988  
FXUS63 KABR 040445  
AFDABR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD  
1045 PM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- THERE IS A 50% CHANCE OF SNOW WEDNESDAY OVER FAR NORTHEAST SD  
AND WEST CENTRAL MN. LESS THAN AN INCH OF SNOW IS EXPECTED.  
 
- OUR NEXT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY,  
WITH A 60% CHANCE OF SNOW. THERE IS AROUND A 60% CHANCE OF 3" OF  
SNOW OR MORE. THE MAIN FOCUS FOR HIGHER SNOW AMOUNTS IS FAR  
NORTHEASTERN SD AND WEST CENTRAL MN.  
 
 
   
UPDATE  
 
ISSUED AT 535 PM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
 
NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ARE BEING DONE AT THIS TIME. LOW LEVEL  
DRIFTING OF SNOW ON AREA ROADWAYS HAS BEEN NOTED IN THE TYPICAL  
LOCATIONS, LIKE ACROSS THE FROZEN RUSH LAKE WEST OF WAUBAY. THIS  
WILL DIMINISH AS WINDS CONTINUE TO WEAKEN OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/  
 
ISSUED AT 328 PM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
 
STILL SOME LINGERING LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE EASTERN CWA THIS  
AFTERNOON, BUT TRENDS ARE FOR THIS TO BE GRADUALLY ENDING OVER THE  
NEXT FEW HOURS. POP GRIDS REFLECT THIS UP THROUGH 00Z. DEPENDING ON  
THE SPEED OF THE EXITING LINGERING BATCH OF LIGHT SNOW, FLURRIES MAY  
NEED TO BE ADDED TO THE FAR EASTERN CWA FOR A COUPLE HOURS THIS  
EVENING. OTHERWISE, MODELS SUGGEST MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS MOVING  
OVER THE REGION TONIGHT AS THE LOWER LEVEL CLOUDS TRY TO DISSIPATE  
FROM WEST TO EAST. WINDS WILL ALSO GO LIGHTER THIS EVENING, AND  
WHILE NOT A TRUE RADIATIONAL COOLING NIGHT, THE FRESH FEW INCHES OF  
SNOW OVER THE NORTHERN CWA, ALONG WITH THE BITTERLY COLD AIR MASS IN  
PLACE SHOULD ALLOW TEMPS TO DROP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS BELOW ZERO  
FOR MANY LOCATIONS. WE ARE SEEING ANOTHER AREA OF LIGHT SNOW OVER  
WESTERN SD, WHICH MAY AFFECT FAR WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA  
TONIGHT. ONLY HAVE SLIGHT CHANCE (20%) POPS IN THE FORECAST FOR THIS  
AS MEASURABLE SNOW MAY BE RATHER HARD TO COME BY.  
 
ON TUESDAY, THE SURFACE RIDGE AXIS WILL SHIFT EAST INTO MN, ALLOWING  
FOR EASTERLY WINDS TO DEVELOP DURING THE DAY. THE RATHER COLD AIR  
MASS REMAINS OVERHEAD AS 925MB TEMPS STAY IN THE -15C TO -20C RANGE  
ACROSS THE CWA. HIGHS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS WILL BE ALL  
THAT CAN BE REACHED ACROSS THE AREA.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 328 PM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
 
A MORE ZONAL TYPE PATTERN HAS/WILL TAKE OVER FOR THE EXTENDED, WITH  
GENERALLY SLIGHTLY STRONGER SYSTEMS PASSING THROUGH THE REGION (IN  
COMPARISON TO THE PREVIOUS PATTERN) WITH THE FOCUS ON WAVES THURSDAY  
AND SATURDAY. THE ARCTIC BOUNDARY WILL ALSO REMAIN A PLAYER IN THE  
FORECAST, SITUATED MAINLY SOUTH OF THE CWA/BETWEEN NEBRASKA AND  
SOUTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA, MEANING WE'LL REMAIN ENSCONCED WITHIN THE  
COLDER AIRMASS FOR THE NEXT WEEK.  
 
AT THE SURFACE WILL START WITH A LOW OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKIES, WITH  
SOUTHEASTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW OFF OF HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE GREAT  
LAKES. INITIALLY THIS PRESENTS WITH NEUTRAL THERMAL ADVECTION,  
HOWEVER AS WEDNESDAY ROLLS ON, WE SEE WARM ADVECTION IN THE MID  
LEVELS TAKING SHAPE IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. THAT ROLLS EAST AHEAD  
OF THE NEXT WAVE, WITH A WARM FRONT/TIGHT TEMPERATURE GRADIENT  
ACROSS THE STATE. THIS ALSO SHOWS UP AS ONE OF THE MOST PRONOUNCED  
MID LEVEL INVERSIONS WE'VE SEEN THIS WINTER. WEAK ASCENT WITH THE  
WARM FRONT COULD GENERATE SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION, BUT NAM PROFILES  
DEPICT A DRY SUBCLOUD LAYER, WITH A SHALLOW SATURATED LAYER, ALL  
BELOW FREEZING BUT WARMER IN COMPARISON TO THE DENDRITIC GROWTH  
ZONE. NAM DOES EVENTUALLY, BRIEFLY SATURATE, UP AROUND 500MB/12KFT  
AND PROVIDE SOME SEEDER-FEEDER WITH A DEEP SATURATED PROFILE BUT  
THEN WE RAPIDLY LOSE ICE AND THE PROFILE DRIES. EVEN IN THE FAR  
NORTHEAST, WHERE NBM MOISTURE IS THE HIGHEST, THIS IS STILL  
RELEGATED TO ONLY AN HOUR OR TWO OF POTENTIAL SNOWFALL OUT OF THE  
NAN PROFILES, BEFORE THEY COOL/DRY TO THE POINT OF FREEZING DRIZZLE  
AND THEN BACK TO FLURRIES AS THE LOWER PORTION OF THE PROFILE COOLS  
ENOUGH TO BACK INTO THE DENDRITIC GROWTH ZONE THURSDAY MORNING. NBM  
PROBABILITIES OF 0.1 INCHES MOISTURE IS ONLY ABOUT 50% UP AROUND  
SISSETON/WHEATON.  
 
HIGH PRESSURE FOLLOWS ON THE BACKSIDE, AT 1025-1030MB CENTERED OVER  
THE NORTHER ROCKIES WITH A TIGHT GRADIENT INITIALLY (ABOUT 10MB E-W  
ACROSS THE STATE). THAT HIGH EXTENDS OUT OVERHEAD FOR  
THURSDAY/THURSDAY NIGHT. COLD ADVECTION THURSDAY WILL ALSO ASSIST IN  
ACCELERATING WINDS. NBM WINDS ARE ON THE ORDER OF UPPER TEENS TO UPPER  
20S WHICH IS A LITTLE LOW IN COMPARISON TO NAM/GFS MIXED WINDS AND  
SOMETHING WE WILL NEED TO GET INTO GREATER DETAIL AS WE GET INTO MID-  
WEEK. THUS, WITH THE FRESH SNOW COVER, FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL  
NEED TO KEEP THE MENTION OF BLOWING/DRIFTING SNOW.  
 
THE CORE OF COLDEST AIR PRETTY MUCH GOES ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA AND  
WE MAINTAIN A THERMAL GRADIENT ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA INTO FRIDAY.  
THAT THERMAL GRADIENT WEAKENS BRIEFLY AS THE HIGH HEADS EAST, BUT  
REDEVELOPS AHEAD OF THE NEXT SYSTEM SO AGAIN, THE WARM FRONT  
DEVELOPS OVERHEAD. MODEL QPF IS MORE CENTERED ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA  
THIS TIME, WITH THE GFS/CANADIAN/EC IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT FOR  
120 HOURS. NBM PROBS POINT TO MAINLY A SNOW EVENT, AND THAT  
MATCHES WELL WITH DETERMINISTIC GFS 700MB TEMPERATURES AT -12 TO  
-18C...THOUGH IT SHOULD BE NOTED A TIGHT THERMAL GRADIENT OVER  
SOUTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA, SO ANY FUTURE SHIFTS IN THE POSITION OF THE  
WARM FRONT COULD ULTIMATELY IMPACT THE RAIN-SNOW LINE.  
 
AS FOR TEMPERATURES, WITH THE THERMAL GRADIENT/WARM AND COLD  
ADVECTION CONSTANTLY IN PLAY ACROSS THE REGION, THERE IS LOWER  
CONFIDENCE IN FORECAST HIGHS/LOWS. NBM 25TH/75TH PROBABILITIES FOR  
HIGHS SHOW ABOUT A 10 DEGREE SPREAD THURSDAY THOUGH THE WEEKEND.  
OVERALL THE TREND IS FOR AT OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR MOST OF  
THE TIME PERIOD. SEEMS REASONABLE AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE POTENTIAL  
FOR INCREASING THE SNOWPACK.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1045 PM CST MON FEB 3 2025  
 
TERMINALS KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG  
 
VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITH WINDS GENERALLY LESS THAN 12KTS.  
THE EXCEPTION IS TUESDAY AFTERNOON, WHEN GUSTS OF 20-25KTS ARE  
EXPECTED AT PIR/MBG OVER CENTRAL SD.  
 
 
   
ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
SD...NONE.  
MN...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
UPDATE...KF  
SHORT TERM...TMT  
LONG TERM...CONNELLY  
AVIATION...KF  
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