913  
FXUS63 KFSD 111750  
AFDFSD  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD  
1250 PM CDT FRI SEP 11 2026  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- BREEZY TO STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TODAY WITH  
GUSTS BETWEEN 30-40 MPH EXPECTED FOR MOST AREAS. SLIGHTLY  
STRONGER WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE BUFFALO RIDGE IN  
SOUTHWESTERN MN.  
 
- A CONDITIONAL CHANCE FOR STRONGER STORMS IS EXPECTED THIS  
AFTERNOON AND EVENING MAINLY EAST OF I-29. WHILE ALL HAZARDS  
REMAIN POSSIBLE, 2 INCH HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 70 MPH  
WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS.  
 
- A PATTERN SHIFT WILL LEAD TO COOLER CONDITIONS OVER THE  
WEEKEND WITH HIGHS MAINLY IN UPPER 60S TO 70S. PERIODIC RAIN  
CHANCES WILL CONTINUE INTO THE NEW WEEK.  
 
 
   
UPDATE  
 
ISSUED AT 330 AM CDT FRI SEP 11 2026  
 
NOT MANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ON THE WEATHER FRONT WITH THE MAIN  
FOCUS BEING ON THE BREEZY TO STRONG WINDS TODAY AND THE POTENTIAL  
FOR SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING. STARTING WITH THE WINDS,  
SOUTHERLY SURFACE WINDS SHOULD INCREASE JUST AFTER DAYBREAK AS THE  
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD  
FRONT. THIS WILL LEAD TO WIND GUSTS RECURRINGLY IN THE 30-40 MPH  
RANGE FOR MOST AREAS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. STILL THINKING THAT A  
POCKET OF STRONGER WINDS (40-50 MPH) WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE EASTERN  
SIDE OF COTEAU DES PRAIRIES AS MIXING DEEPENS AND THE 850MB TO 925MB  
LLJ STRENGTHENS. WITH THIS BEING FURTHER AGREED UPON BY SHORT-RANGE  
GUIDANCE, DECIDED TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON A WIND ADVISORY FROM 7 AM  
TO 7 PM ON THE BUFFALO RIDGE IN SOUTHWESTERN MN. SHOULD SEE SURFACE  
WINDS GRADUALLY WEAKEN AFTER THE FRONT PROGRESSES THROUGH THE AREA  
THIS EVENING.  
 
OTHERWISE, THE FOCUS CONTINUES TO BE ON THE SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES  
FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE DAY. STILL THINKING OUR CHANCES FOR  
ANYTHING STRONGER WILL BE CONDITIONALLY DEPENDENT ON IF WE CAN BREAK  
THROUGH THE WEAKENING CAP. WITH DIURNAL HEATING, THE BEST CHANCES  
WILL LIKELY OCCUR BE BETWEEN 5PM TO 10PM MAINLY EAST OF I-29. IF  
THIS OCCURS, ISOLATED TO SCATTERED UPDRAFTS COULD QUICKLY BECOME  
SEVERE WITH ACCESS TO BETWEEN 1500-2000 J/KG OF CAPE AND 30-40 KTS  
OF BULK SHEAR. WHILE ALL HAZARDS WILL BE POSSIBLE, STEEP MID-LEVEL  
LAPSE RATES AND INVERTED "V" SOUNDING PROFILES WILL FAVOR UP TO 2  
INCH HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH. THOUGH CONFIDENCE IS  
LOW, IF A DISCRETE SUPERCELL CAN ANCHOR TO THE SURFACE FRONT; AN  
ISOLATED TORNADO CAN'T RULE OUT. LASTLY, SHOULD SEE MOST OF THIS  
ACTIVITY EXIT OUR AREA AROUND MIDNIGHT WITH THE COLD FRONTAL  
PASSAGE.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
ISSUED AT 145 PM CDT THU SEP 10 2026  
 
THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE DRY AND BREEZY WITH GUSTS 25-35 MPH, MOSTLY  
CLEAR SKIES, AND HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S TO 80S. DEW POINTS WILL BE  
LOWER THIS AFTERNOON AT AROUND 60 OR LESS. OVERALL A PLEASANT DAY IS  
IN STORE. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S WITH THE  
BREEZY WINDS CONTINUING INTO FRIDAY.  
 
FRIDAY WILL BE ANOTHER WARM DAY WITH HIGHS IN THE 80S FOR MOST OF  
THE CWA, AND THE LOW 90S WEST OF THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY. THROUGHOUT  
THE DAY A NARROW PLUME OF THETA-E AIR WILL ADVECT IN FROM THE SOUTH,  
ALONG AND EAST OF HIGHWAY 81. INSTABILITY WILL INCREASE ALONG AND  
EAST OF THE PLUME WITH MUCAPE VALUES CLIMBING TO 1500-2000 J/KG.  
MODEST MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES AROUND 7+ DEG C/KM WILL ALIGN WELL WITH  
THE PLUME OF INSTABILITY. BULK SHEAR WILL BE 35-40 KTS. WITH  
CLOCKWISE CURVED HODOGRAPHS THIS SET UP IS MARGINAL TO SLIGHTLY  
FAVORABLE FOR ALL MODES OF SEVERE WEATHER. THIS IS ALSO OUTLINED IN  
THE SPC DAY 2 OUTLOOK WITH A SLIGHT RISK (LEVEL 2 OF 5) FOR SEVERE  
WEATHER. HOWEVER, A FEW ITEMS OF UNCERTAINTY KEEP CONFIDENCE IN  
CONVECTION INITIATION AND COVERAGE LOW. PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT  
FACTOR IS DESPITE THE MOISTURE ADVECTION MODEL SOUNDINGS REMAIN  
DRY THROUGH MOST OF THE COLUMN FOR AREAS WEST OF I-29. FORCING  
IS ON THE STRONG SIDE IN THE FORM OF THE UPPER TROUGH AND  
SURFACE LOW/COLD FRONT, BUT WITHOUT MOISTURE NOT MUCH IS GOING  
TO HAPPEN BESIDES SOME CUMULUS CLOUDS. EAST OF I-29 MOISTURE  
RETURN FLOW IS BETTER, HOWEVER THE ENVIRONMENT WILL BE STRONGLY  
CAPPED. AS THE WHOLE SYSTEM PROGRESSES EAST THROUGH THE EVENING  
AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT THE AIRMASS SLOWLY SATURATES. BUT BY  
THIS POINT THE FORCING SHOULD BE ALONG OUR EASTERN CWA BORDER  
IF NOT INTO CENTRAL IOWA. IN THIS SCENARIO WE WILL GET VERY  
LITTLE IF ANY CONVECTION. THIS IS THE MOST LIKELY SCENARIO AT  
THIS TIME.  
 
THE OTHER SCENARIO IS THE BETTER MOISTURE RETURN DRIFTS FARTHER  
WEST. THEN AS THE SYSTEM PASSES THROUGH WE COULD SEE SATURATION  
OCCUR SOONER, AND THUS CONVECTION BEGIN EARLIER EAST OF HIGHWAY 81  
BETWEEN 4 AND 7 PM, AND ALONG AND EAST OF THE I-29 CORRIDOR  
ROUGHLY BETWEEN 7 PM AND 10 PM. STORMS WOULD TRACK EAST AND BE  
OUT OF THE CWA ROUGHLY BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 3 AM SATURDAY. THE  
FINAL SCENARIO IS WE ARE ABLE TO LIFT OFF THE 850-700 MB LAYER  
AND SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS COULD DEVELOP. ALL THIS TO  
SAY A VERY CONDITIONAL ENVIRONMENT WILL BE IN PLACE WITH RISKS  
FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. THOUGH THE RISK IS LOW, A  
TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT.  
 
BEHIND THE COLD FRONT OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL COOL INTO THE 50S AND LOW  
60S OVER NORTHWEST IOWA. THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS A FEW  
ISOLATED ELEVATED SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE. WINDS WILL BECOME  
NORTHERLY AND LIGHT DURING THE DAY. MID-LEVEL TEMPERATURES WILL  
FALL INTO THE TEENS C AND AT THE SURFACE HIGHS WILL BE SLIGHTLY  
BELOW AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, IN THE LOW 70S NORTH OF  
I-90 AND THE MID TO UPPER 70S TO THE SOUTH. MUCH DRIER AIR WILL  
ADVECT IN FROM THE NORTH BRINGING DEW POINTS DOWN TO THE 40S TO  
MID 50S. SATURDAY WILL BE A PLEASANT TASTE OF FALL.  
 
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MOSTLY ZONAL AND HIGH  
PRESSURE BUILDS IN AT THE SURFACE. MODEST MOISTURE RETURN ON  
SOUTHEAST WINDS AND WAA AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING LOW AMPLITUDE WAVE  
MAY BE ENOUGH TO TRIGGER LIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS  
BY THE LATE MORNING TO EARLY AFTERNOON. THESE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE  
SEVERE BUT COULD BRING RAIN TO A LARGER PORTION OF THE REGION.  
SUNDAY EVENING INTO THE OVERNIGHT A STRONG UPPER TROUGH SWINGS  
THROUGH NORTHWEST OF THE REGION. AN ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW EJECTS  
OUT OF COLORADO ONTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND ACCELERATES NORTHEAST  
INTO OUR CWA. THOUGH MANY DETAILS ARE UNCLEAR AT THIS TIME, SOME  
STORMS COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING.  
STORMS MAY LINGER INTO THE AFTERNOON.  
 
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT IS EXPECTED FOR THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. AT  
THE SURFACE HIGHS WILL BE CLOSER TO SEASONAL AVERAGES, IN THE 70S.  
ANOTHER ROUND OF STORMS IS POSSIBLE MID-WEEK.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/  
 
ISSUED AT 1249 PM CDT FRI SEP 11 2026  
 
VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE PERIOD. SCATTERED HIGH LEVEL  
CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE REGION AHEAD OF AN  
APPROACHING UPPER WAVE AND SURFACE LOW. THUNDERSTORMS MAY FORM ALONG  
THE ATTENDANT COLD FRONT AS IT PASSES SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE REGION.  
SOME OF THESE MAY BE STRONG TO SEVERE PRODUCING GOLF BALL SIZED  
HAIL, 70 MPH WIND GUSTS, AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. THOUGH THE RISK  
IS LOW AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. CONFIDENCE IN  
STORMS IMPACTING ANY ONE TAF SITE IS TOO LOW TO INCLUDE AT THIS  
TIME. THE MOST LIKELY SCENARIO IS STORMS WILL FORM AFTER 7PM  
SOUTH OF I-90 AND EAST OF I-29, THEN PROGRESS EAST OUT OF THE  
CWA BY AROUND 1 AM SATURDAY.  
 
WINDS TODAY ARE GUSTY OUT OF THE SOUTH. WIDESPREAD GUSTS OF 30-40  
KTS ARE ON GOING THROUGHOUT THE CWA. OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 45 MPH  
ARE OCCURRING OVER SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA ALONG THE BUFFALO RIDGE.  
OVERNIGHT THE WINDS WILL TURN NORTHERLY BEHIND THE FRONT AND  
GRADUALLY DECREASE. BY SUNRISE GUSTS WILL BE 15-20 KTS AND  
REMAIN BREEZY THROUGH THE END OF THE PERIOD.  
 
 
   
FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
SD...NONE.  
MN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR MNZ071-072-080-  
081-089-090-097.  
IA...NONE.  
NE...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
UPDATE...05  
DISCUSSION...AJP  
AVIATION...AJP  
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