460 FXUS63 KFGF 131850 AFDFGFArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 150 PM CDT Sat Sep 13 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- There is a level 1 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms Sunday into Monday. The main hazards will be hail to the size of quarters and gusty winds to 70 mph. Tornadoes are possible as well.
- Well above average temperatures continue into next week. Active pattern continues through early next week, including periodic chances for strong to severe thunderstorms.
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.DISCUSSION... Issued at 124 PM CDT Sat Sep 13 2025
...Synopsis...
Surface analysis this afternoon shows a weak surface low over eastern South Dakota that hasn`t moved particularly much over the last 6 hours. Propagation looks to remain very slow with not much forward motion, so forcing for ascent should remain to the west of the Red River Valley mainly through tomorrow morning. Showers and a few thunderstorms will linger across southeast North Dakota and areas west of the Red River Valley through the remainder of the day today.
Forward propagation of the surface low should increase tomorrow afternoon as the main upper low undergoes lee cyclogenesis and progresses northward towards our area. An attendent low and mid- level jet should provide solid moisture advection and shear for organized showers and thunderstorms Sunday afternoon through Monday morning, although the spatial extent of thunderstorms is of low confidence.
As the low progresses away from our region, moisture advection is cut off but forcing for ascent should continue to linger through the week. Predictability for severe convection is low, but periodic showers and thunderstorms can continue to be expected through the work week. The strongest signals for precipitation are Wednesday and Friday.
...SEVERE STORM POTENTIAL TOMORROW...
A mostly stationary upper low should begin to eject off the Rocky Mountains tomorrow, forcing cyclogenesis and an intensifying pressure gradient at the base of the low. As this occurs, forward propagation for the low will increase and push the surface low over South Dakota into our area by early tomorrow afternoon. Surface theta-e advection from the southeast should provide for solid destabilization near the surface. The main question right now is if enough destabilization occurs from both advective and diurnal heating. Weak warm air advection will be ongoing across much of the region in advance of the low, so sky clearing may be difficult to come by. Advective processes may be enough to induce surface-based thunderstorm development as the low progresses through the area.
If thunderstorms do form, the main hazards should be severe hail and damaging wind gusts. Very large hail production is unlikely as the orientation of the upper low keeps the elevated mixed layer away from our area, so we end up with much skinnier CAPE profiles. Clustering of storms appears to be the less likely solution as forcing remains mostly to the west and shear vectors are mostly perpendicular to the boundary. If storms remain isolated, supercells can be a possibility as effective layer shear approach 30 knots with weak veering in the lowest 3 km. Directional shear could facilitate a tornado threat, particularly where the low-level jet aligns with storms, which should have the most intense veering. This will depend on track of the low and if storms can remain isolated, but it is an impactful enough threat to begin messaging.
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.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1235 PM CDT Sat Sep 13 2025
Ceilings should continue to slowly lift into VFR by late this afternoon for all TAF sites. Light rain will be possible at both DVL and FAR through the afternoon although confidence is low in where and when this occurs. Winds will remain mostly from the same direction through the entire TAF period. As we progress into the overnight hours, ceilings will fall once again, particularly in northwest Minnesota. MVFR to IFR ceilings can be anticipated for most TAF sites with isolated VFR by 08z.
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.FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...None. MN...None.
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DISCUSSION...Perroux AVIATION...Perroux
NWS FGF Office Area Forecast Discussion