Forecast Discussions mentioning ACARS, received at FSL on 04/08/01


AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NWS MARQUETTE MI
AFDMQT 445 PM EDT SAT APR 7 2001

...SYNOPTIC HIGH WINDS AND EVENING CONVECTION ARE MAIN CONCERNS...

WV AND IR LOOPS AND 12Z RAOBS TELL STORY OF VERY POTENT NEG TILTED TROUGH RAKING ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND WRN GREAT LAKES REGION. WAA PRECIP ASSOCIATED WITH H85 WARM FRONT IS WELL INTO ONTARIO WITH PRECIP IN CCB/UPR LOW VCNTY SPINNING ACROSS NERN MN INTO ERN DAKOTAS. SFC LOW CENTER IN VCNTY OF ST CLOUD MN WITH CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 978MB. NEXT BOUNDARY OF CONCERN FOR UPR MI IS SFC WARM FRONT WHICH IS ORIENTED FM STC TO RHI ACROSS LK MI TO THE TVC AREA IN NRN LOWER MI. AS ONE WOULD ANTICIPATE...QUITE A BATTLEGROUND IN PLACE AS OVR UPR MI TEMPS ARE STRUGGLING INTO THE 40S WITH LOW STRATUS AND FOG LOCKED IN PLACE...THANKS IN PART TO ERLY FLW OF MUCH COOLER LK MI AND LK SUPERIOR. IMMEDIATELY SOUTH OF WARM FRONT OVR NRN WI...TEMPS HAVE SHOT TO 74/46 AT GRB AS VRY STRONG SW FLW (GUSTS TO 50KT) RAPIDLY DISSIPATED CLOUDS THIS AFTN.

MAIN CONCERNS ARE VERY SHORT TERM SEVERE THREAT PRIMARILY IN FORM OF HIGH WINDS WITH POSSIBLE HAIL AS INSTABILITY ALONG WARM FRONT COMES TOGETHER ATTM WITH POTENT H85/H3 JETS AND SURGE OF H85 DWPTS AROUND 12C INTO UPR MI THROUGH 23Z. SMALL HAIL ALSO POSSIBLE WITH ANY UPDRAFTS WITH H85-H5 LAPSE RATES AROUND 7C/KM AND WBZ HTS AROUND 9KFT OVRHEAD EARLY TONIGHT. GRADIENT WINDS AHEAD OF LOW ALSO MAJOR CONCERN WITH MANY AREAS SEEING ADVISORY CRITERIA WINDS JUST TO SOUTH AS TIGHT GRADIENT MOVES OVERHEAD ACCOMPANIED IN UPR LEVELS BY VIGOROUS SUBSIDENCE AND NVA PER WV LOOP.

AVN HAS BEEN CONSISTENT...BUT TO FAR EAST WITH SFC LOW. WL FOLLOW ETA GENERALLY AS IT HAS BEST HANDLE ON SHORT TERM SITUATION.

SHORT TERM TONIGHT...LATE MORNING-ERLY AFTN INSOLATION OVR NRN WI HAS HELPED INCREASE INSTABILITY AS SFC-H85 LAPSE RATES INCREASE TO 7.5C/KM AND SBCAPES RISE TO AROUND 500J/KG. SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH SOME LIGHTNING STRIKES PER MQT 88D/LDN BUT NOTHING APPROACHING SVR LEVELS YET AS ONLY UP TO PEA SIZE HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED BY SPOTTERS. HOWEVER...1000-H9 CONVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHIFTS NORTHEAST DURING SAME TIME THAT 60 KT H85 JET AND LFQ OF APPROACHING 120KT JET STREAK AT H3 COINCIDE OVR SC UPR MI...BTWN 21Z-00Z...AIDING IN POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF SVR CONVECTION. AT THE LEAST...WITH S/SW WINDS IN THE 60-70KT RANGE THRU 10KFT OVR WI PER ACARS DATA...ANY CONVECTIVE DOWNDRAFTS WILL HAVE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS THIS EVENING. AWAY FM CONVECTIVE THREAT...UPR LOW AND BULLSEYE OF H5-H3 QVECTOR CONVERGENCE WILL PASS OVR WRN LAKE SUPERIOR THIS EVENING. DLH 88D SHOWING BROAD AREA OF 0.10"/HR RAINS OVR ERN MN INTO NW WI. AS THIS AREA OF H5 DIFFLUENCE AND QVECTOR CONVERGENCE PASSES OVR FA MOST AREAS WL SEE SCT/NUM RAIN SHOWERS...BUT WITH SI/S ABOVE ZERO AND 1000-850MB LAPSE RATES FALLING BLO 6C/KM...TT/S DIVING TO BLO 30C BY 00Z...AND K INDICES AROUND 25C...POSSIBILITY OF THUNDER WL BE ISOLATED OVR WRN/CNTRL ZONES ALONG LK SUPERIOR.

OVERNIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...AREA OF H5-H3 QVECTOR CONVERGENCE CROSSES UPR MI BY 06Z WITH MOST PRECIP ENDING BY MIDNIGHT AS LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE IS TO THE EAST. WITH EVENING PRECIPITATION AND MOIST LOW-LEVELS REMAINING OVRNIGHT...FOG SHOULD DEVELOP QUICKLY OR REMAIN IN AREAS THAT HAVE SEEN IT ALL DAY...MAINLY OVR WRN HIGHLANDS OVR THE PENINSULA. DESPITE H7 RH AOA 70 PCT SLIDING NE OUT OF FA BY 12Z SUN...LINGERING MOISTURE BLO H85 REMAINS. COULD SEE SOME CLEARING OVR FAR SWRN FA IN AFTN...BUT ELSEWHERE CLOUDS AND FOG WL HANG TOUGH. TEMPS SIM TO WARMER MAV GUIDANCE...BUT EASILY COULD REMAIN IN UPR 30S IN THE NRN TIER.

SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...ETA/AVN ARE MOST AGRESSIVE WITH NEXT SHRTWV AND BAROCLINIC ZONE THAT REACHES INTO SRN TIER OF ZONES INTO MONDAY MORNING. ETA H3 DIVERGENCE AND H7 OMEGA FIELDS HINT AT A MCS TO DEVELOP ALONG BOUNDARY OVR NRN IL AND SRN WI OVRNIGHT...SO THIS COULD ROB FA OF INITIAL ANTICIPATED MOISTURE. ATTM WL GO WITH LOW CHANCE POPS OVRNIGHT...BUT THEN HIT WITH HIGH CHANCE/LIKELY POPS MONDAY AS MAIN BAND OF H5-H3 QVECTOR CONVERGENCE AND SIMBLANCE OF COUPLED JET STRUCTURE DEVELOPS OVR WRN LAKES REGION.

EXTENDED...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS IN AGREEMENT AS TO GENERAL UPR LEVEL FLOW THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. APPEARS AFTER CURRENT NEG TILTED TROUGH SHOOTS INTO CANADA BY 12Z MON...FLAT RIDGE/SW FLOW DEVELOPS FM PLAINS SW CONUS INTO SE CANADA. BY 12Z/10 MRF/UKMET/AVN AND MOST NOTABLY GLOBAL CANADIAN INDICATE SHRTWV TROUGH MOVING OFF PAC COAST THEN RUNNING INTO MEAN RIDGE TUESDAY. CHANCE OF RAIN STILL LOOKS TO HOLD...WITH BEST LIKLIHOOD OVR NRN TIER. TEMPORARY BUT SHARP RIDGING TAKES PLACE WED WITH MODELS THEN SHOWING ANOTHER SHARP NEG TILTED TROUGH BLASTING OUT OF SW INTO WRN LAKES 4/12-4/13. BOTH ECMWF/UKMET ARE MOST AGRESSIVE WITH THIS IDEA...WITH CANADIAN WEAKEST AS IT FAVORS EARLY WEEK TROUGH TO DIG FARTHER SOUTHEAST AIDING IN SLOWING DOWN OVERALL PATTERN BY ALMOST 2 DAYS COMPARED TO OTHER MODELS AND ENSEMBLES. MRF SHOWS QUITE A COOL SHOT OF AIR BEHIND EXITING LOW PRESSURE SAT...BUT DPROG/DT OF H85 TEMPS SUGGEST THAT ECMWF TEMPS AROUND -4C SEEM MORE REALISTIC. WL GO WITH CHANCE POPS THU-FRI WITH SYSTEM. .MQT...HIGH WIND ADVISORY THIS EVENING MIZ010>012. GALE WARNING LAKE SUPERIOR GALE WARNING LAKE MICHIGAN NEARSHORE.

JLA