316  
FXUS63 KGLD 160900  
AFDGLD  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS  
200 AM MST THU JAN 16 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- ABOVE TO MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY.  
 
- WIND CHILLS SUNDAY-TUESDAY MORNING COULD LOWER TO AROUND  
-15F TO -25F. SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MAY NOT SEE WIND CHILLS  
GET ABOVE 0.  
 
- PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ARE POSSIBLE THIS  
WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/
 
 
ISSUED AT 259 PM MST WED JAN 15 2025  
 
THE UPPER TROUGH IS ALMOST CLEAR OF THE HIGH PLAINS AS OF 2 PM MDT  
WITH NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT LINGERING THANKS TO A RIDGE OVER THE  
WESTERN CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES (CONUS). PLEASANT BUT CHILLY  
CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT WITH WEST-NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND  
10 MPH. OVERNIGHT LOWS SHOULD ALSO BE A BIT WARMER IN THE UPPER  
TEENS TO MID 20S.  
 
THURSDAY WILL BE SIMILAR TO TODAY GIVEN THE RIDGE OVER THE AREA.  
HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO WARM INTO THE 50S. DRY CONDITIONS  
WILL ALSO CONTINUE WITH SOUTHWEST TO SOUTHERLY WINDS OF 10-15 MPH  
WITH GUSTS OF 20-30 MPH POSSIBLE. OVERNIGHT LOWS ARE FORECAST TO BE  
IN THE 20S ACROSS THE TRI-STATE AREA.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 159 AM MST THU JAN 16 2025  
 
SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY, WE STILL EXPECT TO SEE DANGEROUSLY COLD  
TEMPERATURES WITH SOME LINGERING SNOWFALL ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY.  
 
WE START OFF THE PERIOD IN THE MIDST OF A LARGE TROUGH CUTTING DEEP  
INTO MOST OF THE CONUS. THERE IS ALSO AN UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE OFF THE  
WEST COAST WITH A CUTOFF LOW DISTURBING IT. DOWN AT THE SURFACE ON  
SUNDAY, A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE GREAT  
PLAINS FROM THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. THIS HIGH WILL WORK TO MOVE MORE  
COLD AIR INTO THE REGION.  
 
SUNDAY WILL LIKELY ONLY WARM INTO THE MID TEENS TO LOW 20S DUE TO  
PERSISTENT CLOUD COVER AND NORTHERLY FLOW. WINDS LOOK TO REMAIN  
FAIRLY WEAK SUNDAY, AROUND 10 KTS, BUT IF THE PRESSURE GRADIENT FROM  
THE HIGH INCREASES, THESE SPEEDS COULD INCREASE TO AROUND 20 KTS.  
WHILE THE WINDS THEMSELVES ARE NOT MUCH OF A RISK, THE WIND CHILLS  
ARE. MAXIMUM WIND CHILLS SUNDAY ARE CURRENTLY FORECAST TO BE BETWEEN  
1 TO 11F. IF WINDS PICK UP, THOSE NUMBERS WOULD DROP ANOTHER 3-6  
DEGREES.  
 
THE CAA CONTINUES SUNDAY NIGHT AS WILL THE FAIRLY LIGHT WINDS. AIR  
TEMPERATURES LOOK TO DROP TO AROUND -5 TO 0F. IN EASTERN COLORADO,  
WIND CHILLS LOOK TO DROP TO AROUND -25 TO -20F MONDAY MORNING. THE  
REST OF THE CWA WILL SEE -20 TO -10F WIND CHILLS. MONDAY IS NOT  
EXPECTED TO WARM MUCH, LIKELY IN THE SINGLE DIGITS TO LOW TEENS.  
THERE IS STILL SOME DISAGREEMENT WITH HOW WARM MONDAY WILL BE.  
PREVIOUS RECENT RUNS OF THE ECMWF AND CMC-NH WERE SHOWING THE CUTOFF  
LOW (THE ONE OFF THE WEST COAST) WOULD INJECT INTO THE FOUR CORNERS  
REGION, INVITING THE TROUGH TO DIG DEEPER. IF THIS HAPPENS, MONDAY  
WILL ONLY WARM TO AROUND 0F. THE CURRENT GFS AND ECMWF RUNS ARE  
SHOWING THE LOW STAYS ADRIFT IN THE PACIFIC AND DOES NOT PULL THE  
TROUGH ANY LOWER ON MONDAY, WHICH IS WHAT THE CURRENT FORECAST/GRIDS  
REFLECT.  
 
MONDAY NIGHT IS SHAPING UP TO BE THE COLDEST TIME OF THIS EVENT. THE  
SURFACE HIGH WILL BE DOMINATING THE GREAT PLAINS, SLOWLY CLEARING  
OUT THE SKIES AND WEAKENING THE WINDS EVEN MORE. AS LONG AS THE  
UPPER LOW STAYS OUT OF THE AREA, AIR TEMPERATURES WILL DROP TO  
AROUND -10 TO -2F. IF THE LOW COMBINES WITH THE TROUGH MONDAY,  
OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSER TO THE -15 TO -5F RANGE. WIND  
CHILLS LOOK TO BOTTOM OUT ALONG AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 27, RANGING FROM  
-30 TO -20F. EAST OF THIS LINE, -20 TO -12F IS FORECAST WITH A FEW  
POCKETS DOWN TO -25F.  
 
THE SNOWFALL POTENTIAL WILL BE LIMITED TO WHERE NEUTRALLY BUOYANT  
AIR REMAINS SATURATED DOWN TO THE SURFACE. DUE TO THE HIGH AND  
EFFICIENT CAA, THERE WILL BE A WIDE BOUNDARY SETTING UP ACROSS THE  
CWA FROM THE NORTHWEST TO THE SOUTHEAST. THIS BOUNDARY IS EXPECTED  
TO PRODUCE A LITTLE LIFT, BUT ENOUGH FOR LIGHT SNOWFALL (<0.1 INCHES  
PER HOUR) WITH ISOLATED POCKETS OF MODERATE SNOWFALL (0.1-0.3 INCHES  
PER HOUR). BEST TIMING FOR SNOW APPEARS TO BE 0-12Z MONDAY, WHEN THE  
SURFACE IS MOST LIKELY TO BE SATURATED BEFORE THE COLD, DRY AIR  
MOVES IN. CHANCES FOR SEEING SNOW SUNDAY AND MONDAY INCREASE IN THE  
SOUTHWESTERN CWA AND DECREASE TO THE NORTHEAST. RED WILLOW COUNTY  
CURRENTLY HAS 15-20 POPS, THE LOWEST IN THE CWA. CONVERSELY, KIT  
CARSON, CO IS SITTING AROUND 50-55 POPS. SNOW WILL TAPER OFF  
THROUGHOUT THE DAY MONDAY AS THE HIGH SPREADS OVER THE CWA AND THE  
LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE DRIES UP.  
 
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, THE GFS AND ECMWF HAVE A RIDGE BUILDING IN  
FROM THE WEST AS THE CUTOFF LOW WEAKENS. THIS RIDGE WOULD BE  
REFLECTED IN THE LOWER LEVELS, TOO. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 10-15 KTS  
ARE EXPECTED FROM THE RIDGE, PROMOTING WAA. TEMPERATURES WILL  
QUICKLY WARM INTO THE MID 20S TO LOW 30S. ONLY ISOLATED LOCATIONS IN  
THE NORTHEASTERN CWA COULD GET ABOVE FREEZING AS REMAIN SNOWPACK  
WILL REFLECT MOST SUNLIGHT AND ABSORB A LOT OF THE ADDITIONAL HEAT.  
OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES WILL COOL INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS AND LOW  
TEENS TUESDAY NIGHT, POTENTIALLY LOWER IF WE HAVE NO UPPER-LEVEL  
CLOUDS. THE CMC-NH HAS A DIFFERENT SOLUTION THAT INVOLVES THE CUTOFF  
LOW CONTINUING TO IMPACT THE CWA TUESDAY. THIS WOULD LEAD TO  
TEMPERATURES ONLY WARMING INTO THE TEENS TO LOW 20S TUESDAY, BUT  
CONFIDENCE IN THIS PLAYING OUT IS ONLY ABOUT 20%.  
 
WEDNESDAY, THE WARMING TREND CONTINUES AND MOST OF THE AREA SHOULD  
WARM ABOVE FREEZING, WITH THE SNOWPACK LIMITING THE WESTERN CWA.  
OVERNIGHT WEDNESDAY, THE MELTING SNOW SNOW ALLOW FOR SOME LIGHT  
CLOUD COVER, KEEPING TEMPERATURES IN THE TEENS.  
 
LIST OF ACRONYMS  
NBM - NATIONAL BLEND OF MODELS  
GFS - GLOBAL FORECAST SYSTEM  
GEFS - GFS ENSEMBLE FORECAST SYSTEM  
ECMWF - EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM-RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS  
CMC-NH - CANADIAN METEOROLOGICAL CENTRE-NORTHERN HEMISPHERE  
CAA - COLD AIR ADVECTION  
WAA - WARM AIR ADVECTION  
POP - PROBABILITY OF PRECIPITATION  
PBL - PLANETARY BOUNDARY LAYER  
LLJ - LOW LEVEL JET  
RH - RELATIVE HUMIDITY  
F/C - FAHRENHEIT/CELSIUS  
MB - MILLIBAR  
KTS - KNOTS  
Z - ZULU TIME (UTC)  
CWA - COUNTY WARNING AREA  
CONUS - CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES  
 

 
   
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 1015 PM MST WED JAN 15 2025  
 
VFR EXPECTED TO PREVAIL AT BOTH KGLD AND KMCK THROUGH THE TAF  
PERIOD. SURFACE WINDS WILL BE LIGHT THROUGH TONIGHT AND  
THURSDAY MORNING, THEN INCREASE THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH GUSTS  
IN THE 20-25KT RANGE, DECREASING AFTER SUNSET.  
 

 
   
GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
KS...NONE.  
CO...NONE.  
NE...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
SHORT TERM...KMK  
LONG TERM...CA  
AVIATION...024  
 
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