717  
FXUS63 KFSD 271800  
AFDFSD  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD  
100 PM CDT SUN SEP 27 2026  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- COVERAGE OF DRIZZLE SHOULD CONTINUE TO DECREASE THROUGH THE  
AFTERNOON, BUT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE MAY CONTINUE TO PRODUCE  
ISOLATED SPRINKLES OR DRIZZLE THROUGH TONIGHT.  
 
- GREATER CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY  
NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. POCKETS OF HEAVIER RAINFALL WILL AGAIN BE  
THE PRIMARY CONCERN.  
 

 
   
UPDATE
 
 
ISSUED AT 320 AM CDT SUN SEP 27 2026  
 
STRATUS HAS GRADUALLY THINNED/CLEARED ACROSS WESTERN PORTIONS OF  
THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT, BUT ANY CLEARING QUICKLY ALLOWS FOG  
TO DEVELOP IN ITS PLACE. ALREADY ISSUED A DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR  
MUCH OF THE WESTERN CWA AND WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE  
EXPANSION THROUGH THE PRE-DAWN HOURS.  
 
MEANWHILE, EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA CURRENTLY REMAIN UNDER A  
THICKER STRATUS DECK, THOUGH PATCHES OF CLEARING HAVE BEEN NOTED  
IN PORTIONS OF FAR SOUTHEAST SD. STILL SEEING SIGNS OF LIGHT RAIN  
OR DRIZZLE IN PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA/NORTHWEST IOWA, SO  
HAVE INCREASED POPS A BIT FOR THE NEXT 2-3 HOURS AS THE SUBTLE  
WAVE SLOWLY EXITS THE AREA. CANNOT RULE OUT LINGERING VERY LIGHT  
DRIZZLE BENEATH ANY THICKER STRATUS THIS MORNING, WITH A SHALLOW  
CONVECTIVE LAYER BENEATH A STRONG INVERSION AND ADDITIONAL MID  
LEVEL INSTABILITY POTENTIALLY PRODUCING SPOTTY SPRINKLES/LIGHT  
SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING.  
 
UNFORTUNATELY, SOME FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE ANOTHER ROUND OF  
THICKER STRATUS DEVELOPING LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING WITH  
A POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER DRIZZLY START TO THE WORK WEEK. THIS DOES  
NOT SEEM AN UNREASONABLE SOLUTION AS A PERSISTENT SOUTHEAST FLOW  
DOES NOT BRING A STRONG DRY PUSH INTO THE AREA. CONFIDENCE IS NOT  
HIGH ENOUGH TO INTRODUCE THE DRIZZLE INTO MONDAY MORNING JUST YET,  
BUT WILL BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IN LATER FORECASTS.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
ISSUED AT 257 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2026  
 
THE AREA OF STEADY MODERATE RAIN THAT IMPACTED THE AREA  
THIS MORNING IS EXITING OFF TO OUR NORTHEAST; HOWEVER, PATCHY  
DRIZZLE CONTINUES AND WILL CONTINUE ON AND OFF THROUGH THE AFTERNOON  
WHERE CLOUDS CEILINGS ARE LOWEST, WHICH IS GENERALLY FROM FAR  
EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA INTO SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA. FARTHER WEST, WE'VE  
SEEN SOME BREAKS IN THE LOWEST CLOUDS, ALLOWING FOR SOME  
DESTABILIZATION TO OCCUR. UP TO 500-1,000 J/KG OF MLCAPE HAS  
DEVELOPED PER LATEST SPC MESOANALYSIS ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER  
VALLEY, AND AS A SECONDARY MID LEVEL WAVE MOVES ACROSS THE AREA, A  
FEW WEAK THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALREADY DEVELOPED OVER NORTHERN NEBRASKA  
AND ARE LIFTING NORTHWARD. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED GIVEN WEAK  
SHEAR ACROSS THE AREA, BUT WE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO SEE SOME  
ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP THROUGH THE  
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE BEST CHANCE OF RAIN (30-60%) WITH THIS  
ACTIVITY WILL BE OVER WESTERN IOWA, FAR NORTHEAST NEBRASKA, AND FAR  
SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA, STRETCHING TO FAR SOUTHERN MINNESOTA BY THE  
LATE NIGHT HOURS. TALL, SKINNY CAPE PROFILES AND DEEP WARM CLOUD  
LAYERS SUGGEST HEAVY RAIN WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY  
THUNDERSTORM. THIS COULD LEAD TO A FEW POCKETS OF PONDING IN LOW-  
LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS, BUT FLASH FLOODING IS UNLIKELY.  
 
HEADING INTO TONIGHT, THE AREAS THAT SAW SOME CLEARING STRATUS  
(PRIMARILY NEAR AND WEST OF THE JAMES RIVER) WILL SEE SOME FOG  
DEVELOP, MEANWHILE THE STRATUS DECK ELSEWHERE IS EXPECTED TO LOWER  
THROUGH THE NIGHT AND BECOME FOG. LOCALLY DENSE FOG IS LIKELY GIVEN  
ALL THE NEAR SURFACE MOISTURE, THOUGH COVERAGE AND EXACT LOCATIONS  
WHERE THE DENSEST FOG WILL RESIDE PRECLUDES A NEED FOR A DENSE FOG  
ADVISORY AT THIS TIME, BUT TRENDS WILL BE MONITORED. THIS FOG WILL  
GRADUALLY LIFT THROUGH THE MID MORNING HOURS, BUT LIKELY BECOME LOW  
STRATUS HEADING INTO MUCH OF THE DAY ON SUNDAY. STILL THE POTENTIAL  
FOR SOME OF THIS STRATUS TO MIX OUT A BIT AND ALLOW FOR BRIEF BREAKS  
OF SUN MAINLY NEAR AND WEST OF THE JAMES RIVER, BUT THIS WILL LIKELY  
BE THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE NORM ACROSS THE AREA. SOME INSTABILITY IN  
THE LOW CLOUD LAYER MAY ALLOW FOR A FEW SPRINKLES TO SPITS OF  
DRIZZLE, BUT IT'S NOT LOOKING AS PERSISTENT AS IT HAS BEEN THE PAST  
COUPLE OF DAYS.  
 
HEADING INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK, A TROUGH OVER THE WEST COAST WILL  
BEGIN TO DIG INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. AHEAD OF THIS, AN UPPER  
WAVE WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE MONDAY INTO THE DAY ON  
TUESDAY AND BRING OUR NEXT ROUND OF RAIN AND STORMS TO THE AREA.  
LATEST GEFS SHOWS AROUND A 30-40% CHANCE OF AT LEAST AN INCH OF  
RAIN MAINLY FOCUSED OVER NORTHWEST IOWA AND ADJACENT AREAS. THIS  
IS A BIT HIGHER THAN OTHER GUIDANCE, BUT APPEARS TO BE THE MOST  
REASONABLE AT THIS TIME GIVEN ENSEMBLE PWATS SHOW ANOMALIES  
NEARLY OF +1" IN PLACE AS THIS SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH. THE  
AFOREMENTIONED TROUGH OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WILL ABSORB THE  
REMNANTS OF A PACIFIC OCEAN TROPICAL CYCLONE AS IT EJECTS TO  
THE NORTH AND EAST DURING THE MIDDLE TO END OF THE NEXT WORK.  
THIS MAY HELP TO KEEP A DECENT AMOUNT OF MOISTURE IN PLACE OVER  
PRIMARILY NORTHWESTERN IOWA INTO THE END OF THE UPCOMING WORK  
WEEK, THOUGH AT THIS POINT IT LOOKS LIKE THE HEAVIEST RAIN  
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS WILL STAY SOUTH OF THE AREA.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 1257 PM CDT SUN SEP 27 2026  
 
ANY LINGERING FOG WILL LIFT OVER THE NEXT HOUR OR SO ACROSS THE  
AREA, THOUGH MVFR TO IFR CIGS ARE STILL PRESENT FOR MOST  
LOCATIONS TO START THE PERIOD. WE WILL SEE CIGS RISE THROUGH  
THE AFTERNOON ALONG WITH SOME SCATTERING OUT OF THE LOWEST LAYER  
OF THE STRATUS, WHICH WILL BRING THE RETURN OF VFR CONDITIONS TO  
PARTS OF THE AREA. AT THE SAME TIME, A FEW SPRINKLES TO LIGHT  
SHOWERS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS.  
WE'LL SEE CIGS DROP AGAIN TONIGHT ALONG WITH SOME PATCHY DRIZZLE  
ESPECIALLY NEAR AND EAST OF I-29 BY EARLY TOMORROW MORNING.  
PATCHY FOG IS ALSO EXPECTED IN SPOTS, BUT IT SHOULDN'T BE AS  
WIDESPREAD AS WE SAW EARLIER THIS MORNING.  
 
WINDS WILL BE LIGHT OUT OF THE EAST-NORTHEAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON,  
GRADUALLY TURNING EAST AND THEN SOUTHEAST HEADING INTO THE DAY  
TOMORROW. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE NEAR AND WEST OF I-29  
TOMORROW MORNING, WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 KTS POSSIBLE NEAR AND WEST  
OF JAMES RIVER BY THE END OF THE PERIOD.  
 

 
   
FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
SD...NONE.  
MN...NONE.  
IA...NONE.  
NE...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
UPDATE...JH  
DISCUSSION...SAMET  
AVIATION...SAMET  
 
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