May 17th Morning Forecast

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Morning Forecast, Tuesday May 17

Another cool, dry morning, but changing soon as southerly winds begin increasing and moisture returning again to the area by Wednesday. The upper ridge will continue to keep us dry today, but mid and upper clouds will increase ahead of the system. As the upper trough digs into the mountain west region, light precipitation will be noticed there as cyclogenisis also occurs over SE Colorado. This surface low will spin about for a few days along with frontal boundaries and we'll begin to see increasing chances of showers/storms over the SGP region. A mid level wave is expected to move through central Kansas overnight, with a band of rain from northern OK through Kansas progressing eastward into Wednesday morning. 

Wednesday afternoon and evening show a few scattered showers over the state ahead of a lifting warm front, as well as heavy precipitation over northern CO, with a few embedded t-storms possibly. Thursday appears to be the onset of more severe storms, with convection initiating along a dryline in western OK by afternoon/early evening and propagating east/north-eastward. Possible MCS formation later Thursday night, into early Thursday morning. Good chance of t-storms affecting the ER-2 location late Thursday night as well. Another round of storms appears likely Friday afternoon over north central OK, pushing further east Friday evening.

The NAM and GFS still differ a bit in the precipitation forecast details. While the NAM is trying to cap Thursday's storms a bit, it produces more widespread storms over the SGP region Friday afternoon.

Forecasts
 
Time of Day: 
Morning
Day 0: 
05/17/2011
Forecast for Day 0: 

An upper level ridge continuing to persist over the central plains, but SE flow will begin returning low level moisture to the region later today. Mid and high level clouds will move over the area ahead of the upcoming system. This upper level trough/upper low is currently digging into the northwestern pacific, with a jet streak into the rockies, kicking off some light precip over Colorado. Cyclogensis will also form a surface low pressure system over SE CO, setting up a frontal boundary. 

Later tonight, a mid-level wave will move through central Kansas, where we are anticipating a band of precipitation forming from northern OK into Nebraska. This is forecast to propagate eastward overnight, 06-12Z. The NAM has a stronger indication of preicp over north central OK than the GFS does during this timeframe.

Day 1: 
05/18/2011
Forecast for Day 1: 

A warm front is forecast to lift northward through OK Wednesday. Scattered showers may be possible ahead of the front during the afternoon/evening. Should be mostly overcast, cloudy throughout the day, with SE winds and low level moisture return.

Day 2: 
05/12/2011
Forecast for Day 2: 

Thursday a slight risk of severe storms is forecasted for the region. A dryline will likely set up over western OK with convection initiating 21-00Z and propagating east/northeast-ward. Possibly MCS development later that night into early Friday morning. Strong storms may also affect the SE Nebraska (ER-2) region late Thursday night.

Extended Outlook: 

Depending on Thursday's storm development, Friday is forecast to redevelop storms over central OK, a bit earlier in the afternoon before moving off eastward. The upper level trough continues to spin over the rockies before lifting into the central plains Saturday.


 

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