117 FXUS63 KARX 102342 AFDARXArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service La Crosse WI 642 PM CDT Wed Sep 10 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Warming through the weekend into the start of the new week with highs topping 80 degrees for most. Saturday looking like the warmest of the bunch.
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.DISCUSSION... Issued at 130 PM CDT Wed Sep 10 2025
WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK: unseasonably warm weekend still on tap with highs of 80+ degrees for many/most. Summery warmth continues for start of the new week, looking to moderate toward seasonable norms by the following weekend. Smattering of rain chances.
> OVERVIEW: Upper level ridge still on track to build eastward from the plains to across the upper mississippi river valley this weekend. West coast trough lifts northeast over the southern rockies during this time, spinning bits of shortwave energy northeast. Both the ridge and trough aren`t particularly strong, with the ensemble guidance trending toward weakening both features as the weekend wears on. That said, unseasonably warm air still on tap to pool under the ridge. Whether or not the ridge will deflect any bits of upper level energy west/north of the local area, and associated pcpn chances, isn`t as clear.
Moving into the start of the new week, WPC clusters hang on to weak upper level ridging across the western great lakes with weak troughing across the northern plains/southern rockies. Gradually the clusters shift toward more of a zonal flow for the latter half of the week. How quickly this flow shifts and strength, positioning of the relative features remains nebulous - keeping forecast confidence and predictability low. If realized though, the change would moderate temps downward to seasonable levels and also bring periodic shots for rain.
> TEMPS: warmth, summery airmass set to pool northward under the ridge as we move into the weekend. NAFES and ECMWF 850 mb temps anomalies around +1.5 through the period with EFIs for high temps Sat/Sun of 0.6-0.8 across NE IA/SW WI. Non-zero SoT touches these locations. The GEFS has been showing a model bias with over warming when soils are dry - which translated into the model blend and required some adjustments (cooler). However, recent runs of the EPS have nudged temps "up". Likelihood in the GEFS and EPS for 80+ degree highs Sat/Sun are now very similar from 1-94 southward - roughly 60-80%. Additionally, the max temp in the EPS for KLSE is 90 Sat/Sun, just a couple degrees cooler than the GEFS. So models are in more agreement. GEFS likely still too warm, but not completely out to lunch either - at least locally. Will hold closer to the model blend with all this in mind (may still shave off a degree or two to coordinate with surrounding offices).
Transitioning into the 2nd half of next week, if WPC cluster trends hold, a more zonal upper level flow would moderate temps toward the seasonable norms.
> RAIN CHANCES: medium/long range guidance continues to suggest the ridge won`t be a hard deterrent to shortwave activity, with any bits of upper level energy able to shift across it rather than deflect northward. Low end rain chances (20-40%) could work into the local forecast area this weekend as a result.
Moving into next week, with general expectations to transition to a quicker, zonal flow...shortwave activity could be more...active. With variability within the models the model blend splatters low end chances (20-40%) here and there. Again, with predictability low will hold with the blend for now.
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.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 642 PM CDT Wed Sep 10 2025
VFR conditions continue through the evening and early overnight hours. With light surface winds and clearing skies fog moves into central Wisconsin and then southeast Minnesota, southwest Wisconsin, and portions of northeast Iowa between 07Z and 10Z. This fog may be locally dense at times. Have added a tempo group for both KRST and KLSE for IFR visibilities as this could be the case for much of the area. The fog is then expected to dissipate between 13Z and 15Z and some CIGS around 5kft and 25kft move in for the afternoon. Light and variable winds expected through the overnight then shifting to a predominant light southeast wind for Thursday.
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.ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. IA...None.
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DISCUSSION...Rieck AVIATION...Cecava
NWS ARX Office Area Forecast Discussion