980 FXUS63 KICT 040533 AFDICTArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wichita KS 1233 AM CDT Sat Oct 4 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Above normal temperatures will continue through the weekend, with cooler readings expected for Tue into Wed.
- Strong south winds forecast for Saturday, with a few locations across central KS seeing gusts in the 40-50 mph range.
- Shower and storm chances will increase Sunday evening with on and off rain chances remaining through at least the first half of next week.
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.DISCUSSION... Issued at 223 PM CDT Fri Oct 3 2025
Currently have a sharp upper trough from the Pacific Northwest into Central CA with upper ridging from Northern Mex through the Southern Plains. At the surface, high pressure encompasses the Eastern CONUS with lee troughing strengthening over the High Plains.
Tonight into Sat, upper impulse over Central CA will migrate east and by Sat afternoon will be tracking over the Central Rockies. Tight pressure gradient will setup across the Plains for Sat along with very deep mixing, especially across central KS. Still looking for sustained speeds in the 20-30 mph range for areas along and west of I-135 with gusts 35 to 45 mph. Some locations across central KS, west of Highway 14, may see a few gusts around 50 mph late Sat afternoon. For Sat night into Sun, upper energy will continue to lift northeast and by Sun afternoon, will be quickly lifting across the Upper Mississippi Valley. This will allow a cold front to sag into the area and by 18z Sun is expected to stretch from eastern Nebraska into West Central KS, with a few storms possible along the front by late Sun afternoon. A few of these storms may affect our far northwest counties with strong downburst winds the main threat given decent DCAPE.
Cold front will continue to sag south on Mon and will allow scattered showers and storms to persist through the day. However, with the better upper dynamics well north of the forecast area, not looking for anything too widespread. ECMWF and GFS still agree on a more robust upper trough swinging across Manitoba and into Ontario by Tue morning. This will bring another surge of cooler air across the Plains and also push the cold front further south for Tue into Wed. This will keep slightly below normal temps in place for Tue and Wed along with scattered rain chances. There is also good model agreement that by the end of next week we will be getting back into a warming trend.
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.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1228 AM CDT Sat Oct 4 2025
LLWS conditions will continue at RSL/GBD/SLN/HUT as a 45-50 kt LLJ near 1.5 kft remains overhead. These conditions will subside by mid-morning as the LLJ weakens. South winds will increase by mid-morning with gusts up to 30-35 kt with the strongest across central KS. These strong winds will persist through the end of the period across central KS as wind speeds decrease to 10-15 kt elsewhere.
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.ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None.
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DISCUSSION...RBL AVIATION...BRF
NWS ICT Office Area Forecast Discussion