396  
FXUS63 KLSX 152322  
AFDLSX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED AVIATION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAINT LOUIS MO  
522 PM CST WED JAN 15 2025  
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- A BRIEF WARMING TREND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY BEFORE MUCH  
COLDER AIR SETTLES INTO THE REGION EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
- LIGHT RAIN IS EXPECTED (70-80%) FOR MUCH OF THE AREA FRIDAY  
EVENING INTO SATURDAY MORNING. BRIEF, LIGHT SNOW MAY OCCUR ON  
THE BACKSIDE OF THE SYSTEM, BUT NO ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM  
(THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT)  
ISSUED AT 244 PM CST WED JAN 15 2025  
 
THE SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVERHEAD THIS MORNING, THAT ALLOWED  
TEMPERATURES TO DIP BELOW ZERO IN PORTIONS OF ILLINOIS, HAS SLID OFF  
TO THE EAST. THIS HAS RESULTED IN LIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS THAT HAVE  
HELPED THE AREA TO WARM UP NICELY FROM THIS MORNINGS COLD LOW  
TEMPERATURES.  
 
AT 500MB, AN AMPLIFIED RIDGE IS LOCATED OVER THE WESTERN CONUS, WITH  
A TROUGH OVER THE FAR NORTHEASTERN CONUS, PLACING US UNDER  
NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. WITHIN THIS FLOW REGIME, A SHORTWAVE  
DISTURBANCE/CLIPPER IS DROPPING SOUTHEAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES  
REGION. THE CLIPPER WILL BRING GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS (20KTS)  
ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASING MID-HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS OVERNIGHT. THE  
ENTIRE AREA WILL REMAIN DRY TONIGHT WITH THE GREATEST MID-LEVEL  
FORCING AND MOISTURE FAR OFF TO THE NORTHEAST OVER THE GREAT LAKES.  
WITH GUSTY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS IN PLACE TONIGHT, TEMPERATURES ARE  
EXPECTED TO BEGIN WARMING SLIGHTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT, REACHING THE MID-  
UPPER 20S NORTH OF I-70 AND LOW 30S SOUTH OF I-70 BY MORNING. WITH  
PLENTY OF SOLAR INSOLATION EXPECTED TOMORROW, ESPECIALLY FOR  
LOCATIONS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, TEMPERATURES WILL WARM INTO  
THE MID 30S FOR OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES WHILE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE  
AREA WILL REACH THE MID-UPPER 40S BY THE AFTERNOON. THEREFORE,  
TOMORROW WILL BE AN EFFICIENT DAY FOR SNOW MELT FOR AREAS WITH SNOW  
PACK, ESPECIALLY FOR LOCATIONS THAT REMAIN CLOUD FREE THE ENTIRE DAY.  
 
A SURFACE RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE AREA WITH ITS AXIS PASSING OVERHEAD  
THURSDAY EVENING AND TO THE EAST OF US BY THURSDAY NIGHT, PLACING  
THE REGION UNDER WEAK LOW-LEVEL SOUTHERLY FLOW. THE WARMER SOUTHERLY  
WINDS COUPLED WITH THE EXISTING SNOW PACK COULD LEAD TO THE  
FORMATION OF ADVECTION FOG AS THE WARMER MOIST AIR MOVES OVER THE  
COLDER SNOW PACK. OUR CONFIDENCE IN THE COVERAGE AND MAGNITUDE OF  
FOG REMAINS LOW AT THIS TIME MAINLY DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY IN  
REGARDS TO THE AMOUNT OF SNOW MELT THAT WILL OCCUR BEFORE  
TOMORROW NIGHT. WITH OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES THURSDAY NIGHT  
EXPECTED TO BE BELOW FREEZING, IN THE MID-UPPER 20S ACROSS THE  
CWA, THERE REMAINS THE POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT FROST FORMATION, THAT  
COULD LEAD TO A FEW SLICK SPOTS ON FRIDAY MORNING.  
 
PEINE  
 
 
   
LONG TERM  
(FRIDAY THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY)  
ISSUED AT 244 PM CST WED JAN 15 2025  
 
FRIDAY WILL BE THE WARMEST DAY OF THE WEEK BY FAR AS DEEP WARM AIR  
ADVECTION TAKES HOLD OF OUR SENSIBLE WEATHER. SOUTHWEST WINDS ON THE  
BACKSIDE OF A LOW TO MID-LEVEL RIDGE WILL ENHANCE ONGOING WARM AIR  
ADVECTION, ALLOWING THE REGION TO WARM TO ABOVE AVERAGE (AVERAGE  
BEING NEAR 40 DEGREES) FOR THE FIRST TIME IN WHAT MAY FEEL LIKE TOO  
LONG FOR SOME. HIGHS ON FRIDAY ARE FORECAST TO REACH THE 40S  
AREAWIDE, WITH PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI  
POTENTIALLY SEEING LOW-50S. CONFIDENCE WAVERS IN THIS, HOWEVER, DUE  
TO INCREASING CLOUD COVER THROUGH THE DAY. IF CLOUDS ARRIVE EARLIER,  
THEY MAY CAP TEMPERATURES BEFORE ANY LOCATION IS ABLE TO SEE 50  
DEGREES. REGARDLESS OF THE EXACT HIGH TEMPERATURE, WE'RE LIKELY TO  
SEE A NOTABLE CHANGE IN THE AMOUNT OF LINGERING SNOW AND ICE ON  
FRIDAY.  
 
THE AFOREMENTIONED CLOUD COVER WILL ENTER THE CWA AHEAD OF A  
SHORTWAVE NEARING THE OHIO VALLEY FROM THE SOUTHWEST. AS IT DOES, IT  
WILL MEET A COLD FRONT INCOMING FROM THE NORTHWEST. THE FORCING  
ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT, ABUNDANT LOW TO MID-LEVEL MOISTURE, AND  
LIFT FROM THE SHORTWAVE WILL CULMINATE IN A WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION  
EVENT FOR FRIDAY EVENING INTO SATURDAY MORNING. THE PRECIPITATION  
TYPE IS STILL EXPECTED TO BE MAJORITY RAIN AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT.  
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE WARMTH AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WILL ENSURE THIS  
HOLDS TRUE. THE ONLY UNCERTAINTY LIES IN ANY PRECIPITATION LINGERING  
BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. AS MENTIONED IN PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS, THE  
CHANCE FOR IMPACTFUL WINTRY PRECIPITATION BEHIND THE FRONT IS VERY  
LOW. DESPITE COLD AIR MOVING IN, MID-LEVEL ASCENT DIMINISHES QUICKLY  
ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE FRONT, AND THE AIR DRIES VERY QUICKLY.  
SOUNDING DATA SHOWS THAT THERE IS A SHORT WINDOW FOR SNOW AS THE  
COLUMN DE-SATURATES ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE.  
ERGO, ANY SNOW THAT FALLS EARLY SATURDAY MORNING IS EXPECTED TO  
BE BRIEF AND LIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED DUE TO THE  
GROUND STILL BEING WARM FROM THE PREVIOUS DAYS.  
 
THE MOST IMPACTFUL PERIOD OF THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS WILL BEGIN SUNDAY  
MORNING AS WIND CHILLS TUMBLE BENEATH THE ZERO MARK FOR MOST OF THE  
NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. THIS IS OUR FORECAST FOR EACH SUBSEQUENT  
MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY, WITH TUESDAY MORNING POTENTIALLY BEING  
THE COLDEST. AT THE TIME OF WRITING, NO LOCATION MEETS THE CRITERIA  
FOR A COLD WEATHER ADVISORY, BUT PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI AND  
WEST-CENTRAL ILLINOIS COME CLOSE. DESPITE THE LACK OF ADVISORY  
CRITERIA TEMPERATURES, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE COLDEST  
LOCATIONS MAY NOT EXPERIENCE WIND CHILLS ABOVE ZERO AT ANY TIME FROM  
SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE LACK OF A HEADLINE SHOULD NOT  
UNDERMINE THE SERIOUSNESS OF PROLONGED COLD WEATHER, ESPECIALLY FOR  
INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT THE MEANS TO WARM THEMSELVES IN SUCH CONDITIONS.  
 
OVERALL, THE MAGNITUDE AND LONGEVITY OF THE COLD WILL DEPEND ON THE  
STRENGTH, TRACK, AND SPEED OF SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO  
THE REGION EARLY NEXT WEEK. A STRONGER, SLOWER HIGH THAT TRACKS  
DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR CWA WILL RESULT IN COLDER TEMPERATURES FOR A  
LONGER PERIOD AND VICE VERSA. THERE IS REASONABLE CONFIDENCE IN A  
WARM-UP BEGINNING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK, AS REFLECTED BY THE NBM  
INTERQUARTILE RANGE. THE 75TH PERCENTILE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 27  
DEGREES ON TUESDAY IS LESS THAN WEDNESDAY'S 25TH PERCENTILE HIGH  
TEMPERATURE OF 30 DEGREES. ALTHOUGH WEDNESDAY DOES HAVE A 9 DEGREE  
TEMPERATURE SPREAD, IT'LL LIKELY STILL BE A WARMER DAY THAN TUESDAY  
WILL BE. JUST HOW MUCH IT WILL WARM IS STILL UNCERTAIN.  
 
JAJA  
 
 
   
AVIATION  
(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY EVENING)  
ISSUED AT 520 PM CST WED JAN 15 2025  
 
SOUTHERLY WINDS BECOME SOUTHWESTERLY TONIGHT AND STRENGTHEN AS A  
COLD FRONT APPROACHES. SOME INCREASING CLOUDS ARE LIKELY THROUGH  
THE NIGHT BUT SHOULD REMAIN WELL WITHIN VFR RANGE. WINDS SHIFT TO  
WESTERLY ON THURSDAY AND WEAKEN AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT RELAXES  
WITH THE APPROACH OF THE HIGH PRESSURE AXIS FROM THE WEST.  
 
KIMBLE  
 
 
   
LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
MO...NONE.  
IL...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
WFO LSX  
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
The Nexlab MO Page
The Nexlab IL Page
Main Text Page