287  
FXUS63 KLSX 202250  
AFDLSX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED AVIATION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAINT LOUIS MO  
450 PM CST FRI DEC 20 2024  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- SEASONABLY COLD WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY, WITH  
A WARM-UP TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES COMMENCING ON SUNDAY AND  
PERSISTING THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK.  
 
- AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL RESULT IN MULTIPLE RAIN CHANCES  
THROUGHOUT NEXT WEEK INCLUDING CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS  
MORNING.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM
 
(THROUGH LATE SATURDAY NIGHT)  
ISSUED AT 202 PM CST FRI DEC 20 2024  
 
A RELATIVELY AMPLIFIED FLOW REGIME WILL CONTINUE OVER MUCH OF THE  
CONUS THROUGH SATURDAY WITH A SLOWLY PROGRESSIVE LONGWAVE TROF  
CENTERED THROUGH THE EASTERN U.S.. AS THIS TROF NUDGES EASTWARD  
TONIGHT, A SHORT-WAVE WILL DIVE SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE NORTHERN  
ROCKIES AND TRAVERSE THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY EARLY ON  
SATURDAY MORNING. OTHER THAN WEAK LARGE SCALE FORCING, THERE IS A  
LACK OF COHERENT FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING AND AMPLE MOISTURE WHICH  
MIGHT REFLECT A LIGHT SNOW THREAT. STRATUS WILL CLEAR NON  
UNIFORMLY TONIGHT WITH THE CLEARING LARGELY INITIATING TO THE E/NE  
AND CLEARING WESTWARD, AND CLOUDS REMAINING OVER THE WESTERN CWA  
INTO THE EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. THE AFOREMENTIONED WEAK MID-LEVEL  
FORCING AND MID-LEVEL MOISTURE MOVING ATOP RESIDUAL LOWER STRATUS  
POISED IN THE WESTERN CWA COULD EEK OUT A FEW FLURRIES IN THIS  
AREA. OTHERWISE ATTENDANT WITH PROGRESSION OF THE UPPER TROF, A  
LARGE SURFACE HIGH WILL SETTLE INTO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TONIGHT  
AND DOMINATE THE REGION ON SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES ON SATURDAY  
WON'T BE AS COLD AS TODAY OWING TO A LACK OF CLOUDS/MORE SUN AND  
NEUTRAL TEMPERATURE ADVECTION. THE AFOREMENTIONED SURFACE HIGH  
WILL SLOWLY RETREAT EASTWARD ON SATURDAY NIGHT WITH THE ONSET OF  
WEAK WAA ALOFT AND SURFACE WINDS VEERING TO SOUTHEASTERLY.  
 
GLASS  
 

 
   
LONG TERM
 
(SUNDAY THROUGH NEXT FRIDAY)  
ISSUED AT 202 PM CST FRI DEC 20 2024  
 
THE PATTERN ACROSS THE CONUS BECOMES EVEN MORE PROGRESSIVE  
HEADING THROUGH SUNDAY-SUNDAY NIGHT WITH MID-UPPER LEVEL HEIGHT  
RISES AND A RETURN TO MORE OF A ZONAL COMPONENT. THIS WILL ALLOW A  
MORE PROMINENT LOW-LEVEL WAA REGIME TO ENSUE ON SUNDAY, HOWEVER  
SOUTHEASTERLY SURFACE WINDS AND SHALLOW MIXING (AOB 2KFT) WILL  
LIMIT WHAT OTHERWISE MIGHT BE A MORE SUBSTANTIAL WARM-UP GIVEN THE  
SOUTHWEST FLOW ABOVE THE BOUNDARY LAYER. TEMPERATURES WILL BE  
WARMER WITH HIGHS REBOUNDING INTO THE 40S, NEAR TO 5+ DEGREES  
ABOVE NORMAL.  
 
MONDAY THROUGH NEXT WEEK WILL BE AN ACTIVE PERIOD FEATURING MULTIPLE  
RAIN CHANCES. THE INITIAL THREAT OF RAIN WILL EVOLVE ON MONDAY  
AFTERNOON AND ESPECIALLY MONDAY NIGHT AND OCCUR IN THE WAKE OF A  
SHORTWAVE TROF PASSAGE TO OUR NORTH AND AHEAD OF THE ASSOCIATED  
ADVANCING COLD FRONT. THE PRIMARY REGION IS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF  
OF THE CWA, ESPECIALLY SE MO AND SRN IL, LARGELY DUE TO LOW-LEVEL  
WAA AND LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND TRANSPORT.  
 
DETAILS IN SPECIFICS DIMINISH TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY IN THIS ACTIVE  
REGIME WITH A SERIES OF UPPER LOWS/TROFS TRAVERSING THE LOW/MID  
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY REGION, THE FIRST CENTERED AROUND  
WEDNESDAY/CHRISTMAS DAY AND ANOTHER LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. THE  
ENSEMBLE CLUSTER ANALYSIS SHOWS QUITE A BIT OF VARIABILITY IN THE  
TIMING AND LATITUDE OF THE TROF POSITIONS, WHICH IMPACT THE TIME  
FRAME OF RAINFALL AS WELL AS THE NORTHERN EXTENT. THE LATEST  
GUIDANCE AND LREF SUITE WHILE CONTINUING TO SHOW DIFFERENCES HAS  
SUGGESTED A MORE NORTHERN TRACK ON THE EJECTING TROF ON CHRISTMAS  
DAY AND SUGGESTS POTENTIALLY A LARGER ALL RAIN FOOTPRINT. BOTH THE 6  
HOUR AND 24 HOUR EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITIES FROM THE 100-MEMBER LREF  
ARE SHOWING GREATER PROBABILITIES OF MEASURABLE RAINFALL (50-90+  
PERCENT), ESPECIALLY 06-18Z WEDNESDAY. THE LATE WEEK SYSTEM DISPLAYS  
THE SAME UNCERTAINTIES IN TROF POSITION/TIMING WITH EXCEEDANCE  
PROBABILITIES FROM THE LREF SHOWING 60-70% OF THE MEMBERSHIP  
PRODUCING MEASURABLE RAINFALL.  
 
TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT NEXT WEEK LOOK MILD BY LATE DECEMBER  
STANDARDS. THE ENTIRE INTERQUARTILE RANGE (IQR) OF NBM MAX TEMP  
GUIDANCE IS ABOVE NORMAL WED-FRI WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 40S TO  
50S.  
 
GLASS  
 

 
   
AVIATION
 
(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY EVENING)  
ISSUED AT 444 PM CST FRI DEC 20 2024  
 
THE PRIMARY CONCERN DURING THE 00Z TAF PERIOD CONTINUES TO BE THE  
PERSISTENCE OF MVFR STRATUS. WHILE COU/JEF WERE MOSTLY CLEAR AS OF  
23Z, ALL OTHER LOCAL TAF TERMINALS REMAIN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF  
THIS CLOUD COVER, AND THIS IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST FOR SEVERAL MORE  
HOURS. WHILE SOME IMPROVEMENT IS LIKELY AT UIN/STL/SUS/CPS AT  
ROUGHLY 06Z / MIDNIGHT CST, CEILINGS MAY ALSO WORSEN AT COU/JEF  
AROUND THE SAME TIME DUE TO THIS CLOUD COVER MOVING BACK TO THE  
WEST THIS EVENING. CONFIDENCE IN THE HOUR-BY-HOUR TIMING OF THIS  
STRATUS AT EACH TERMINAL IS SOMEWHAT LOW. WHILE VFR CATEGORIES  
ARE MORE LIKELY THAN NOT TO DEVELOP AT ST. LOUIS AREA TERMINALS  
PRIOR TO SUNRISE, THESE CLOUDS MAY PERSIST INTO THE FIRST FEW  
HOURS OF DAYLIGHT AT COU/JEF.  
 
OTHERWISE, WINDS ARE WEAKENING QUICKLY, AND WILL REMAIN LIGHT FOR  
THE REMAINDER OF THE TAF PERIOD.  
 
BRC  
 

 
   
LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
MO...NONE.  
IL...NONE.  

 
 

 
 
WFO LSX  
 
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