123  
FXUS63 KABR 042002  
AFDABR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD  
202 PM CST TUE FEB 4 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- THERE IS A 40 TO 65% CHANCE OF SNOW STARTING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON  
OVER NORTHEASTERN SD AND WEST CENTRAL MN THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING.  
LESS THAN AN INCH OF SNOW IS EXPECTED. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE (25%  
OR LESS) OF FREEZING RAIN AND/OR SLEET THAT COULD BE MIXED IN AT  
TIMES. LITTLE TO NO ICE ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED.  
 
- WINDS OUT OF THE NORTHWEST OF 25 TO 35 MPH WILL RESULT IN SOME  
BLOWING/DRIFTING SNOW ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 12 THURSDAY.  
 
- OUR NEXT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY.  
PROBABILITIES OF EXCEEDING 6 INCHES HAVE INCREASED TO 20-40% WEST  
RIVER/40-60% EAST RIVER NORTH OF I90  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/  
 
ISSUED AT 201 PM CST TUE FEB 4 2025  
 
AS OF 2PM, TEMPERATURES ARE STILL IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AS MID TO  
HIGH CLOUDS BLANKET THE CWA AND NORTHEAST TO EAST FLOW AT THE  
SURFACE. OVERALL QUIET WEATHER EXPECTED HEADING INTO THIS EVENING  
AND TONIGHT WITH THIS HIGH TO OUR NORTHEAST AND ZONAL FLOW  
CONTINUING UNDERNEATH A RIDGE ALOFT. AS THE RIDGE SHIFTS EAST, MID  
LEVEL FLOW WILL THEN SHIFT OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST AS ENERGY MOVES IN  
OFF THE SOUTHERN CA COAST AND TRACKS NORTHEAST, WITH A SHORTWAVE  
SETTING UP ON THE THE LEE SIDE OF THE ROCKIES BY EARLY WEDNESDAY  
MORNING. THIS WAVE WILL TRACK EAST OVER SD THROUGH THE DAY. TO THE  
EAST AND NORTHEAST OF THIS LEE LOW, AN INVERTED SURFACE TROUGH WILL  
TRACK WEST TO EAST OVER THE CWA AS THE CENTER OF THIS LOW WILL TRACK  
EAST/SOUTHEAST AND WILL BE OVER SOUTHWESTERN SD/NORTHWESTERN NE BY  
00Z THURSDAY. AT THE SAME TIME A LOW/SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE  
NORTHERN CONUS WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY BRINGING  
ADDITIONAL LIFT TO THE NORTHERN CWA WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY.  
BEHIND THESE WAVES, ANOTHER HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES IN FROM THE  
NORTHWEST.  
 
WITH THIS SETUP, CAMS/NBM DO SHOW THE POTENTIAL FOR PRECIPITATION  
MAINLY OVER NORTHERN AND NORTHEASTERN SD INTO WEST CENTRAL MN  
WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY, WITH THE HIGHEST CHANCES  
OF PRECIP (40-65%) BETWEEN 00-12Z FOR THIS AREA AS WE WILL SEE  
BETTER LIFT. WHEN LOOKING AT NAM/RAP SOUNDINGS OVER THE EASTERN CWA,  
THE CONSENSUS IS THAT WITH SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS FROM 500-850MB, WE  
WILL HAVE WAA WITH AN APPARENT WARM NOSE BETWEEN 700-800MB (UP TO  
2.5-3C), WHICH WILL ALLOW FROZEN HYDROMETEORS (IF THEY CAN FORM) TO  
PARTIALLY MELT (EVEN TOTALLY MELT!). RIGHT BELOW THIS, FROM AROUND  
5000FT TO THE SURFACE, THE COLUMN GOES TO BELOW FREEZING (BEING IN  
THIS COLDER AIR MASS). SO HAVING THIS WARM NOSE ALOFT AND THE LARGE  
COLD LAYER TOWARDS THE SURFACE DOES SUPPORT THE POTENTIAL FOR SLEET.  
HOWEVER, THE COLUMN REALLY DOES NOT FULLY SATURATE (WITH THIS WEAK  
FIRST SHORTWAVE) UNTIL LATER ON IN THE EVENING, WITH THE NORTHERN  
WAVE. SO ANY DRYNESS IN THE LOWER TO MID LEVEL WOULD ALLOW FOR  
EVAPORATION OF THE HYDROMETEORS. FREEZING RAIN/DRIZZLE IS ALSO  
POSSIBLE IF WE CAN SATURATE AND GET PRECIP BELOW THIS WARM NOSE IN  
THE COLD DOME NEAR THE SURFACE. SO LOTS OF QUESTIONS THEREFORE  
CONFIDENCE REMAINS LOW ON EXACT OUTCOME AND PTYPE. LATEST NBM PTYPE  
DOES SHOW ABOUT A 15-20% CHANCE FOR FREEZING RAIN AND 15-30% CHANCE  
SLEET WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING ALONG WITH THE SNOW. THE COLUMN  
DOES SATURATE BETTER STARTING WEDNESDAY EVENING AND WITH CAA  
FILTERING IN ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE SYSTEM, PTYPE SHOULD CHANGE TO  
ALL SNOW. ANY SNOW WILL BE LIGHT WITH LESS THAN AN INCH IS  
FORECASTED FOR THIS TIME PERIOD AND LITTLE TO NO ICE ACCUMULATION.  
 
TEMPS WILL BE A BIT "WARMER" THAN THE PAST PREVIOUS NIGHTS WITH  
SOUTHEAST FLOW AT 925MB AND CLOUDS WILL HELP BLANKET THE AREA. SNOW  
COVERED AREAS WILL REMAIN CHILLIER THOUGH. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL RANGE  
FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS TO AROUND 12, WARMEST OVER SOUTH CENTRAL SD.  
HIGHS FOR WEDNESDAY WILL BE A BIT WARMER RANGING IN THE 20S TO EVEN  
THE LOWER 40S OVER SOUTH CENTRAL SD.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 201 PM CST TUE FEB 4 2025  
 
THE UPPER LEVEL PATTERN FEATURES A MAINLY WEST TO EAST UPPER LEVEL  
JET RUNNING COAST TO COAST AT BETWEEN 120 TO 145KTS, AND THAT  
DOESN'T REALLY START TO BUCKLE UNTIL LATE IN THE WEEKEND.  
 
MAIN FOCUS IS ON THE LATE FRIDAY/EARLY SATURDAY SYSTEM, WITH GOOD  
MODEL AGREEMENT ADDING CONFIDENCE THAT THIS WILL BE AN IMPACTFUL  
SYSTEM, WITH THE MAIN QUESTION BEING TO WHAT DEGREE?  
 
FIRST, WILL NEED TO BRIEFLY LOOK IN ON THURSDAY, WHICH WILL FEATURE  
LOW LEVEL COLD ADVECTION AND A PRESSURE BUBBLE OUT WEST AT THE START  
OF THE PERIOD. THE SURFACE GRADIENT PEAKS A LITTLE EARLIER AT ABOUT  
10MB ACROSS THE STATE. NAM BUFKIT SOUNDINGS POINT TO THE COLD  
ADVECTION MIXED WINDS FOR A FEW HOURS INTO THE 30-40KT RANGE ALONG  
WITH STEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES IN THE AFTERNOON. NAM PROBABILITY  
OF EXCEEDING 30MPH HITS ALL THE RIDGE TOPS AT BETWEEN 30-60%. IT  
ALSO IDENTIFIES THE TREND THAT THERE IS A SURGE WITH THE INITIAL  
FRONT/COLD ADVECTION/PRESSURE BUBBLE FOLLOWED BY A LULL AND THEN AN  
INCREASE WITH DAYTIME HEATING. WILL LEAVE IN MENTION OF BLOWING SNOW  
ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 12 WHERE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS EXCEED AN  
INCH.  
 
SO BACK TO THE MAIN CONCERN. WE WILL ALREADY HAVE A FAIRLY COLD  
AIRMASS IN PLACE BEING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ARCTIC FRONT LATE  
FRIDAY. THE SYSTEM IS ON A RELATIVE FAST WEST TO EAST TRAJECTORY  
FROM THE CENTRAL ROCKIES LATE LATE FRIDAY, ACROSS THE STATE AND ON  
INTO THE MIDWEST BY SATURDAY PM. NBM P-TYPE IS STILL PREDOMINANTLY  
SNOW, WITH PROBABILITIES FOR EXCEEDING 6 INCHES IS NOW RUNNING AT  
AROUND 20-40% FOR THE MISSOURI VALLEY AND 40-60% EAST RIVER NORTH OF  
I90. WINDS AT LEAST WILL BE LESS IMPRESSIVE WITH THIS SYSTEM WITH  
ONLY A 20-60% OF EXCEEDING 20MPH. THUS BLOWING SNOW WON'T BE AS MUCH  
OF AN ISSUE OVERALL.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1125 AM CST TUE FEB 4 2025  
 
TERMINALS KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG  
 
VFR CIGS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD WITH BROKEN TO  
OVERCAST MID TO HIGH CLOUDS. WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 10-15 KTS  
WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 KTS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY.  
 
 
   
ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
SD...NONE.  
MN...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
SHORT TERM...MMM  
LONG TERM...CONNELLY  
AVIATION...MMM  
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