058  
FXUS63 KLOT 220109  
AFDLOT  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE, IL  
709 PM CST SAT DEC 21 2024  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- 30% CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE/DRIZZLE LATE SUNDAY  
NIGHT THROUGH EARLY MONDAY MORNING.  
 
- TURNING MILD WITH ON-AND-OFF CHANCES FOR RAIN DURING THE  
HOLIDAY WEEK.  
 
 
   
UPDATE  
 
ISSUED AT 709 PM CST SAT DEC 21 2024  
 
HAVE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FORECAST THIS EVENING,  
PRIMARILY TO LOWER OVERNIGHT (EVENING) MIN TEMPERATURES AND  
TWEAK SKY COVER PER SATELLITE TRENDS. IN SHORT, EXPECT SINGLE  
DIGIT MINS THIS EVENING ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHERN IL WEST/NORTH  
OF CHICAGO URBAN HEAT ISLAND BEFORE MID-LEVEL CLOUD COVER  
INCREASES LATER THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT.  
 
EARLY EVENING SURFACE ANALYSIS PLACES 1034 MB HIGH PRESSURE  
CENTERED OVER EAST-CENTRAL WI, WITH A RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING  
SOUTHWARD INTO NORTHERN IL. A COMBINATION OF CALM OR  
LIGHT/VARIABLE WINDS WITHIN THE RIDGE AXIS, OUR RECENT SNOW  
COVER AND MOSTLY CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES ACROSS NORTHERN IL  
EARLY THIS EVENING, HAS ALREADY ALLOWED TEMPS TO DIP INTO THE  
SINGLE DIGITS IN PARTS OF THE FOX RIVER VALLEY WEST/NORTHWEST OF  
CHICAGO. MID-LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION WAS ALREADY DEVELOPING  
WEST OF THE RIDGE ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST HOWEVER, PRODUCING  
FAIRLY EXTENSIVE MID-LEVEL CLOUD COVER JUST TO OUR WEST AND  
NORTHWEST WHICH IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE  
FORECAST AREA LATER THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THIS WILL  
LIKELY CAUSE TEMPS TO RISE A FEW DEGREES FROM EVENING LOWS,  
ESPECIALLY FOR AREAS WEST/NORTHWEST OF CHICAGO.  
 
HAVE THEREFORE ADJUSTED FORECAST TO INCLUDE SINGLE DIGIT LOWS  
NEAR AND WEST OF THE FOX VALLEY, WITH TEMPS THEN RISING SLIGHTLY  
LATE. ALSO ADJUSTED SKY COVER DOWN ACROSS THESE AREAS THROUGH  
MID-EVENING BASED ON SATELLITE TRENDS, THEN INCREASED COVERAGE  
LATE EVENING AND AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE AREA AS THE EXPANSIVE  
MID-DECK SPREADS IN ALOFT.  
 
FORECAST OTHERWISE LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE INTO SUNDAY, SO NO  
OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE MADE AT THIS TIME. UPDATED  
DIGITAL AND TEXT FORECAST PRODUCTS AVAILABLE.  
 
RATZER  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
ISSUED AT 257 PM CST SAT DEC 21 2024  
 
THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT:  
 
LES CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE ACROSS NORTHWEST INDIANA DUE TO A  
COMBINATION OF LOWERING INVERSION HEIGHTS AND CONTINUED DRY AIR  
ADVECTION. ADDITIONALLY, AUGMENTATION OF THE BACKGROUND FLOW BY  
A LAND BREEZE EARLY THIS MORNING HAS KEPT THE MAIN CONVERGENT  
AXIS NORTH AND EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. AS A SURFACE RIDGE  
SHIFTS EASTWARD ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT, REMAINING LES OVER  
SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN WILL QUICKLY SHIFT FARTHER NORTH AND EAST  
OF THE FORECAST AREA. WITH THE CURRENT LOCATION OF ANY LES  
REMOVED TO THE NORTHEAST AND THE EXPECTED DEVELOPMENT OF ANOTHER  
LAND BREEZE TONIGHT, ANY REMAINING LES SHOULD BE LIMITED TO  
JUST SOME FLURRIES NEAR THE INDIANA SHORE THROUGH THIS EVENING.  
 
THOUGH WINDS WILL BE PRIMARILY CALM OVER SNOW COVER FOR MUCH OF  
THE AREA TONIGHT, TEMPS SHOULD ONLY SLOWLY FALL THROUGH THE  
NIGHT AS A DISJOINTED POCKET OF MID TO UPPER-LEVEL MOISTURE  
WITHIN STRONGER NW FLOW ALOFT LIKELY MAINTAINS A DECENT AMOUNT  
OF CIRRUS AND/OR ALTOSTRATUS OVER THE AREA. IF CLOUDS DO CLEAR  
MORE THAN EXPECTED, MIN TEMPS MAY PLUMMET WELL INTO THE SINGLE  
DIGITS ABOVE ZERO ACROSS INTERIOR NORTHERN ILLINOIS.  
 
SOME SEMBLANCE OF MID TO UPPER-LEVEL CLOUD COVER SHOULD PERSIST  
THROUGH THE DAY ON SUNDAY, LEADING TO FILTERED SUNSHINE ON  
INCREASING SOUTHERLY WINDS. AFTERNOON TEMPS WILL NEAR THE  
FREEZING MARK WHILE WINDS GUST UP TO 25 MPH. PRECIP WITH A SMALL  
MID-LEVEL WAVE SHIFTING ESE ACROSS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN DURING  
THE AFTERNOON SHOULD BE LIMITED TO VIRGA GIVEN DRY AIR BELOW  
10KFT CLOUD BASES.  
 
A STRONG PACIFIC-BASED TROUGH CROSSING THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES  
REGION ON MONDAY WILL BRING AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT ACROSS THE  
FORECAST AREA MONDAY AFTERNOON. BROAD LOW-LEVEL ISENTROPIC  
ASCENT WITHIN A SHALLOW BUT MOISTENING PRE-FRONTAL AIRMASS  
SHOULD SPREAD LIGHT PRECIP ACROSS AT LEAST NORTHERN PORTIONS OF  
THE FORECAST AREA LATE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING. A 1-2C  
WARM NOSE ADVECTING INTO THE AREA ON 850-900HPA 50 KNOT FLOW  
WILL YIELD LIQUID PRECIP, THOUGH IT IS BECOMING MORE LIKELY THAT  
TEMPS WILL NOT RISE ABOVE FREEZING BEFORE THE PRECIP BEGINS.  
HAVE CONTINUED TO INCREASE THE MENTION OF FREEZING DRIZZLE  
ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH AT LEAST MID-MORNING, WITH SOME  
IMPACTS FROM SLIPPERY SURFACES POSSIBLE FOR THE MORNING COMMUTE.  
TEMPS WILL RISE ABOVE FREEZING BY THE AFTERNOON WITH RESIDUAL  
POST-FRONTAL STRATUS AND PATCHY DRIZZLE INTO THE EARLY EVENING.  
 
KLUBER  
 
TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY:  
 
THERE REMAINS A STRONG SIGNAL FOR WELL ABOVE NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES NEXT WEEK (TYPICALLY LOW-MID 30S) AS THE NORTHERN  
STREAM UPPER JET LIFTS INTO CANADA, PARTICULARLY DURING THE  
LATTER HALF OF THE HOLIDAY WEEK WHEN HIGHS IN THE MID 40S TO  
LOWER 50S ARE FORECAST.  
 
THE UPPER PATTERN ALSO LOOKS RATHER MESSY OVERALL AS A SERIES  
OF UPPER LEVEL WAVES AND ASSOCIATED DISTURBANCES EJECT OFF THE  
ROCKIES BENEATH THE AFOREMENTIONED NORTHERN STREAM JET/LONGWAVE  
RIDGE. THIS WILL BRING SEVERAL CHANCES FOR RAIN TO THE REGION  
TUESDAY NIGHT (CHRISTMAS EVE) THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK WITH  
THE WARMER TEMPERATURES LIMITING THE POTENTIAL FOR ANY WINTRY  
PRECIPITATION. WHILE THE OFFICIAL FORECAST HAS RAIN CHANCES  
NEARLY EVERY PERIOD BEGINNING CHRISTMAS EVE NIGHT THROUGH THE  
END OF THE WEEK, THERE WILL BE DRY PERIODS IN BETWEEN SYSTEMS.  
PINPOINTING WHEN THESE OCCUR REMAINS LOWER CONFIDENCE AT THIS  
RANGE GIVEN CONTINUED MODEL DIFFERENCES WITH THE TIMING AND  
TRACK OF EACH SYSTEM.  
 
LOOKING BEYOND INTO EARLY JANUARY, LONG-RANGE ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE  
IS POINTING TOWARD A PATTERN SHIFT OCCURRING TOWARD THE NEW  
YEAR WITH UPPER TROUGHING SETTING UP ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF  
THE CONUS. THIS MATCHES UP WELL WITH THE LATEST CPC GUIDANCE  
WHICH ALREADY HAS A 55-60% CHANCE OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES  
OCCURRING DURING THE FIRST HALF OF JANUARY ACROSS NORTHEAST  
ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.  
 
PETR  
 
 
   
AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 523 PM CST SAT DEC 21 2024  
 
AVIATION FORECAST CONCERN FOR 00Z TAFS:  
 
- FEW MVFR LAKE EFFECT CLOUDS MAY BRUSH GYY THIS EVENING.  
 
- BREEZY SOUTH-SOUTHEAST WINDS SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH 20-25 KT  
GUSTS.  
 
LATE AFTERNOON SURFACE ANALYSIS DEPICTS WEAK SURFACE RIDGE AXIS  
DRIFTING EAST TOWARD THE TERMINALS ACROSS WI/IL. EAST OF THE  
RIDGE, NORTH-NORTHWEST WINDS CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SOME MVFR/LOW  
VFR (2000-3000 FT) LAKE-EFFECT STRATOCU INTO PARTS OF NORTHERN  
IN, AND SOME OF THIS MAY SLIP BRIEFLY BACK WEST INTO GYY EARLY  
THIS EVENING AS THE SURFACE RIDGE MOVES IN. OTHERWISE, MAINLY  
EXPECTING ONLY MID-LEVEL VFR CLOUDS IN THE 8000-10000 FOOT  
RANGE ACROSS THE TERMINALS THROUGH THE REST OF THE FORECAST  
PERIOD.  
 
WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT/VARIABLE BY MID-EVENING OR SO AS THE  
SURFACE RIDGE MOVES ACROSS THE AREA, THEN SOUTH-SOUTHEAST 5-10  
KTS EARLY SUNDAY MORNING AS THE RIDGE DRIFTS OFF TO THE EAST.  
WINDS WILL THEN INCREASE MIDDAY/AFTERNOON SUNDAY AS THE GRADIENT  
TIGHTENS AHEAD OF SURFACE LOW PRESSURE TRACKING FROM THE DAKOTAS  
TO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. SOUTH-  
SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL BECOME GUSTY IN THE 20-25 KT RANGE EARLY  
SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. STRONGEST WINDS MAY COME TOWARD OR  
DURING EARLY EVENING, WITH A FEW GUSTS ABOVE 25 KT POSSIBLE.  
 
RATZER  
 
 
   
LOT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
IL...NONE.  
IN...NONE.  
LM...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
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