AND VARIABLE BEFORE SHIFTING TO THE  
EAST/SOUTHEAST BY THE END OF THE PERIOD. PRECIPITATION, MOSTLY  
RAIN, WILL EXPAND IN COVERAGE THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING AND  
AFTERNOON, MAINLY IMPACTING AREAS WEST OF I-29 DURING THIS  
FORECAST CYCLE. EXPECT A RETURN TO MVFR AND LOWER CONDITIONS AS  
PRECIPITATION MOVES EAST.  
 

 
   
FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
SD...NONE.  
MN...NONE.  
IA...NONE.  
NE...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
DISCUSSION...SG  
AVIATION...SG  
 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.

The Nexlab SD Page
The Nexlab IA Page
The Nexlab MN Page
The Nexlab NE Page Main Text Page