281  
FXUS63 KARX 020936  
AFDARX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI  
336 AM CST SUN FEB 2 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- FREEZING DRIZZLE EXITS THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING WITH MILD TEMPERATURES  
FOR THE AFTERNOON WITH HIGHS IN THE 40S. BE ALERT FOR ANY  
SLICKS SPOTS EARLY THIS MORNING.  
 
- SNOW AND WINTRY MIX MOVES IN ALONG AND NORTH OF I-90 TONIGHT  
AND INTO MONDAY MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 INCHES OR  
MORE LIKELY (50-70%) NORTH OF HWY 29 IN TAYLOR COUNTY.  
 
- COOLER TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO START THE WORK WEEK WITH HIGHS  
IN THE 20S AND 30S. CONFIDENCE INCREASING FOR PRECIPITATION  
FOR THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK, PRECIPITATION TYPES REMAIN  
UNCERTAIN.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
ISSUED AT 335 AM CST SUN FEB 2 2025  
 
TODAY: FREEZING DRIZZLE EXITS EARLY WITH MILD TEMPERATURES  
 
ONGOING FREEZING DRIZZLE CAN BE NOTED THIS MORNING WITH SEVERAL  
OBSERVATION SITES SHOWING VISIBILITY REDUCTIONS ESPECIALLY ALONG AND  
EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THIS MIST/DRIZZLE WILL SLOWLY  
PUSH ITS WAY EASTBOUND WITH SOME SLICK SURFACES IN ITS WAKE. AS  
A RESULT, IF YOU ARE HEADING OUT EARLY THIS MORNING BE SURE TO  
TAKE IT SLOW WHEN ENCOUNTERING ANY ICE COVERED ROADS. AS  
TEMPERATURES QUICKLY WARM THIS MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON  
ANY SLICK SPOTS WILL IMPROVE WITH HIGHS IN THE 40S ACROSS MUCH  
OF THE LOCAL AREA. WITH INCREASED CLOUD COVER TRENDS FOR THIS  
AFTERNOON, HAVE DECREASED FORECAST HIGHS FOR MUCH OF THE AREA TO  
ACCOUNT FOR THIS. THAT BEING SAID, IF ANY CLEARING MANAGES TO  
OCCUR, DIURNAL MIXING MAY ALLOW OUR TEMPERATURES TO OVERACHIEVE  
AS SHOWN IN THE HIGHER PERCENTILES OF THE NBM WITH TEMPERATURES  
IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 50S ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-90.  
 
THIS EVENING - MONDAY: ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW, WINTRY MIX  
 
ATTENTION THEN TURNS TONIGHT TO AN ELONGATED FRONTOGENETIC BAND  
THAT WILL PUSH ALONG AND NORTH OF I-90. ONCE AGAIN THIS APPEARS  
TO BE A MORE COMPLICATED P-TYPE CONUNDRUM THAN WHAT WE HAD LAST  
NIGHT AND EARLY THIS MORNING. HOWEVER, THE FORCING SETUP HERE  
IS A BIT DIFFERENT SO MIGHT BE SOME CAVEATS TO CONSIDER. THE  
GENERAL CONCEPTUAL MODEL HERE SHOWN IN DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE IS  
SOME QG CONVERGENCE ALOFT AT 700-500MB WITH LOW-LEVEL  
FRONTOGENESIS AT 800MB ASSOCIATED WITH A STATIONARY BOUNDARY  
LOCATED JUST NORTH OF THE I-90 CORRIDOR. AS WE HEAD THROUGH THE  
EVENING AND OVERNIGHT, THIS BOUNDARY REALLY DOES NOT BUDGE WITH  
RAP/HRRR/ARW SOUNDINGS SHOWING A BI-MODAL LIFT PROFILE  
CORRESPONDING WITH AFOREMENTIONED LIFTING MECHANISMS. IT IS  
IMPORTANT TO NOTE THOUGH THAT THIS LIFT IS MORE ROBUST THAN WHAT  
WE HAD WITH THIS PREVIOUS SYSTEM. AS FAR AS SATURATION IS  
CONCERNED, IN NORTH-CENTRAL WI, HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT ICE IN THE  
CLOUD IS MAINTAINED NORTH OF HWY 29 WHERE AN ALL SNOW SOLUTION  
IS CURRENTLY EXPECTED IN TAYLOR COUNTY.  
 
THE SATURATION BECOMES MORE MESSY FURTHER SOUTH WHERE YOU GET A  
COMBINATION OF DRY LAYERS AND EVEN SOME MID-LEVEL WARMING. AS A  
RESULT, THINKING THAT A WINTRY MIX IS MORE LIKELY AS OPPOSED TO SNOW  
SOUTH OF HWY 29 AND TO THE I-90 CORRIDOR. GIVEN THE STRONG FORCING  
REGIME INITIALLY, WOULD NOT RULE OUT SNOW TRANSITION TO FREEZING  
DRIZZLE AS THE UPPER-LEVEL QG LIFT LESSENS. PRIMARY CONCERN GIVEN  
THE STRONG LOW-LEVEL FORCING AND DEEPER SATURATION INTO MONDAY  
MORNING WOULD SUGGEST THAT A PERIOD OF MORE ROBUST FREEZING  
DRIZZLE WITH MEASURABLE ICE ACCUMULATIONS IN THIS AREA. HOWEVER,  
THE RECENT HREF WOULD ONLY GIVE THIS ABOUT A 20 TO 30 PERCENT  
PROBABILITY FOR MEASURABLE FREEZING PRECIPITATION TO OCCUR. THIS  
FRONTOGENETIC FORCING SHIFTS EASTWARD AS WELL HEAD TOWARDS NOON  
WHICH IS SHOWN IN THE CAMS PUSHING MUCH OF THE PRECIPITATION  
EAST OF THE LOCAL AREA THROUGH THE LATE MORNING HOURS.  
 
AS FAR AS AMOUNTS ARE CONCERNED, AGAIN KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS A  
FRONTOGENETIC BAND SO THE AMOUNTS MAY SHIFT FROM CURRENT GUIDANCE.  
THAT BEING SAID, ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE IS FAIRLY CONFIDENT ON AMOUNTS OF  
OVER 3 INCHES WITH FAIRLY HIGH PROBABILITIES (50-70%) IN THE NBM IN  
TAYLOR COUNTY. CONSIDERING THE FRONTOGENETIC NATURE OF THE SNOW,  
NOTING 14-16:1 NBM SLRS AND THINK THAT IS FAIRLY APPROPRIATE. AS A  
RESULT, HAVE GONE WITH A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN TAYLOR COUNTY TO  
ACCOUNT FOR THIS. AN ADVISORY WILL NEED TO BE CONSIDERED FURTHER  
SOUTH IN CLARK COUNTY WHERE ADVISORY CRITERIA SNOWFALL MAY BE  
REACHED AS WELL BUT HELD OFF ON THIS FORECAST CYCLE DUE TO THE CAMS  
STILL SHIFTING FROM RUN TO RUN. FURTHERMORE, IF THE FREEZING DRIZZLE  
SIGNAL AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY HOLDS, MAY NEED AN ADVISORY FURTHER  
SOUTH TOWARDS THE I-90 CORRIDOR AS WELL.  
 
TUESDAY - FRIDAY: SEASONABLE, PRECIPITATION CHANCES  
 
LOOKING TO TUESDAY, SLIGHT UPPER-LEVEL NORTHWESTERLY FLOW AND COLD  
AIR ADVECTION WILL COOL TEMPERATURES SOME WITH MEDIAN HIGH  
TEMPERATURES IN THE GRAND ENSEMBLE (GEFS/EC/CANADIAN ENSEMBLE) BEING  
IN THE TEENS TO MIDDLE 20S. HOWEVER, WITH SOME SUBTLE UPPER-LEVEL  
RIDGING FOR WEDNESDAY HIGH TEMPERATURES TREND SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
IN THE MIDDLE 20S TO MIDDLE 30S. OVERALL, COOLER THAN WHAT WE HAVE  
SEEN THOUGH. AS FAR AS PRECIPITATION CHANCES, CURRENT DETERMINISTIC  
GUIDANCE GFS/EC/CANADIAN SWINGS AND UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH NORTH OF THE  
REGION INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. HOWEVER, WHILE CONFIDENCE IS  
INCREASING (50-80% CHANCE) FOR PRECIPITATION, A LARGE DEGREE OF  
SPREAD ON HOW ANY FORCING WILL DEVELOP SO WILL KEEP IN ACCORDANCE  
WITH THE NBM FOR NOW FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH CONFIDENCE  
IN ANY PRECIPITATION TYPE REMAINING LOW.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1136 PM CST SAT FEB 1 2025  
 
MOISTENING OF THE LOW-LEVELS CONTINUES, ESPECIALLY OVER  
SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA WHERE CEILINGS ARE  
HEADING TOWARD LIFR SOON AFTER TAF ISSUANCE TIME. THERE REMAINS  
SOME QUESTION ON THE VISIBILITY REDUCTION WE WILL SEE WITH THE  
LIFR CONDITIONS THERE, BUT STAYED THE COURSE WITH 1/2SM AT KRST.  
A NOTABLE IMPROVEMENT WAS SEEN IN THE LATEST NBM PROBABILITIES  
WITH A SHORTER DURATION AND LESS CONFIDENT <1SM BR PERIOD AT  
KRST. MAINLY AN MVFR FORECAST FOR WI AND KLSE.  
 
LIGHT FREEZING MIST IS BEING REPORTED ACROSS THE AREA AND THIS  
WILL CONTINUE TO SHIFT EAST AND END ACROSS THE AREA BY SUNRISE.  
TEMPERATURES DO WARM A BIT OVERNIGHT AS WELL LIMITING THE ICING.  
 
 
   
ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
WI...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO NOON CST  
MONDAY FOR WIZ017.  
MN...NONE.  
IA...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...NAYLOR  
AVIATION...BAUMGARDT  
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