543  
FXUS63 KABR 122014  
AFDABR  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD  
314 PM CDT THU MAR 12 2026  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- A CLIPPER SYSTEM BRINGS STRONG WINDS TO THE AREA LATE THIS  
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WIND GUSTS WILL MAINLY RANGE FROM 50 TO  
60 MPH RANGE WITH STRONGER GUSTS IN THE WAKE OF A COLD FRONT  
WITH MAGNITUDES RANGING FROM 65-80 MPH A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS  
BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF CENTRAL/NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST SD AS  
WELL AS WESTERN MN.  
 
- MILD TEMPERATURES AND DRY CONDITIONS IN COMBINATION WITH THE  
VERY STRONG WINDS WILL RAISE THE GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER INTO THE  
VERY HIGH TO EXTREME CATEGORY FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON. A RED  
FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN IN EFFECT UNTIL MID EVENING TONIGHT.  
 
- A COLORADO LOW WILL BRING SNOW FOR THE WEEKEND. THE PROBABILITY  
OF EXCEEDING 6 INCHES OF SNOWFALL HAS INCREASED TO 50 TO 80%  
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WILL LEAD TO  
BLOWING/DRIFTING SNOW.  
 
- VERY COLD AIR FOLLOWS WITH TEMPERATURES SUNDAY INTO MONDAY SOME 15  
TO 25 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
ISSUED AT 314 PM CDT THU MAR 12 2026  
 
A PLETHORA OF CLOUD COVER AND SCATTERED SHOWERS HAVE BEEN  
COMMONPLACE ACROSS THE CWA. THE CLIPPER LIKE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS  
CURRENTLY POISED AND CENTERED NEAR MINOT, ND WITH A WARM FRONT  
EXTENDING SOUTHEAST INTO CENTRAL SD AND A COLD FRONT DRAPED WEST-  
SOUTHWEST FROM THE LOW ACROSS SOUTHWEST ND INTO SOUTHEAST MT. THESE  
FRONTAL BOUNDARIES WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK EAST-SOUTHEAST ACROSS THIS  
FORECAST AREA THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AS THE LOW IS PROGGED  
TO SHIFT INTO EASTERN ND AND NORTHERN MN THIS EVENING. SCATTERED  
SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH LATE THIS  
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. WEAK INSTABILITY DEVELOPING OUT AHEAD  
OF THE COLD FRONT MAY BE ENOUGH TO GENERATE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OR  
AT THE VERY LEAST SOME LIGHTNING AND CLAPS OF THUNDER AND SOME BRIEF  
HEAVIER SHOWERS. SPC CONTINUES TO HIGHLIGHT NORTH CENTRAL AND  
NORTHEAST SD AND WEST CENTRAL MN FOR A MARGINAL RISK(LEVEL 1 OF 5)  
FOR SEVERE WEATHER. CONFIDENCE IN STRONG WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH ANY  
CONVECTION REMAIN LOW JUST FOR THE FACT THAT THE SYNOPTIC SETUP IS  
ALREADY GOING TO BE GENERATING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 KTS. THE  
VERY STRONG WINDS WILL ULTIMATELY BE THE MAIN CONCERN LATER TODAY  
INTO TONIGHT. SFC OBS ACROSS WESTERN SD/ND ALREADY HAVE SEEN WIND  
GUST RANGE BETWEEN 60-80+ MPH. 1/2 KM WIND PROGS CONTINUE TO  
GENERATE A CORRIDOR OF 50-65 KT WINDS ACROSS A GOOD PORTION OF THE  
FORECAST AREA FROM ABOUT MID-LATE AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL SD TO  
EARLY THIS EVENING THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE OVERNIGHT HOURS  
ACROSS NORTHEAST SD AND WEST CENTRAL MN. THE MAIN MESSAGE IN ALL OF  
THIS IS THAT DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THIS FORECAST AREA  
LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN  
EFFECT UNTIL LATE TONIGHT FOR CENTRAL SD AND UNTIL EARLY FRIDAY  
MORNING FROM THE JAMES VALLEY AND POINTS EAST.  
 
SFC HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO BUILD INTO THE FORECAST AREA ON  
FRIDAY. BREEZY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL DIMINISH DURING THE MORNING  
HOURS, MORE NOTICEABLY ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF OUR CWA WHERE WIND  
GUSTS COULD STILL RANGE BETWEEN 25-35 MPH THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF  
THE MORNING HOURS. COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL DRIVE IN A COOLER, BELOW  
NORMAL AIR MASS WITH DAYTIME TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO HOLD IN THE  
30S. AFTER A RELATIVELY QUIET DAY WEATHER-WISE, CONDITIONS WILL  
START TO DETERIORATE ACROSS CENTRAL SD AS EARLY AS LATE  
AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING FRIDAY AS THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM ORGANIZES TO  
THE WEST.  
 
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO INDICATE AN ANOMALOUS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM  
DEVELOPING ACROSS THE NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS EARLY SATURDAY BEFORE  
DIVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE OF THE ROCKIES AND INTO  
PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS BY SATURDAY NIGHT INTO  
SUNDAY. STILL SOME THINGS TO IRON OUT IN TERMS OF TIMING AND TRACK  
OF THE THIS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. BOTH DETERMINISTIC AND ENSEMBLE  
MEMBERS HAVE A GENERAL IDEA OF THIS SYSTEM TRACKING SOUTHEAST ACROSS  
WY/NE ON SATURDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY AND THEN HOOKING BACK  
TOWARD THE NORTHEAST ACROSS IA/MO AND INTO IL AND THE WESTERN GREAT  
LAKES BY SUNDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY. PROBABILITIES OF SEEING AT  
LEAST 6 INCHES OR MORE OF SNOW ARE HIGHEST BASICALLY ACROSS THE  
CENTRAL PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. THERE'S A 60-80 PERCENT CHANCE  
OF THIS OCCURRING FROM CENTRAL SD INTO NORTHEAST/EAST-CENTRAL SD AND  
WEST CENTRAL MN. LOWER PROBS EXIST ON OUR FAR NORTHERN FRINGE OF  
ZONES AND FAR SOUTHERN FRINGE OF ZONES. WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH  
THIS SYSTEM ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE AT LEAST AS HIGH AS 30-40 MPH  
WHICH WILL POTENTIALLY LEAD TO BLIZZARD LIKE CONDITIONS ARE A GOOD  
PORTION OF THIS FORECAST AREA. THIS SYSTEM WILL PULL AWAY AND WIND  
DOWN BY SUNDAY NIGHT FOR MOST OF THIS CWA. THEN COLD AIR ADVECTION  
TAKES HOLD AND DRIVES A MUCH COLDER AND BELOW NORMAL AIR MASS INTO  
THE REGION. WITH A FRESH BLANKET OF SNOW, TEMPERATURES SHOULD NOT  
HAVE ANY ISSUES REACHING THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE AND BELOW ZERO BY  
MONDAY AND TUESDAY MORNINGS. LONG RANGE OUTLOOKS DO INDICATE THOUGH  
THAT A WARMING TREND IS ANTICIPATED BY THE LATTER HALF OF NEXT WEEK.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 1240 PM CDT THU MAR 12 2026  
 
TERMINALS KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG  
 
VFR CONDITIONS WILL BE THE GENERAL RULE AT ALL TERMINALS THROUGH  
THIS TAF CYCLE, ASIDE FROM THE TIME PERIODS WHERE RAIN SHOWER  
ACTIVITY WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY  
THIS EVENING. MVFR CIGS/VSBYS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN LIGHT TO  
MODERATE RAIN SHOWERS. MVFR CIGS WILL BE MORE PROBABLE AT KATY  
LATE THIS EVENING THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AS "WRAP-AROUND"  
CLOUD COVER OVERTAKES NORTHEAST SD FROM A DEPARTING CLIPPER LOW  
ACROSS NORTHERN MN.  
 
STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN CONCERN AT ALL  
TERMINALS THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. WINDS JUST OFF THE DECK  
WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PRODUCE LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR FROM MID  
AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING AT KMBG/KABR/KATY TAF SITES.  
SFC WIND SPEEDS WILL EXCEED 35-40 KNOTS AND GUSTS WILL EXCEED 60  
KNOTS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AT KPIR/KMBG AND DURING THE FIRST HALF  
OF THE EVENING AT KABR/KATY. WINDS WILL NOTICEABLY DIMINISH TOWARD  
THE END OF THIS FORECAST PERIOD OR MID TO LATE MORNING FRIDAY.  
 

 
   
ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
SD...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM CDT FRIDAY FOR  
SDZ007-008-011-019>023.  
 
WINTER STORM WATCH FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY  
EVENING FOR SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051.  
 
RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM CDT /8 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR  
SDZ003>005-009-010-015>017-033>037-045-048-051.  
 
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ FRIDAY FOR  
SDZ003>005-009-010-015>017-033>037-045-048-051.  
 
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 AM CDT FRIDAY FOR  
SDZ006-018.  
 
MN...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM CDT FRIDAY FOR  
MNZ039-046.  
 
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 AM CDT  
FRIDAY FOR MNZ039-046.  
 
WINTER STORM WATCH FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY  
EVENING FOR MNZ039-046.  
 

 
 

 
 
DISCUSSION...VIPOND  
AVIATION...VIPOND  
 
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