718  
FXUS63 KFSD 261153  
AFDFSD  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD  
653 AM CDT FRI APR 26 2024  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- WIDESPREAD RAIN/EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS EARLY THIS MORNING  
DIMINISH IN COVERAGE AFTER DAYBREAK. STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS  
DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING (GREATEST RISK  
3PM-9PM).  
 
- RAIN CHANCES DECREASE LATE TONIGHT, WITH A MOSTLY DRY  
SATURDAY. HOWEVER, SHOWERS/STORMS RETURN SATURDAY NIGHT AND  
SUNDAY. A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE IN PORTIONS OF  
NORTHWEST IOWA.  
 
- THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT, WIDESPREAD BENEFICIAL RAINFALL OF AN  
INCH OR MORE IS EXPECTED (>80% CHANCE). MODERATE CHANCES  
(40-60%) FOR MORE THAN 2 INCHES, FOCUSED ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA  
AND ADJACENT AREAS.  
 
- UNSETTLED PATTERN CONTINUES THROUGH NEXT WEEK, WITH PERIODIC  
RAIN CHANCES, THOUGH PRECIPITATION CHANCES AND TEMPERATURES  
ARE BOTH LOW CONFIDENCE FORECAST DUE TO WIDELY VARYING MODEL  
SOLUTIONS.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
ISSUED AT 444 AM CDT FRI APR 26 2024  
 
THIS MORNING: AS ANTICIPATED, WE'RE SEEING WIDESPREAD RAIN IN THE  
BROAD WARM ADVECTION REGIME AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING MID-UPPER LEVEL  
TROUGH EARLY THIS MORNING. INSTABILITY IS ON THE WEAKER SIDE EXCEPT  
PERHAPS ACROSS OUR FAR SOUTH, SO THUNDER IS LARGELY LIMITED TO THE  
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. EXPECT THIS AREA OF RAIN TO  
DIMINISH FROM THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST AFTER DAYBREAK AS THE LEAD WAVE  
LIFTING NORTH AHEAD OF THE TROUGH SLIDES NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA,  
AND MID-LEVEL DRYING SPREADS ACROSS THE CWA. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE  
REMAINS FIRMLY IN PLACE, THOUGH, AND WITH WEAK LIFT CONTINUING,  
COULD SEE SPOTTY LIGHT RAIN/DRIZZLE PERSIST EVEN AFTER THE MORE  
WIDESPREAD MODERATE RAIN LIFTS NORTH.  
 
THIS AFTERNOON/TONIGHT: OUR ATTENTION THEN TURNS TO THE MAIN LOW  
PRESSURE SYSTEM WHICH WILL SLOWLY LIFT NORTHEAST THROUGH CENTRAL  
NEBRASKA THIS AFTERNOON, THEN TRACK ACROSS OUR FORECAST AREA  
TONIGHT. THE TRACK APPEARS TO HAVE SHIFTED SLIGHTLY WESTWARD FROM  
PROJECTIONS AT THIS TIME YESTERDAY, BUT TIMING IS SIMILAR. STILL  
SOME QUESTIONS ON ABILITY TO SEE SUFFICIENT CLEARING WORK INTO OUR  
FAR SOUTHERN CWA BY MID-LATE AFTERNOON TO ALLOW FOR STRONGER  
DESTABILIZATION. HOWEVER, THE SOUTHERLY MID-LEVEL JET AHEAD OF THE  
NEGATIVELY-TILTED TROUGH RESULTS IN VERY STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR  
(BETTER THAN 45-50KT IN SEVERAL MODELS), WHICH COULD OVERCOME THE  
WEAKER INSTABILITY (HIGH SHEAR/LOW CAPE ENVIRONMENT) AND STILL  
SUPPORT AT LEAST ELEVATED STORMS (POSSIBLY SUPERCELLS) WITH A THREAT  
OF HAIL UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST QUADRANT OF OUR  
FORECAST AREA (GENERALLY EAST OF HWY 81 AND NEAR/SOUTH OF I-90)  
WHERE MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES TOP 7.5-8C/KM. THIS CORRESPONDS WELL  
WITH THE SPC SLIGHT (LEVEL 2 OF 5) SEVERE WEATHER RISK FOR TODAY.  
 
BACK TO THE UNCERTAINTY, STILL SOME HIGH-RES MODELS WHICH SHOW THE  
LOW CLOUDS BREAKING UP/CLEARING THROUGH PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI  
RIVER VALLEY BY MID-LATE AFTERNOON AS THE WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH,  
WHILE OTHERS STAND FIRM ON THE WARM FRONT REMAINING FARTHER SOUTH  
AND THE LOW CLOUDS PERSISTING INTO THIS EVENING. THOSE THAT SHOW THE  
POTENTIAL CLEARING WOULD WARM ENOUGH TO BREAK THE SURFACE-BASED  
CAPPING INVERSION, WITH 0-1KM SHEAR OF 30-40KT AND LCL HEIGHTS BELOW  
2KFT SUPPORTING A RISK OF TORNADIC SUPERCELLS. AGAIN, THIS WOULD  
LARGELY BE FOCUSED NEAR THE SURFACE BOUNDARY/CLEARING LINE, WITH  
STORMS LIKELY BECOMING ELEVATED WITH A REDUCED TORNADIC THREAT AS  
THE MOVE NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY.  
 
POTENTIAL SEVERE WINDOW LOOKS TO BE RELATIVELY SHORT, PERHAPS  
BEGINNING AS EARLY AS 3-4PM IN THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY, AND  
EXITING OUR EASTERN CWA BY 8-9PM THIS EVENING AS THE WAVE SLIDES  
EAST. THEREAFTER, EXPECT COVERAGE OF SHOWERS/STORMS TO GRADUALLY  
WANE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. GIVEN THE EXPECTED QUICK-MOVING  
STORMS, THINK ANY THREAT OF OVERLAND FLASH FLOODING IS LOW. HOWEVER,  
STORMS MAY CONTAIN RAINFALL RATES IN EXCESS OF AN INCH PER HOUR SO  
LOCALIZED PONDING IN LOW-LYING/POOR DRAINAGE AREAS OR URBAN AREAS  
PRONE TO FLOODING MAY SEE BRIEF PERIODS OF STANDING WATER.  
 
SATURDAY: THIS COULD END UP BEING A RELATIVELY NICE DAY, CERTAINLY  
THE NICER DAY OF THE WEEKEND, AS BRIEF MID-UPPER LEVEL RIDGING KEEPS  
MUCH OF THE CWA DRY THROUGH THE DAY. LOW-LEVEL THERMAL BOUNDARY WILL  
LIKELY BE LINGERING SOUTHWEST-NORTHEAST SOMEWHERE IN THE CWA THOUGH,  
WITH CONSENSUS POINTING TO NEAR TO SOUTHEAST OF THE IA/MN HIGHWAY 60  
CORRIDOR. THIS WILL SEPARATE WIDESPREAD CLOUDINESS & COOLER TEMPS TO  
THE NORTHWEST FROM AT LEAST PARTIAL SUNSHINE AND NEAR NORMAL TEMPS  
SOUTHEAST.  
 
SATURDAY NIGHT/SUNDAY: A SECOND POTENT MID-UPPER LEVEL TROUGH  
SWINGS NORTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION DURING THIS PERIOD, THOUGH A  
LITTLE LESS STACKED THAN THE SYSTEM TODAY. GREATEST UNCERTAINTY  
IN THIS PERIOD IS WHERE THE LOW LEVEL BOUNDARY WILL BE LOCATED,  
ALONG WITH THE EXACT TRACK OF THE MID-UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WHICH  
STILL HAS SOME VARIANCE AMONG THE MODELS. HIGHER CONFIDENCE  
THAT MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL AGAIN SEE RAIN AT TIMES  
LATER SATURDAY NIGHT-SUNDAY, WITH MUCH LOWER CONFIDENCE IN  
POTENTIAL FOR ANY STRONG-SEVERE STORMS WHICH MAY OCCUR NEAR/EAST  
OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SURFACE BOUNDARY. TIMING ALSO DIFFERS  
FROM TODAY IN THAT THE SYSTEM REACHES OUR AREA EARLIER IN THE  
DAY, SO NOT WORKING WITH MAX DIURNAL HEATING. NEVERTHELESS,  
STILL SEE A PERIOD OF STRONG SHEAR AHEAD OF THE WAVE FROM LATE  
SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY AFTERNOON, SO CANNOT RULE OUT  
ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ACROSS OUR EASTERN COUNTIES.  
 
COMBINING BOTH OF THESE SYSTEMS TOGETHER, WE HAVE HIGH (>80%)  
PROBABILITIES OF SEEING WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS EXCEEDING AN  
INCH BY MONDAY MORNING. THE GREATER POTENTIAL FOR 2 INCHES OR  
MORE REMAINS FOCUSED ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA AND NEARBY AREAS,  
WHERE PERIODS OF DEEPER CONVECTION ARE MORE LIKELY WITH EACH OF  
THE SYSTEMS.  
 
MONDAY-THURSDAY: MID-UPPER LEVEL FLOW PATTERN TURNS A BIT MORE  
ZONAL AFTER THE SUNDAY WAVE EXITS, BUT INDICATIONS OF ONE OR  
MORE STRONGER WAVES SLIDING ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS THROUGH  
EARLY-MID WEEK WHICH COULD BRING AT LEAST SCATTERED RAIN CHANCES  
AT TIMES. TEMPERATURES RETURN TO NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL  
FOR THE TRANSITION TO MAY WITH HIGHS BACK INTO THE 60S TO AT  
LEAST LOWER 70S. MAY HAVE TO MONITOR TEMPS TOWARD THE END OF  
THIS WEEK, THOUGH, AS LATEST GFS/ECMWF BRING A SHOT OF COLDER  
AIR SOUTHWARD BEHIND ONE OF THE STRONGER WAVES IN THE LATTER  
HALF OF THE WEEK. WIDE VARIANCE IN SOLUTIONS ON THIS, THOUGH,  
WITH BETTER THAN A 20F SPREAD BETWEEN THE NBM 10TH AND 90TH  
PERCENTILES FOR HIGH TEMPERATURES ON THURSDAY.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 650 AM CDT FRI APR 26 2024  
 
ALTHOUGH STILL SEEING AREAS OF MVFR TO VFR CEILINGS AT THE START  
OF THIS PERIOD, EXPECT WIDESPREAD IFR-OCCASIONAL LIFR CEILINGS  
TO BECOME MORE PREVALENT FOR MOST AREAS. ONGOING RAIN/ISOLATED  
THUNDER ACROSS SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA WILL CONTINUE TO EXIT  
EASTWARD EARLY THIS MORNING, WITH AREAS OF LIGHT SHOWERS/DRIZZLE  
POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. BEST CHANCE TO SEE IMPROVEMENT  
IN CEILINGS INTO VFR CATEGORY WOULD BE NEAR THE US HIGHWAY 20  
CORRIDOR/KSUX DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING, THOUGH MVFR  
CEILINGS EXPECTED TO RETURN AFTER 27/06Z.  
 
AFTER 20Z, CHANCES FOR TSRA INCREASE, ESPECIALLY NEAR/SOUTHEAST  
OF KFSD, WITH TSRA CONTINUING THROUGH ABOUT 02Z BEFORE THIS  
SECOND ROUND OF STORMS BEGINS TO EXIT THE FORECAST AREA. CHANCE  
FOR TSRA IS GREATEST AT KSUX, BUT ALSO POSSIBLE NEAR KFSD, AND  
WILL CARRY A MENTION AT BOTH LOCATIONS FOR A FEW HOURS DURING  
THE LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING. THERE IS A RISK FOR SEVERE  
STORMS WITH THIS ACTIVITY, MAINLY SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 18 AND MORE  
FAVORED NEAR/SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 20, THOUGH DID NOT INCLUDE ANY  
MENTION OF SEVERE THREATS IN THE KSUX TAF AT THIS TIME DUE TO  
UNCERTAINTY IN EXACT LOCATION OF POTENTIAL STORM TRACKS.  
 

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

 
 

 
 
DISCUSSION...JH  
AVIATION...JH  
 
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