589  
FXUS63 KDVN 220841  
AFDDVN  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL  
241 AM CST SUN DEC 22 2024  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- WARMER TEMPERATURES TODAY WITH NIGHTTIME DRIZZLE OR FREEZING  
DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE EARLY MONDAY MORNING.  
 
- TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO WARM THROUGH THE WEEK WITH CHANCES  
FOR RAIN CHRISTMAS DAY INTO NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
- THE POTENTIAL IS INCREASING FOR AN ARCTIC OUTBREAK SHORTLY  
AFTER THE START OF THE NEW YEAR FOLLOWED BY COLDER THAN NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES THROUGH MID-JANUARY. REFER TO THE CLIMATE SECTION  
FOR MORE INFORMATION.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 241 AM CST SUN DEC 22 2024  
 
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE ZONAL THROUGH THE PERIOD AS AN  
UPPER LEVEL WAVE APPROACHES THE AREA. SW FLOW WILL LEAD TO WAA  
IN THE LOW LEVELS AND TEMPERATURES IN THE 30S TO 40S TODAY. WITH  
THE EXCEPTION OF HIGH CLOUDS TODAY, THE WEATHER WILL BE QUIET.  
THIS EVENING THE WAVE APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE NW AS A  
SURFACE LOW TRACKS INTO OUR AREA.  
 
TONIGHT, H85 WAA BEGINS IN EARNEST WHILE THE WAVE APPROACHES THE  
AREA BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z MONDAY. AT THE SAME TIME, SHALLOW LOW  
LEVEL MOISTURE MOVES INTO THE AREA. SOUNDINGS IN BOTH THE HREF  
AND THE LREF DEPICT A DRIZZLE LIKE SOUNDING, ESPECIALLY NORTH OF  
THE HIGHWAY 30 CORRIDOR. FURTHER SOUTH, THESE SOUNDINGS DEPICT  
MORE DRY LOW LEVELS AND MAY LIMIT OVERALL DRIZZLE OCCURRENCE.  
AS A RESULT OF THIS HAVE DECREASED THE SPATIAL COVERAGE OF THE  
CHC POPS TO BE WHERE THE BETTER SOUNDING AGREEMENT IS.  
 
THE MAJORITY OF THE GUIDANCE KEEPS OUR AREA ABOVE FREEZING.  
AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 20, WHERE THERE IS STILL SOME  
SNOWPACK, IS FORECAST TO BE JUST BELOW FREEZING. WITH THE VERY  
LIGHT NATURE OF THIS QPF, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT ELEVATED SURFACES  
MAY SEE A LIGHT GLAZE OF ICE. MODEL SOUNDINGS HAVE SATURATION  
AND POSSIBLE ICE INTRODUCTION ABOVE A DRY LAYER THAT IS ABOVE  
THE SFC MOISTURE. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME SNOWFLAKES  
MIX IN CLOSER THE 12Z, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE HIGHWAY 20 CORRIDOR.  
 
AT THIS TIME, WILL MESSAGE THIS IN THE HWO AND GRAPHICS. THINK  
THE MAIN IMPACTS WILL BE TO UNTREATED SURFACES AND ONCE THE SUN  
COMES UP WE SHOULD WARM ABOVE FREEZING. DO NOT EXPECT THIS TO BE  
TOO IMPACTFUL AT THIS TIME.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 241 AM CST SUN DEC 22 2024  
 
ACTIVE PATTERN THROUGH THE LONG TERM CONTINUES WE SEE  
TEMPERATURES WARM WELL ABOVE AVERAGE AND A CHANCE FOR RAIN  
STARTING CHRISTMAS DAY LASTING INTO NEXT WEEKEND. AFTER THE WAVE  
MOVES OUT MONDAY WE SEE EITHER A SHORTWAVE OR A LONGWAVE TROF  
ALMOST EVERY 24 HOURS WITH THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH THE  
AREA FOR CHRISTMAS EVE AND THE ONE AFTER THAT MOVING JUST TO OUR  
SOUTH FOR CHRISTMAS DAY. AFTER THIS, THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY WE  
SEE NEAR DAILY SW LOWS MOVING TOWARDS US. WITH SOME OF THE  
GUIDANCE HAVING TEMPS WELL INTO THE 50S LATE THIS WEEK INTO THE  
WEEKEND.  
 
CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY COULD SEE RAIN IN THE AREA.  
GUIDANCE HAS LIGHT QPF WITH THESE SYSTEMS, WITH THE MAJORITY OF  
IT BEING SOUTH AND EAST OF THE QUAD CITIES. WITH TEMPERATURES  
ABOVE FREEZING THIS WILL NOT BE ALL THAT IMPACTFUL. WITH THE  
TEMPERATURES WARMING UP, THE MAJORITY IF NOT THE ENTIRE AREA  
WILL SEE A BROWN CHRISTMAS.  
 
THURSDAY ON, THE SYSTEMS LOOK ROBUST. WE WILL HAVE WARM DRAWS  
INTO THE AREA MORE THAN ANY CAA, SO WE SHOULD SEE TEMPERATURES  
WELL ABOVE NORMAL. IN FACT, I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME  
HIGHS IN THE 50S. WITH THE ACTIVE PATTERN, THIS MEANS GUIDANCE  
IS ALL OVER THE PLACE. THAT SAID, LETS JUST LOOK AT THE 00Z GFS.  
THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE SOLUTIONS AND COULD CHANGE. THAT SAID,  
IT DOES SHOW THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY SEE SOME THUNDER THURSDAY  
AND FRIDAY. IN FACT, IT EVEN HAS SOME LOW SBCAPE. I AM HESITANT  
TO EVEN BRING THIS UP AS WE WILL SEE THINGS CHANGE BETWEEN NOW  
AND THEN. THOUGH, WITH THE THERMAL FIELDS IT APPEARS WE HAVE A  
BETTER CHANCE FOR STORMS THAN WE DO ANY SNOW MONDAY NIGHT ON.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1131 PM CST SAT DEC 21 2024  
 
VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO LAST THROUGH THE AREA WITH WINDS  
BEING MAIN IMPACT TO AVIATION. EXPECT WINDS TO BECOME EAST-  
SOUTHEASTERLY LATER WITH GUSTS IN THE LOW TO MID 25 KT RANGE.  
 
 
   
CLIMATE  
 
ISSUED AT 255 PM CST SAT DEC 21 2024  
 
OVERALL THE MJO HAS BEEN ACTIVE SINCE EARLY DECEMBER. NOW  
A LOW FREQUENCY BASE STATE IS CONSTRUCTIVELY INTERFERING THAT IS  
AFFECTING THE PROPAGATION/MAGNITUDE OF THE MJO. THIS SIGNAL IS  
CONSISTENT WITH LA NINA.  
 
THE MJO HAS BEEN IN PHASE 5 FOR THE ABOUT A WEEK WHICH IS  
FAVORABLE FOR WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THE MJO IS  
FORECAST TO POTENTIALLY AMPLIFY AS IT MOVES TOWARD THE  
INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE IN THE PACIFIC INTO EARLY JANUARY BUT  
CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE FROM LA NINA MAY SLOW THE EASTWARD  
PROPAGATION. THE MJO IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO PHASE 6 AND  
EVENTUALLY THROUGH PHASE 7 AND INTO PHASE 8 BY EARLY JANUARY  
AND POSSIBLY INTO PHASE 1 BY MID-JANUARY. WHILE THE CORRELATION  
IS NOT HIGH, PHASES 6 AND 7 CORRELATES TO WARMER THAN NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES WHILE PHASES 8 AND 1 CORRESPONDS TO COLDER THAN  
NORMAL TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION WISE, THE CORRELATIONS ARE  
LOWER THAN TEMPERATURES BUT POINT TO DRIER THAN NORMAL  
CONDITIONS.  
 
STRATOSPHERIC WINDS HAVE BEEN QUITE STRONG AROUND THE ARCTIC  
CIRCLE WHICH IS KEEPING THE POLAR VORTEX IN PLACE. HOWEVER, THE  
AVERAGE OF THE GEFS/GEPS ENSEMBLES ALONG WITH THE DETERMINISTIC  
GFS ARE INDICATING THE MEAN ZONAL WIND AT 10 HPA IN THE  
STRATOSPHERE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKEN LATE NEXT WEEK WHICH WILL  
CONTINUE INTO EARLY JANUARY. AT THE SAME TIME THE 10 HPA  
TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO WARM. HOWEVER, THE AMOUNT OF  
WARMING IS AROUND 5 KELVIN WHICH IS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF A SUDDEN  
STRATOSPHERIC WARMING EVENT.  
 
THE WEAKENING OF THE 10 HPA ZONAL WINDS DOES POINT TO A  
POTENTIAL BREAK DOWN WITH THE POLAR VORTEX FROM THE ARCTIC  
CIRCLE AND AN INTRUSION INTO THE LOWER LATITUDES.  
 
OUTPUT FROM THE GEFS ENSEMBLES SHOW THE MEAN TURNING NEGATIVE  
FOR THE NAO/AO WHILE THE PNA REMAINS SLIGHTLY POSITIVE. THERE  
IS A LARGE SPREAD IN THE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ON WHAT THE NAO/AO  
WILL DO WHILE PNA SPREAD IS MUCH TIGHTER.  
 
TAKING THIS ALL TOGETHER POINTS TO A POTENTIAL ARCTIC OUTBREAK  
ASSOCIATED WITH A PATTERN CHANGE ALOFT SHORTLY AFTER NEW YEARS.  
THIS PATTERN CHANGE TO A NORTHWEST FLOW POINTS TO COLDER THAN  
NORMAL TEMPERATURES ALONG WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DRIER THAN  
NORMAL CONDITIONS.  
 
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOK CORRESPONDS WELL WITH THE  
ABOVE DATA, SIGNALING A 60-70% PROBABILITY OF COLDER THAN  
NORMAL TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY ALONG WITH A  
55-60% PROBABILITY OF DRIER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS ACROSS THE  
MIDWEST.  
 
 
   
DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
IA...NONE.  
IL...NONE.  
MO...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
SHORT TERM...GIBBS  
LONG TERM...GIBBS  
AVIATION...GIBBS  
CLIMATE...08  
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