AWUS01 KWNH 162200
FFGMPD
INZ000-WIZ000-ILZ000-IAZ000-170300-
Mesoscale Precipitation Discussion 0946
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
559 PM EDT Sat Aug 16 2025
Areas affected...southern WI and north-central IL, as well as
surrounding portions of IA/IN
Concerning...Heavy rainfall...Flash flooding likely
Valid 162155Z - 170300Z
Summary...Very heavy downpours with 1-3" short-term rainfall
totals likely to result in isolated to scattered flash flooding.
Discussion...A compact and potent mid-level shortwave trough is
translating rapidly east-southeast over the Upper Midwest this
afternoon, driving a classic series of mesoscale convective
systems (MCSs) along the northern periphery of a blocked synoptic
scale ridge (centered due south over the Midsouth region).
Persistent convection has favored the ML CAPE gradient (500-4000
J/kg) over the past several hours, which has shifted southward
coincident with prior MCS outflow and the associated tightening
surface thetaE gradient. While some convection is still ongoing
from the earlier morning MCS into northeast IL (rapidly
approaching the Chicago metro with MRMS indicating very heavy
downpours with 15-min rainfall totals nearing 1.0"), a trailing
MCS (currently rapidly progressing through southern WI) is quickly
becoming the more dominate expansive MCS. The mesoscale
environment in the vicinity of theses MCSs is otherwise
characterized by anomalously high tropospheric moisture content
(PWs 1.6-2.0", at or above the 90th percentile per GRB/DVN
sounding climatology), and effective bulk shear of 25-50 kts.
While hi-res CAMs have certainly struggled with the precise
convective evolution that has occured (rather typical in these
highly dynamic, progressive MCS events), collectively analyzed
through the HREF (and associated post-processing including
time-lagged members) a valuable forward-looking signal for heavy
rainfall still emerges. The 18z HREF local probability-match mean
(LPMM) QPF suggests a period of localized 2-3"/3-hr associated
with backbuilding along the west/southwest flank of the MCS (with
new convective initiation occurring where low-level inflow and
iscentropic lift coincide with the highest instability). While the
HREF signal is likely too late/slow overall (as this is already
beginning to occur into southwest WI), 40-km neighborhood
exceedance probabilities for 2" exceedance range from 20-50%
(confined to southern WI, though in reality lower-end
probabilities for these amounts likely extend both upstream and
downstream of the dominate MCS, due to underestimated forward
propagation AND backbuilding by the CAMs overall). Although hourly
runs of the HRRR have not proven as useful as the HREF signal
(which also seems rather typical when the environment of the model initialization is mismatched with the observational assimilation),
the experimental WoFS does suggest that similar 2"+ localized
totals are possible (via an increasing trend in the 90th
percentile QPF with a 27-km neighborhood 2" exceedance probs in
the 20-40% range, notably displaced south and west of the HREF
signal).
While the greatest signal/risk for flash flooding is judged to be
across southern WI and northern IL, the MPD also encompasses areas
downstream (southeast into far northwest IN) and upstream (west
into adjacent portions of IA) due to the aforementioned forward
propagation and backbuilding threats. While these surrounding
areas are less likely to realize localized 2"+ totals, the chances
for 1"+ amounts (in as little as 15-30 min with very heavy
downpours) are likely (per HREF/WoFS exceedance probs of 40%+)
with associated 1-hr Flash Flood Guidance (FFGs) ranging from as
low as 1.0-1.5" across a substantial portion of the region. As a
result, isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding are
considered likely (with conditional backbuilding of convection
largely dictating the overall coverage and potential for an
instance or two of more significant flash flooding).
Churchill
...Please see
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov__;!!= DZ3fjg!85RfJsxpSa7tuBurkDXC0aMjTJ4xX4BGbQjCHnUmnpeHIkFvJK0rzeISwXDJQFMobfZF= OoSfOBvy97Tpn6fDKz9qf-I$ for graphic product...
ATTN...WFO...ARX...DVN...ILX...IND...IWX...LOT...MKX...
ATTN...RFC...MSR...TIR...NWC...
LAT...LON 43608890 43418789 42988769 42268726 41618674=20
40868651 40208687 39998789 40058882 40418974=20
40979028 41619055 42079078 42649143 42989143=20
43249113 43369075 43408979=20
=3D =3D =3D
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