914 FXUS63 KABR 011701 AAA AFDABRArea Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Aberdeen SD 1201 PM CDT Wed Oct 1 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Unseasonably warm temperatures (highs in the 80s, 20-25 degrees above normal) expected through the rest of the work week.
- Southerly wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph are expected today before diminishing for tonight and Thursday.
- Pattern change for the weekend, with peak chances for rain (40- 60%) Saturday night into Sunday, and cooler temperatures (highs in the 60s) from Sunday onward.
&&
.UPDATE... Issued at 1158 AM CDT Wed Oct 1 2025
Updated for 18z Aviation Discussion.
UPDATE Issued at 1047 AM CDT Wed Oct 1 2025
Light showers and a few embedded thunderstorms remain from around Long Lake through Gettysburg and Highmore down through Lyman County. The strongest showers have shown the capability of producing lightning and the pea sized hail. Winds out of the south are gusting 25 to near 40 mph near and out ahead of the broken line of showers, which will continue through mid afternoon. Winds over central SD will slowly diminish this afternoon.
&&
.SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON/... Issued at 442 AM CDT Wed Oct 1 2025
Southerly flow and the associated 30 to 35 kt llj are generating showers from the Missouri river valley to the Coteau early this morning. So far, any lightning has remained in ND or south of this cwa. This activity is expected to taper off through this morning, though may need to extend pop mention across the far east until noon if daytime heating and southwest flow aloft don`t help shut it down. All hi-res models have it ending around 15z, but most CAMs also hadn`t initialized overnight coverage as robustly as is now apparent on radar. Potential exists for additional showers in a llj east of the James Valley this evening. A little less certain on how any drying effects of a southwesterly downslope component may play out along and east of the Coteau, though.
Above normal temperatures will persist through Thursday though good southerly mixing will weaken as weak sfc low pressure moves into central SD late today. Southerly winds are expected to gust around 30 to 40 mph with strongest gusts from the Missouri River to the Coteau, ahead of the low. This low/trough pushes east through the cwa by early Thursday morning, shutting down the llj. Generally dry conditions expected during the daytime hours. Highs climb 20 to 25 degrees above normal (low to mid 80s) for early October both today and Thursday, though are still forecast to be about 5 to 10 degrees below record highs for Oct 1 and 2 (upper 80s to mid 90s).
&&
.LONG TERM /THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY/... Issued at 442 AM CDT Wed Oct 1 2025
Gusty winds return on Friday due to the influence of a developing low pressure center to the west and the subsequent re-tightening of the pressure gradient. The low-level jet that sits overhead peaks at up to 40 knots Friday morning, but by the time afternoon mixing will allow for gusts to mix to the surface, the strongest part of the jet will have progressed to the north out of the CWA. Still, southerly winds are expected to gust to 25-35 miles per hour across the forecast area Friday afternoon. The continued presence of dew points in the upper 50s will help keep afternoon humidity high enough (~30- 40% at minimum) for the area to remain above Red Flag Warning criteria. Another low-level jet of similar strength moves over the area Saturday, bringing strong gusts of 30-40 miles per hour to mainly northeastern South Dakota Saturday afternoon.
This weekend, an upper-level trough will move overhead and drag a cold front over the area. Development along this front brings the next chance for precipitation into the area. Model soundings are not conducive to severe weather, mainly due to weak lapse rates significantly reducing CAPE. The forcing from the front will likely still be enough to create updrafts strong enough to produce lightning, but confidence is low at this point on widespread thunderstorms. There will be ample shear along the front (up to 40- 50 knots at peak) so that will help sustain the updrafts and maintain the potential for thunderstorms. Even looking at flooding as a potential hazard, the lack of CAPE, PWATs below the 75th percentile, and shallow warm cloud layer all work against this as a hazard. The QPF output in the models is, as a result of the above limitations, fairly limited for much of the CWA for an approximately 48 hour duration rainfall event. However, the NBM gives higher chances for increased rainfall over north central South Dakota, with a 50-65% chance to see 0.5" of accumulation and a 30-50% chance to see upwards of 1" of accumulation (both of which are for a 48 hour duration ending Monday at 12Z). Chances of seeing these higher amounts of rain decrease as you move further east and south across the CWA from north central South Dakota.
Behind the cold frontal passage, temperatures will drop significantly, with an expected 15-20 degree decrease in high temperatures between Saturday and Sunday. Near-normal to below normal temperatures in the 60s will stick around through the first part of next week. Low temperatures will generally be in the low to mid 40s, but some areas are currently forecast to dips into the upper 30s. At this time range a lot could change with these lows, so trends will be monitored in the upcoming days for the frost potential early next week.
&&
.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1201 PM CDT Wed Oct 1 2025
Terminals KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG
VFR conditions are expected through Thursday morning, with isolated rain showers are possible late this evening and overnight along the low level jet over northeastern SD. Southerly winds are expected over eastern SD, though central SD will see winds shifting to the west northwest later in the afternoon through the overnight hours as the low level jet moves to the east. Wind gusts this afternoon could get up to 25 to 30kts over central and northeastern SD, with winds starting to diminish from the west to east during the afternoon and evening as the low level jet starts to weaken. Gusts of around 20 kts over the Prairie Coteau continue through most of overnight hours as the low level jet sticks around over that area and decrease during the early morning hours. Low level wind shear looks to be a concern tonight after 05z to the northeast of KATY, and will need to be watched for as we get closer to that time.
&&
.ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. &&
$$
UPDATE...12 SHORT TERM...20 LONG TERM...BC AVIATION...12
NWS ABR Office Area Forecast Discussion