755  
FXUS63 KABR 030917  
AFDABR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD  
317 AM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- LESS THAN AN INCH OF SNOW REMAINS POSSIBLE THROUGH THE FIRST  
HALF OF TODAY MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF HWY 12.  
 
- TEMPERATURES WILL TREND COLDER THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK,  
WITH HIGHS DROPPING BACK DOWN INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE 0F  
TO LOWER 20S.  
 
- A 30-60% CHANCE OF SNOW FOR WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND A  
40-50% CHANCE OF SNOW FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY  
AFTERNOON.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON/
 
 
ISSUED AT 316 AM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
 
AT 3 AM CST, A BROAD-BAND OF SNOW EXTENDED FROM NORTHERN SOUTH  
DAKOTA UP INTO SOUTHERN NORTH DAKOTA. THERE HAVE BEEN SMALLER MORE  
INTENSE BANDED-FEATURES SEEN AT TIMES WITHIN THIS BROADER SNOWBAND.  
OFF THE RAP13 MODEL, THE FRONTOGENESIS FORCING BETWEEN 750HPA UP  
600HPA HAS BEEN "STRONG" FOR SEVERAL HOURS NOW, AND WHILE THE OMEGA  
PROG FOR LIFT HAS NOT BEEN OVERLY STRONG IN THIS EVENT, THE UPPER  
LEVEL JET STREAM (LEFTOVERS FROM THE RECENT WEST COAST "ATMOSPHERIC  
RIVER" EVENT) HAS BEEN MAINTAINING 120-150KNOT POCKETS OF JET STREAK  
ENERGY FOR UPPER LEVEL LIFT-SUPPORT DURING THIS BANDED SNOW EVENT.  
PERHAPS HELPING TO TIGHTEN UP SOME OF THE STRONGER EMBEDDED BANDED-  
FEATURES THIS MORNING IS "COLD AIR INSTABILITY" (NEGATIVE EPV*)  
SHOWN TO BE AVAILABLE IN THE RAP MODEL AND STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE  
RATES AS ADVERTISED IN RAP BUFKIT SOUNDINGS THE OVER THE PAST 48  
HOURS AND IN THE MOST RECENT COUPLE OF KABR RAOBS. AREA SURFACE OBS  
HAVE DROPPED IN VISIBILITY TO 1/2SM AT TIMES UNDER THESE SMALLER  
MORE INTENSE EMBEDDED BANDS OF SNOW. SKIES ARE CLOUDY AND  
TEMPERATURES RANGE FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE 0F ACROSS NORTH  
CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA TO THE MID/UPPER TEENS ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN/SOUTHEASTERN FORECAST ZONES. WINDS ARE OUT OF THE NORTH TO  
NORTHEAST AROUND 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.  
 
THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WITHIN THIS BANDED SNOW EVENT IS HAPPENING  
RIGHT NOW. THE 00Z RUN OF THE SNOWBAND TRACKER (SPT USING HREF)  
PLACES SEVERAL MEMBERS ACROSS NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA/WEST CENTRAL  
MINNESOTA FROM NOW THROUGH 11Z BEFORE RELOCATING FURTHER EAST INTO  
THE MN/WI AND THE GREAT LAKES REGION. QPF AND POPS GUIDANCE SUPPORTS  
THE ONGOING FORECAST TRENDS THAT AFTER 12Z THIS MORNING, THIS BANDED  
SNOW EVENT WILL BE WINDING DOWN, WITH PERHAPS A FEW TENTHS OF AN  
INCH TO AN INCH OF SNOWFALL STILL POSSIBLE. NOT WANTING TO  
CHANGE/TAKE DOWN THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HEADLINE IN PLACE RIGHT  
NOW, WITH THE MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE RAMPING UP IN THE NEXT FEW  
HOURS. THE CURRENT WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO INCREASE ALL THAT MUCH  
TODAY. THE BLOWING SNOW MODEL GENERATED MAINLY PATCHY BLOWING SNOW  
THIS MORNING. THERE WERE A COUPLE SPOTS WHERE "SCATTERED AREAS OF  
BLOWING SNOW" SHOWED UP, ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE  
PRAIRIE COTEAU/SISSETON HILLS REGION. MODEL PROGGED LOW LEVEL CAA  
WILL CONTINUE, THOUGH, DROPPING FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS BELOW 0C THIS  
MORNING TO APPX -17C TO -20C AT 12Z TUESDAY.  
 
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE BUILDING DOWN ACROSS THE NORTHERN  
PLAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT. BY MID-DAY TODAY, THE CWA SHOULD BE  
BASICALLY VOID OF ANY PRECIPITATION. HOWEVER, AS THE NEXT ROUND OF  
WAA-FORCED PRECIPITATION STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE ACROSS THE NORTHERN  
HIGH PLAINS, A LITTLE BIT OF THE EASTERN-MOST EDGE OF THIS ZONE OF  
FORCING MAY RESULT IN SOME LIGHT FALLING SNOW TICKLING THE WESTERN  
EDGE (WEST RIVER ZONES) OF THE CWA FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH  
TUESDAY MORNING. FOR THE MOST PART, THOUGH, IT LOOKS LIKE DRY  
CONDITIONS SHOULD BE TAKING OVER DURING THE DAY TODAY AND PERSISTING  
THROUGH TUESDAY. IT'S JUST GOING TO BE COLD! WIND CHILLS TONIGHT ARE  
FORECAST TO DROP INTO A RANGE FROM APPX -10F ALONG THE I-90 CORRIDOR  
TO AROUND -22F UP ALONG THE DAKOTAS BORDER COUNTIES. PRETTY COLD,  
BUT NOT COLD ENOUGH TO SATISFY COLD WEATHER ADVISORY CRITERIA.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 316 AM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
 
TEMPERATURES 5-10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL WILL BE IN PLACE THROUGH THE  
MIDDLE OF THE WEEK THIS WEEK. WINDS THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD WILL  
GENERALLY BE LIGHT ENOUGH SUCH THAT WIND CHILLS WILL BOTTOM OUT  
AROUND -10 TO -15 DEGREES. THE ONE EXCEPTION TO THAT WILL BE  
THURSDAY MORNING, WHEN GUSTS MAY REACH UPWARDS OF 30 KNOTS. WIND  
CHILLS JUST BEFORE SUNRISE THURSDAY ARE FORECASTED TO GET AS LOW AS  
-25 ACROSS PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND THE PRAIRIE  
COTEAU WHERE WINDS ARE STRONGEST. WIND CHILL ADVISORY CRITERIA FOR  
THOSE AREAS IS -30 DEGREES, AND LONG RANGE ENSEMBLE PROBABILITIES  
GIVE A MAXIMUM OF 40% (WITH A BROADER 0-20% ACROSS THE NORTH) OF  
REACHING THAT CRITERIA.  
 
THERE WILL BE TWO CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION THROUGH THE FORECAST  
PERIOD. WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY WILL BE THE FIRST ROUND, CAUSED BY  
THE EXIT REGION OF A SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO THE NORTHWEST. THE GREATEST  
QPF POTENTIAL IS EXPECTED TO STAY TO THE NORTH IN CANADA AND NORTH  
DAKOTA. THE PROBABILITY OF RECEIVING 1 INCH OF SNOW INCREASES FROM  
SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST, FROM 10% IN THE PIERRE AREA UP TO 70% IN  
PARTS OF NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND WESTERN MINNESOTA. NO MORE  
THAN 2 INCHES (40% IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA) WOULD BE EXPECTED  
WITH THIS SYSTEM.  
 
THE SECOND CHANCE FOR SNOW WILL BE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY, WHERE  
MODELS ARE SHOWING A MORE ROBUST SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL PUT THE ABR  
FORECAST AREA IN THE LEFT EXIT REGION AND UNDER A ~120KT JET STREAK  
ALOFT. ENSEMBLE CLUSTERS SHOW A BIT OF A SLOWER PROGRESSION FOR THE  
PATTERN, SO TIMING COULD EASILY BE PUSHED BACK IN FUTURE FORECAST  
CYCLES. THERE IS STILL A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY IN SNOW VALUES, WITH AN  
NBM PROBABILITY OF 1 INCH OF ~50% PAINTED ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA.  
HOWEVER, THE 25TH-75TH SPREAD TELLS A BIT OF A DIFFERENT STORY:  
PARTS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA HAVE A SPREAD OF 0-6  
INCHES OF SNOW. THE UNCERTAINTY LIKELY COMES FROM THE SNOW RATIOS  
PRODUCING WILDLY DIFFERENT OUTCOMES THROUGHOUT THE EVENT. FOR  
EXAMPLE, COMPARING SOUNDINGS FROM THE EURO AND GFS ENSEMBLES AND IN  
PARTICULAR THE 500-300MB LAYER (WHERE THE HIGHEST SHEAR AND UPWARD  
MOTION WILL BE PRESENT) WE CAN FIND WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE THE  
ROOT CAUSE OF THE ISSUE. IN THE EURO ENSEMBLE, TEMPERATURES IN THE  
LAYER ARE MUCH COLDER IN THE GEFS, WHICH CREATES SATURATION ALOFT  
(LEADING TO HIGHER SNOW RATIOS FORMING IN THE STRONGER OMEGA). THE  
GEFS HAS MUCH WARMER TEMPERATURES ALOFT AND WILL LEAD TO LOWER  
RATIOS FOR THE EVENT. BOTH OF THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED ENSEMBLES  
PLACE THE 500-300MB LAYER UNDER A STRONG (100-120 KNOT) WARM AIR  
ADVECTION REGIME, SO IT WOULD SEEM REASONABLE TO TRUST THE GEFS  
OUTPUT OVER THE EURO AT THIS POINT IN TIME. LUCKILY, THERE IS STILL  
A LONG TIME FOR THINGS TO BE SORTED OUT FURTHER BEFORE THE SYSTEM  
APPROACHES.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 1116 PM CST SUN FEB 2 2025  
 
TERMINALS KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG  
 
SNOW IS TRENDING NORTHWARD WITH KMBG AND KABR THE MOST LIKELY TO  
SEE MVFR/OCCASIONAL IFR VSBY IN SNOW. KATY AND KPIR WILL STILL BE  
AFFECTED BY MVFR CIGS. ALL SITES ARE EXPECTED TO IMPROVE MONDAY  
MORNING AS SNOW EXITS FROM WEST TO EAST.  
 

 
   
ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
SD...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON CST TODAY FOR SDZ006>008-011.  
 
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM CST /5 AM MST/ EARLY THIS  
MORNING FOR SDZ003>005-009-010.  
 
MN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON CST TODAY FOR MNZ039-046.  
 

 
 

 
 
SHORT TERM...DORN  
LONG TERM...BC  
AVIATION...WISE  
 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.

The Nexlab SD Page
The Nexlab MN Page Main Text Page