Forecast Discussions mentioning ACARS, received at FSL on 01/25/01


EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NWS SAN DIEGO CA
AFDSAN 950 PM PST WED JAN 24 2001

...SYNOPSIS... SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL END OVERNIGHT AS A WEAKENING PACIFIC STORM MOVES EAST INTO ARIZONA. FAIR THURSDAY. A COLDER...WETTER STORM WILL ARRIVE ON FRIDAY AND LINGER FOR SATURDAY.

...DISCUSSION... MUDDLED PICTURE INTO NEXT WEEK AS MDLS ARE IN LESS THAN PERFECT AGREEMENT WITH DETAILS THRU SAT...THEN DIVERGE MORE SUBSTANTIALLY SUNDAY AND BEYOND.

IN THE NR TERM...SCATTERED SHOWERS ALG AND W OF THE MTNS WL GRADUALLY DECR OVERNIGHT. THIS IS HANDLED WELL BE THE ETA QPF AND IN THE CURRENT ZONES. GREATEST COVERAGE AND AMOUNTS...GENERALLY ONE QUARTER INCH OR LESS LIQUID EQUIVALENT ADDITIONAL...WL BE ON SW SLOPES OF SBD MTNS AND ALG W FACING SLOPES OF CNTRL AND SRN SAN COUNTY. CURRENT ACARS DATA AND RAWS REPORTS WOULD SUPPORT SNOW LVLS OF 3500 TO 4000 FT. LTL CHANGE OF SNOW LVLS IS EXPECTED OVERNIGHT WITH SHOWERS GRADUALLY ENDING BY MORNING.

FOR THU...SKIES SHOULD BE CLR TO PARTLY CLOUDY WITH AFTERNOON CU MORE NUMEROUS NR HIGHER TERRAIN.

FOR FRI/SAT...MDLS STILL DIFFER SOMEWHAT WITH THE DETAILS IN WHAT SHOULD BE A COLDER AND WETTER STORM FOR SW CA THAN THE ONE NOW EXITING. LATEST ETA WOULD BRING A WKNG FRONTAL BAND AND ASSOCD RAIN AND MTN SNOW ACROSS SW CA LATE FRI MORNING THRU EARLY FRI EVENING. MDLS ARE TAKING DYNAMICS WITH A STRONGER SECONDARY SHORTWAVE INLAND TO THE S OF SW CA ON SAT...INTO NRN AND CNTRL BAJA. HOWEVER...WITH CD AIR ALF AND MOIST CYCLONIC FLOW OVR SW CA...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS SHOULD CONTINUE FOR SAT ALG WITH A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AND WITH SNOW LVLS NR 3000 FT SAT. AT PRESENT...THIS STORM DOES NOT APPEAR AS STRONG AS THE ONE THAT IMPACTED SRN CA TWO WEEKS OR SO AGO.

SUN AND BEYOND...ECMWF...NEW AVN...AND OLD MRF ARE IN RATHER STRIKING DISAGREEMENT. WITH NO GREAT DIFFERENCES IN THE UPSTREAM INITIALIZATION OVR THE PAC NOTED...ITS NOT CLR WHICH SOLN TO FAVOR AT THIS TIME. SYNOPTICALLY...THE EVOLUTION FORECAST BY LAST NIGHT'S MRF (ALSO SHOWN BY NOGAPS) WOULD APPEAR TO BE THE MOST REASONABLE. GIVEN THE HIGH DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY SUN AND BEYOND...WL NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED. SAN 4127

.SAN...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SEE LAXSPSSAN. MARTIN




AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NWS CHICAGO IL
AFDCHI 253 AM CST THU JAN 25 2001

MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS ARE ENDING LAKE EFFECT IN NORTHWEST INDIANA THIS MORNING...TEMPERATURES...AND SNOW EVENT FOR FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT.

ACARS SOUNDINGS OUT OF ORD SHOW 850 MB WARM ADVECTION HAS BEGUN WITH 850 MB TEMPS RISING FROM -13 TO -11 DEG LAST FEW HOURS. WITH BACKING LOW LEVEL WINDS...GOES IR LOOP SHOWS CLOUD BANDS OVER THE LAKE SHIFTING EASTWARD WITH TIME...AND WESTERN EDGE OF CLOUDS AND RADAR DETECTABLE SNOW JUST ABOUT COMPLETELY OUT OF PORTER COUNTY. WILL BASE FORECAST WORDING ON LAST MINUTE RADAR/SATELLITE OBS...BUT WILL MOST LIKELY BE ABLE TO START THE DAY SUNNY FOR ALL COUNTIES.

UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS ACROSS THE AREA TODAY...WITH 1036 MB SURFACE HIGH OVER WESTERN IOWA AT 06Z MOVING SOUTHEAST INTO THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY BY THIS EVENING. SUBSIDENCE WILL ALLOW FOR ABUNDANT SUNSHINE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY...WITH SURFACE WINDS BACKING TO SOUTHWEST THIS AFTERNOON. FWC/MAV TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT AND LOOK OK. FAVOR COOLER MAV MAXES FRIDAY...WITH CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION WORKING AGAINST CONTINUED WARM ADVECTION.

WATER VAPOR SHOWS OUR NEXT WEATHER MAKER MOVING ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. MODELS FAIRLY SIMILAR IN MOVING THIS SOUTHERN STREAM TROF INTO WESTERN KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA BY THIS EVENING...THEN NORTHEAST INTO IOWA AND MISSOURI OVERNIGHT AND PHASING IT WITH NORTHERN STREAM ENERGY DROPPING SOUTHEAST OUT OF THE DAKOTAS. ETA/AVN DIVERGE WITH THEIR SOLUTIONS OF THE SURFACE LOW TRACK...WITH THE ETA TAKING THE LOW FROM NORTHERN IOWA ACROSS WISCONSIN FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND THE AVN TAKING IT FARTHER SOUTH...FROM NORTHEAST MISSOURI TO NORTHEAST ILLINOIS. GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THE SOUTHERN STREAM WAVE...TEND TO THINK THAT THE ETA IS A BIT TOO FAR NORTH. PREFER BLEND OF ETA/AVN TRACKS WITH AN ELONGATED SFC LOW PASSING NEAR IL/WI BORDER. NOT A MAJOR STORM BY ANY MEANS...WITH INITIALLY DRY AIR TAKING SOME TIME TO MOISTEN. PCPN LOOKS TO BEGIN BY AFTERNOON...THEN TAPER OFF LATE EVENING AS TROF PASSES. QPF AND ISENTROPIC PROGS INDICATE AN INCH OR TWO OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE...WITH HIGHEST AMOUNTS TOWARD WI BORDER.

NEW MRF ABOUT 12 HOURS SLOWER WITH SYSTEM IN MONDAY/TUESDAY EXTENDED FORECAST...WITH NOGAPS VERY SIMILAR. THICKNESS PROGS STILL SUPPORT RAIN...CHANGING TO SNOW AT THE END.

.CHI...NONE.

RATZER