890  
FXUS63 KDMX 172124  
AFDDMX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA  
324 PM CST FRI JAN 17 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- BECOMING WINDY WITH ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE NORTH THIS  
EVENING  
 
- TURNING COLDER THIS WEEKEND WITH BITTER COLD TEMPS EARLY NEXT  
WEEK. COLD WEATHER ADVISORY LATE SAT NIGHT THOUGH SUNDAY  
MORNING.  
 
- MORE SEASONAL TEMPS RETURN WED-FRI OF NEXT WEEK  
 
- MAINLY DRY THIS WEEKEND AND MUCH OF NEXT WEEK  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
ISSUED AT 324 PM CST FRI JAN 17 2025  
 
ALTHOUGH ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE NORTH THIS EVENING,  
THE MAIN WEATHER STORY WILL MOST CERTAINLY BEEN AN EXTENDED  
PERIOD OF ARCTIC AIR AND BITTER COLD TEMPERATURES FROM THIS  
WEEKEND THROUGH TUESDAY. AN ELONGATED PV ANOMALY WITHIN THE  
MATURING MEAN TROUGH WAS NOTED FROM ID THROUGH THE DAKOTAS INTO  
MN THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW OVER EASTERN  
ON. THE INITIAL PRESSURE TROUGH/WIND SHIFT WAS THROUGH CENTRAL  
IA AT 20Z WITH GUSTY NW WINDS BEGINNING TO INCREASE IN ITS WAKE.  
THE AIRMASS HASN'T CHANGED MUCH AFTER ITS PASSAGE WITH  
TEMPERATURES STILL QUITE MILD FOR MID JANUARY, AND EVEN WITHIN  
FIVE DEGREES OF RECORDS IN A FEW SPOTS. HOWEVER THE 6+ MB/3HR  
ISALLOBARIC MAX WAS PUSHING THROUGH THE DAKOTAS AND MN HELPING  
TO INCREASE WINDS UPSTREAM. THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT WAS MOVING  
THROUGH SD AND MN AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE AND ITS ASSOCIATED COLD  
ADVECTION AND MIXING, ALONG WITH THE ISALLOBARIC EFFECTS, WILL  
CREATE STRONG WINDS THIS EVENING WITH GUSTS 35-45 MPH POSSIBLE  
AS TEMPERATURES BEGIN DROPPING.  
 
EXAMINATION OF FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW SOME INTERESTING  
FEATURES THIS EVENING AS WELL. ALTHOUGH THERE IS LITTLE  
REFLECTION IN HI RES MODEL QPF OR 1KM REFLECTIVITY, THE  
SOUNDINGS DEPICT STEEP LAPSE RATES TO 750M WITH TOKEN SBCAPES  
AND CEILINGS 2500-4000 FT. THE TOP OF THIS CONVECTION AND CLOUD  
LAYER ARE ALIGNED WITH THE DENDRITIC GROWTH ZONE (DGZ) WITH  
SUPER-SATURATION WITH RESPECT TO ICE, SO ISOLATED WEAK  
CONVECTIVE SNOW SHOWERS WITH STELLAR DENDRITE PRODUCTION ARE  
POSSIBLE LATER THIS EVENING AS TEMP FALL SUFFICIENTLY. THEY  
WOULD BE SO SHALLOW THEY WOULD LIKELY NOT SHOW UP ON RADAR,  
BEING BELOW THE 0.5 DEG SLICE. THE PREVIOUS PRECIP CHANCES FOR  
LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET HAVE BEEN REMOVED  
FROM THE FORECAST. ALTHOUGH THERE IS A DECENT AMOUNT OF  
KINEMATIC FORCING AND LIFT AHEAD OF THE AFOREMENTIONED PV  
ANOMALY, A NOTED DRY LAYER AROUND 1.5KM SHOULD PRECLUDE ANYTHING  
REACHING THE GROUND WITH CEILINGS STILL >=9K FT.  
 
BY THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK A PROLONGED PERIOD OF BITTER  
COLD TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED. WITH WIDESPREAD LOWS BELOW  
ZERO SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHTS. A SPRAWLING LONG WAVE  
TROUGH WILL SETTLE INTO THE CENTRAL CONUS WITH PERSISTENT  
ANOMALOUSLY HIGH SURFACE PRESSURE ADJACENT TO THE NORTHERN  
ROCKIES WHOSE ASSOCIATED NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO FUNNEL  
ARCTIC AIR INTO THE REGION WITH REINFORCING PV LOBES CYCLING  
THROUGH THE TROUGH AND BRINGING AN ADDITIONAL SHOTS OF ARCTIC  
AIR LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND AGAIN LATE MONDAY. THE COLDEST  
NIGHT OF THE EVENT APPEARS TO BE LATE MONDAY NIGHT WITH LOWS IN  
THE TEENS BELOW ZERO NORTH. 13Z NBM PROBABILITIES SUGGEST TEMPS  
OF -10F OR LESS ARE LIKELY/>60% ACROSS NORTHERN IA BY 12Z TUE.  
ALTHOUGH THE WINDS WILL NOT BE TOO NOTEWORTHY LATER THIS  
WEEKEND, THE COMBINATION OF COLD AND WIND WILL STILL BE  
SUFFICIENT TO DROP WIND CHILLS TO ADVISORY CRITERIA (-20F  
CENTRAL & SOUTH, -25F NORTH) AT TIMES DURING THE LATE NIGHT AND  
MORNING HOURS SATURDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING, ESPECIALLY  
NORTH. HAVE ISSUED A COLD WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN AND MUCH  
OF CENTRAL IA 09-18Z SUNDAY FOR STARTERS, WITH ADDITIONAL  
HEADLINES POSSIBLE INTO MONDAY AND TUESDAY MORNINGS.  
 
THE LONG WAVE TROUGH AXIS AND SURFACE RIDGE SHOULD BOTH EXIT THE  
REGION BY MIDDAY TUESDAY WITH TEMPERATURES BEGINNING TO MODERATE  
FOR THE MIDDLE TO LATTER PORTIONS OF THE NEXT WORK WEEK. HEIGHTS  
WILL RISE WITH A MORE TEMPERED VERSION OF THE MEAN TROUGH STILL  
IN PLACE ACROSS THE MIDWEST. WHILE THE FORECAST IS DRY FOR THE  
TIME BEING, ADDITIONAL WAVES WITH PRECEDING WARM ADVECTION ALOFT  
WILL CONTINUE TO DROP INTO THE TROUGH AND MAY NECESSITATE SOME  
TOKEN PRECIP CHANCES ONCE CONFIDENCE IN FORCING AND SUFFICIENT  
MOISTURE INCREASES.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1144 AM CST FRI JAN 17 2025  
 
CONFIDENCE IS HIGH IN VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF  
THE AFTERNOON WITH MID CLOUDS INCREASING NW-SE. A PRESSURE  
TROUGH AND WIND SHIFT WILL PASS THROUGH THE STATE HOWEVER, ALONG  
KAIO-KMCW LINE AT 18Z. THIS WILL CONTINUE PROGRESSING SE WITH  
WINDS BECOMING NW WITH MINOR GUSTS. WINDS WILL INCREASE FURTHER  
TONIGHT HOWEVER WITH NW WIND GUSTS OF 30-39 KTS COMMON. PERIODS  
OF LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS AND MVFR CEILINGS ARE POSSIBLE NORTH AS  
WELL. WINDS WILL DECREASE SOMEWHAT SATURDAY MORNING WITH  
DECREASING CLOUDINESS AND INCREASED VFR PROBABILITIES.  
 
 
   
DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
COLD WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 3 AM TO NOON CST SUNDAY FOR  
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070-071.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...SMALL  
AVIATION...SMALL  
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