097  
FXUS63 KBIS 140029  
AFDBIS  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND  
729 PM CDT SUN APR 13 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- WIDESPREAD MEDIUM TO HIGH CHANCES (60 TO 95 PERCENT) FOR RAIN  
THROUGH TONIGHT, WITH PRECIPITATION CHANCES DECREASING ON  
MONDAY.  
 
- SOME SNOW MAY MIX IN WITH THE RAIN THROUGH MONDAY MORNING AT  
TIMES, WITH LITTLE TO NO ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION EXPECTED.  
 
- STRONG WEST-NORTHWEST WINDS UP TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 55  
MPH ARE EXPECTED OVER FAR SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA THROUGH THIS  
EVENING.  
 
- DRY CONDITIONS WITH TEMPERATURES TRENDING WARMER ARE FORECAST  
TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK, FOLLOWED BY COOLER TEMPERATURES  
AND INCREASING CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION TO END THE WEEK.  
 

 
   
UPDATE
 
 
ISSUED AT 728 PM CDT SUN APR 13 2025  
 
AT 7 PM CDT, THE CENTER OF THE STACKED LOW WAS LOCATED BETWEEN  
BISMARCK AND HARVEY. RECENT SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE LOW SYSTEM  
BEGINNING TO PICK UP SOUTHEASTWARD MOMENTUM. WE DID SEE A FEW  
THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON ALONG THE HIGHWAY 52  
CORRIDOR FROM MINOT TO CARRINGTON, WHICH WERE PROLIFIC PRODUCERS OF  
SMALL HAIL. ONE STORM IN WELLS COUNTY ALSO PRODUCED A COLD AIR  
FUNNEL CLOUD AROUND 515 PM CDT. THE LAST STORM HAS SHIFTED INTO  
GRIGGS COUNTY. THE THREAT FOR LIGHTNING, HAIL, AND COLD AIR FUNNELS  
HAS ENDED IN OUR FORECAST AREA.  
 
WRAP-AROUND PRECIPITATION HAS NOT BEEN AS INTENSE OR WIDESPREAD IN  
THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT OF THE LOW AS EXPECTED. IN NORTHWEST NORTH  
DAKOTA, AREAS THAT EXPERIENCED ACCUMULATING SNOW THIS AFTERNOON,  
MAINLY IN FAR NORTHERN DIVIDE COUNTY, HAVE NOW SEEN TEMPERATURES  
RISE WELL ABOVE FREEZING AS PRECIPITATION GRADUALLY WINDS DOWN.  
STILL SEEING A FEW SNOW OBSERVATIONS FROM MOUNTRAIL TO MCKENZIE AND  
DUNN COUNTIES, BUT NEAR-SURFACE AIR AND WET-BULB TEMPERATURES REMAIN  
ABOVE FREEZING. SNOW COULD CONTINUE TO MIX IN AS TEMPERATURES BEGIN  
TO COOL THIS EVENING, BUT ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE BECOMING LESS  
LIKELY.  
 
THE MENTION OF ISOLATED TO SCATTERED RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FROM LATE  
TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON WAS MADE MORE WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE  
AREA FOR THIS UPDATE. AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TRAILING THE STACKED  
LOW IS FORECAST TO DIG INTO THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL DAKOTAS OVER  
THIS TIME PERIOD, AND CAMS HAVE BECOME MORE CONSISTENT THAT THE  
CYCLONIC FLOW WILL PRODUCE SHOWER ACTIVITY. THE SHOWERS COULD BE  
BOTH RAIN AND SNOW THROUGH THE MORNING, TRANSITIONING TO MOSTLY RAIN  
IN THE AFTERNOON, BUT POSSIBLY MIXED WITH SLEET, GRAUPEL, OR EVEN  
SMALL HAIL.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
ISSUED AT 334 PM CDT SUN APR 13 2025  
 
A STRONG UPPER LOW IS CURRENTLY LOCATED OVER NORTHWEST NORTH  
DAKOTA WITH A SURFACE LOW LOCATED OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL.  
WIDESPREAD RAIN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE NORTHERN THIRD OF THE  
STATE AS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM SLIDES EAST SOUTHEAST. SOME SNOW HAS  
ALSO BEEN MIXING IN AT TIMES ON THE NORTHWEST FRINGE OF THE  
PRECPITATION SHIELD WHERE TEMPERATURES ARE COLDER.  
 
THERE HAS BEEN SOME DRY SLOTTING ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH  
CENTRAL BUT CLOUDS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FILL IN A BIT OVER THE  
PAST HOUR OR TWO. AS MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS UPDATE, RAP  
SOUNDINGS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT IN DEVELOPING A LARGE POCKET OF  
MUCAPE VALUES RANGING FROM 200 TO 500 J/KG, MAINLY ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. SIMULATED HRRR REFLECTIVITY WOULD  
SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS GETTING  
STARTED HERE IN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO IF WE CAN GET ENOUGH  
INSTABILITY. WHILE SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED, COLD  
TEMPERATURES ALOFT COULD LEAD TO SOME SMALL HAIL AND STEEP LOW-  
LEVEL LAPSE RATES COULD LEAD TO SOME GUSTIER WINDS.  
ADDITIONALLY, IF ENOUGH LOW-LEVEL INSTABILITY CAN BE REALIZED, A  
COUPLE OF WEAK FUNNEL CLOUDS MAY NOT BE OUT OF THE QUESTION IN  
THE VICINITY OF THE LOW WHERE THERE SHOULD BE SOME ENHANCED  
SURFACE VORTICITY.  
 
THE WIND ADVISORY CONTINUES TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE ACROSS THE FAR  
SOUTHWEST AS WE'VE SEEN SEVERAL HOURS HERE OF WEST NORTHWEST WINDS  
IN THE 30 TO 35 MPH RANGE AND GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH. WINDS SHOULD  
BEGIN TO RELAX THROUGH THE EVENING, BUT THEY WILL REMAIN BREEZY  
OVERNIGHT ACROSS MOST OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA.  
 
ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY SHOULD RELAX EARLY IN THE EVENING AS  
THE UPPER LOW PIVOTS AND MOVES EAST, BRINGING SOME MORE  
WIDESPREAD STRATIFORM PRECIPITATION INTO THE CENTRAL.  
PRECIPITATION SHOULD BECOME MORE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED IN NATURE  
OVERNIGHT WITH SOME SNOW MIXING IN AT TIMES. LITTLE TO NO  
ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED.  
 
THE WINDIER CONDITIONS WILL MOVE OFF TO THE EAST ON MONDAY WHEN  
WE MAY SEE SOME NORTHWEST WINDS CLOSE TO ADVISORY CRITERIA IN  
AND AROUND THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY. SOME CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN  
TO ISSUING ANOTHER WIND ADVISORY FOR THE SOUTHEAST ON MONDAY,  
BUT A FEW FACTORS LED US TO HOLD OFF FOR NOW. FOR ONE, MODELS  
ARE SUGGESTING LOW LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION AND WIDESPREAD  
CLOUD COVER HERE DURING THE AFTERNOON. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE A  
DECENT PRESSURE GRADIENT AND STEEP LOW-LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE  
FORECAST TO BE IN PLACE, PRESSURE RISES ARE FORECAST TO BE WEAK  
TO NON-EXISTENT. FINALLY, WITH WIND HEADLINES IN EFFECT TODAY  
AND HIGH UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE SETUP TOMORROW, WE  
COLLABORATED WITH NEIGHBORS AND DECIDED TO HOLD OFF FOR THIS  
FORECAST PACKAGE.  
 
WE WILL LIKELY SEE SOME MORE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS  
DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON ON MONDAY AS WE REMAIN IN CYCLONIC FLOW  
ALOFT. RAP SOUNDINGS SUGGEST WE WILL SEE SOME MORE POCKETS OF  
MUCAPE IN THE 200 TO 500 J/KG RANGE SO A FEW ISOLATED RUMBLES OF  
THUNDER MAY NOT BE OUT OF THE QUESTION. FOR NOW, WILL LEAVE  
THUNDER MENTION OUT OF THE FORECAST FOR MONDAY AND SEE HOW  
TODAY'S SETUP ENDS UP PLAYING OUT. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN  
COOL WITH HIGHS RANGING FROM THE MID 40S TO THE LOWER 50S.  
 
WE CLEAR OUT MONDAY NIGHT, GIVING WAY TO A SUNNY TUESDAY AND  
WARMER TEMPERATURES AS AN UPPER RIDGE AXIS MOVES ACROSS THE  
STATE. TUESDAY'S HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM THE LOWER 50S NORTHEAST  
TO THE MID TO UPPER 60S SOUTHWEST. WEDNESDAY WILL THEN BE THE  
WARMEST DAY OF THE WEEK AS WE TRANSITION BACK INTO LOW AMPLITUDE  
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. NBM HIGHS ARE CURRENTLY FORECAST TO RANGE  
FROM THE LOWER 60S TO THE LOWER 70S. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE THEN  
MOVES INTO THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT, LEADING TO THE NEXT ROUND  
OF LOW TO MEDIUM PRECIPITATION CHANCES THROUGH AT LEAST  
THURSDAY EVENING (30 TO 60 PERCENT). DEPENDING ON YOUR GUIDANCE  
OF CHOICE, SOME LOW PRECIPITATION CHANCES (20 PERCENT) MAY  
LINGER THROUGH THE DAY ON FRIDAY. COOLER TEMPERATURES START TO  
MOVE IN ON THURSDAY WITH HIGHS FORECAST TO RANGE FROM THE UPPER  
40S NORTHWEST, TO THE LOWER 60S SOUTHEAST. FRIDAY'S HIGHS WILL  
RANGE FROM THE MID 40S TO MID 50S. THE NBM THEN SUGGESTS ANOTHER  
WARMUP THROUGH THE WEEKEND, BUT MEMBERSHIP SPREAD IS ALSO  
RATHER LARGE THIS FAR OUT. WE WILL SEE BREEZY CONDITIONS ALMOST  
DAILY MID TO LATE WEEK.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 728 PM CDT SUN APR 13 2025  
 
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING WILL  
TRACK SOUTHEASTWARD INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. WIDESPREAD  
PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO END FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST THROUGH  
TONIGHT, BUT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS REMAIN IN  
THE FORECAST THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON, PRIMARILY ACROSS CENTRAL  
NORTH DAKOTA. MVFR TO IFR CEILINGS WILL MOSTLY PREVAIL THROUGH THE  
EVENING, WITH GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT TO VFR ANTICIPATED FROM WEST TO  
EAST LATE TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. BY THE END OF THE EVENING,  
ALL TERMINALS ARE LIKELY TO SEE WIND DIRECTION SETTLE OUT OF THE  
NORTHWEST. THE STRONGEST WINDS THIS EVENING WILL REMAIN IN SOUTHWEST  
NORTH DAKOTA. LATER TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING, SUSTAINED WIND  
SPEEDS ARE FORECAST AROUND 10 TO 20 KTS. MOST AREAS WILL THEN SEE  
NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 KTS MONDAY AFTERNOON, WITH  
GUSTS TO AROUND 30 TO 40 KTS. THE STRONGEST WINDS MONDAY AFTERNOON  
ARE EXPECTED AT KJMS AND SURROUNDING AREAS.  
 

 
   
BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ MONDAY FOR  
NDZ040>045.  
 

 
 

 
 
UPDATE...HOLLAN  
DISCUSSION...ZH  
AVIATION...HOLLAN  
 
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