Area Forecast Discussion Thursday, May 12, 2011

FXUS63 KOAX 121946
AFDOAX

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
246 PM CDT THU MAY 12 2011

.DISCUSSION...

ONE MORE ACTIVE EVENING THEN PATTERN FLIPS BACK TO WHAT IT WAS
OVER THE LATTER HALF OF APRIL/EARLY MAY...COOL.

FOR TONIGHT...CURRENT WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWED UPPER
LOW PIVOT POINT NEAR MCK AT 19Z. PRIOR TO THAT TIME SHOWER/ANY
CONVECTION WAS TIED MORE CLOSELY TO THE UPPER LOW ALTHOUGH THAT
WILL BE CHANGING INTO EVENING. CONVECTION SHOULD BECOME MORE
WIDESPREAD NEAR DRY LINE FROM SCNTRL NEBRASKA INTO KS WHICH WAS
PUNCHING UP TOWARD SERN NEBRASKA...AND ALSO POSSIBLY NEAR
BOUNDARY IN NERN NEBRASKA. WITH ACTIVITY LIKELY INCREASING ACROSS
THE FORECAST AREA PER 4KM WRF...CATEGORICAL POPS APPEAR IN ORDER
THIS EVENING DECREASING SOME AFTER 06Z AS STRONGEST CONVECTION
EITHER WEAKENS OR MOVES OUT BY THAT TIME. BESIDES LARGE HAIL
THREAT WITH LOW FREEZING LEVEL PER 18Z OAX SOUNDING...TORNADO
THREAT EXISTS AS LOW LEVEL SHEAR NEAR BOUNDARIES IS DECENT. LTL/NO
CHANGES TO MINIMUM TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WITH PREVIOUS FORECAST AND
MAV/MET BLEND ACCEPTED.

UPPED POPS FIRST HALF OF FRIDAY AS UPPER LOW APPEARS IT WILL BE A
BIT SLOWER TO DEPART. OTHERWISE...A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF CLOUDS
EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH TEMPERATURES MUCH BELOW NORMAL.
LOWERED HIGHS A BIT FRIDAY/SATURDAY AS THERE WAS STILL A STRONG
SIGNAL THAT A LOT OF LOW CLOUDS COULD LINGER IN NWRLY FLOW.
ADDED SMALL PRECIP CHANCES SATURDAY AFTERNOON NRN ZONES AS DECENT
RUN TO RUN SUPPORT AND AGREEMENT BETWEEN GFS/ECMWF AS UPPER LOW
NOW OVER SOUTHERN CANADA BEGINS DROPPING SWD. HOW FAR SOUTHWEST
THIS PRECIP SPREADS ON SUNDAY STILL IN QUESTION...AND AT THIS TIME
KEPT IT CONFINED TO ABOUT THE ERN 2/3RDS AS FORCING BECOMES A
LITTLE MORE QUESTIONABLE SW AS UPPER LOW COULD TEND TO OPEN UP OR
SHIFT MORE SE.

MADE LITTLE CHANGES TO MON-WED PERIODS AS HIGH AMPLITUDE UPPER
RIDGE SETS UP PULLING DOWN DRIER BUT STILL RELATIVELY COOL AIR.
KEPT MOST LOWS AROUND 40/LOWER 40S BUT SOME POTENTIAL FOR MID
30S/FROST SOME OF THOSE MORNINGS AND THIS COULD PROVIDE FOCUS FOR
FUTURE FORECASTS.

SOME QUESTION IN HOW MUCH ENERGY MANAGES TO UNDERCUT UPPER RIDGE
TOWARD END OF FORECAST PERIOD WITH GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN/PRIOR GFS RUNS
MORE BULLISH/FARTHER E. DECIDED TO INCLUDE SMALL PRECIP CHANCES
WED FAR SOUTHWEST AND ACROSS SW 1/2 OR SO WED NGT/THU. A SLIGHT
WARMING TREND SHOULD CONTINUE...ALTHOUGH KEPT HIGHS BELOW 70 ALL
AREAS.

&&

.AVIATION...
TAF SITES KOFK/KOMA/KLNK

18Z TAFS

CONVECTION ONCE AGAIN WILL DISRUPT TAF FORECAST THIS
AFTERNOON/EVENING. IN THE MEANTIME...CLOUD DECK THIS AFTERNOON IS
FLIRTING WITH VFR/MVFR LINE...BUT WILL BECOME MVFR FOLLOWING FRONTAL
PASSAGE/THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING THROUGH OVERNIGHT. CONVECTION
THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING MAY BRING SHORT-LIVED MVFR TO IFR VIS/CIGS AS
WELL AS BRIEF GUSTY WINDS. HAVE LIFTED CIGS AT ALL SITES DURING THE
LATE MORNING FRIDAY AS LOW MOVES AWAY...AND KEPT GUSTY NORTHWEST
WINDS FROM OVERNIGHT INTO THE MORNING.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...NONE.
IA...NONE.
&&

$$

CHERMOK/MAYES

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