Flooding in Wisconsin, May 21 to 28, 2004

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
215 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT

FORECAST CONCERNS THIS PACKAGE...TSRA CHANCES AND POTENTIAL FOR
HEAVY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AND AGAIN SAT
NIGHT.

18Z DATA ANALYSIS DEPICTED A BROAD AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF
THE GREAT LAKES AND A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL
AND WESTERN PLAINS. FRONTAL BOUNDARY OF CONCERN...RE-ENFORCED BY
OUTFLOW FROM CONVECTION THIS MORNING...EXTENDED ACROSS NORTHERN IL
TO SOUTHEAST IA...TO SOUTHEAST SD. SHRA/TSRA FIRING NORTH OF THE
BOUNDARY AS MODERATE SOUTHWEST LOW LEVEL FLOW ADVECTS THE 1500-2500
J/KG CAPE AIRMASS SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY NORTHEAST OVER IT. EARLY
AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA REMAINING RATHER
COOL IN EAST FLOW...UNDER CLOUD COVER AND WELL NORTH OF THE FRONT.

21/12Z MODELS INITIALIZED OK. COMPARED TO 12Z RAOB DATA...GFS BETTER
INITIALIZED AT THE 850-7H LEVELS. ETA LOOKS TO HAVE INITIALIZED TOO
MUCH 850-7H TROUGHING FROM THE TX PANHANDLE THRU WESTERN NEB AND
TOO MUCH RIDGING OVER CO/NM. BOTH ETA/GFS LOOK TO HAVE DECENT HANDLE
ON SFC/UPPER LEVEL FEATURES AT 18Z. GFS LOOKS TO HAVE DONE BETTER
WITH 12Z-18Z PRECIP AMOUNTS/PLACEMENT ACROSS THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.
MODELS MAINTAIN GOOD CONTINUITY WITH THEIR EARLIER RUNS...BUT OFFER
SLIGHTLY DIFFERING SOLUTIONS FOR SAT NIGHT/SUN. HOWEVER...APPEARS
THESE DIFFERENCES HAVE LITTLE IMPACT ON THE SENSIBLE WEATHER THRU
THE WEEKEND. SIDED WITH THE ETA FOR THE DETAILS IN THE NEAR TERM...
THEN LEANED TOWARD THE GFS FOR SAT NIGHT THRU MON NIGHT.

FOR THE SHORT TERM...FORECAST FOR THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS HINGES ON
POSITION OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. WITH MORNING AND ONGOING
CONVECTION RE-ENFORCING LOW LEVEL COOL AIRMASS OVER THE AREA...THE
FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BE SUPPRESSED TO THE SOUTH THRU THIS EVENING
AND SHOULD MAKE LITTLE PROGRESS NORTH. NEXT SHORTWAVE EJECTING OUT
OF THE WESTERN TROUGH LIFTS NORTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT.
BACKING MID LEVEL FLOW ASSOCIATED WITH THIS WAVE INCREASES THE LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND 300-310K ISENTROPIC LIFT OF THE 1500-
2500 J/KG CAPE AIRMASS SOUTH OF THE FRONT NORTHWARD AND OVER THE
BOUNDARY TONIGHT. FORCING PERSISTS THRU MUCH OF THE NIGHT...AND WITH
PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES OF 1.5 TO 1.75 INCHES...LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL SEEMS LIKELY. WITH TOP SOILS NEARLY SATURATED FROM RECENT
BOUTS OF RAINFALL ACROSS SEVERAL PARTS OF THE FORECAST AREA...QPFERD
AND FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT LOOK GOOD. WETTEST SOILS AND GREATEST
FLOOD THREAT EXISTS ALONG AN AXIS FROM KMCW-KDEH-KDLL...AND FROM
KFBL/KRGK TO KVOK AREAS. SHORTWAVE AND STRONGER FORCING/LIFT MOVE
OFF FOR SAT...BUT THE FRONT REMAINS ACROSS OR JUST SOUTH OF THE
FORECAST AREA FOR SAT INTO SUN. STRONG SHORTWAVE DIGGING DOWN THE
BACK SIDE OF THE WESTERN TROUGH EJECTS THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE
TROUGH NORTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION SAT NIGHT/SUN. STRONG SFC WAVE
TRACKS NORTHEAST ALONG THE BOUNDARY TOWARD THE AREA SAT NIGHT...
THEN ACROSS THE AREA SUN. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TRANSPORT/ISENTROPIC
LIFT/CONVERGENCE OF THE MOIST...UNSTABLE AIRMASS INCREASES ACROSS
THE FORECAST AREA AGAIN SAT NIGHT. FLOOD WATCH WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED
AGAIN SAT NIGHT...BUT WILL DEAL WITH THAT IN TIME AFTER WE GET PAST
TONIGHT/S HEAVY RAIN THREAT. STRONGER WAVE SAT NIGHT/SUN SHOVES THE
FRONT SOUTHEAST OF THE AREA SUN NIGHT...WITH A BRIEF BREAK FROM THE
PRECIP LATER SUNDAY EVENING THRU MONDAY MORNING. A NORTHERN STREAM
SHORTWAVE INDUCES YET ANOTHER CENTRAL PLAINS LOW...WITH MOISTURE/
INSTABILITY RETURN AND A CHANCE OF MORE TSRA MONDAY AFTERNOON/MON
NIGHT. TIMING OF THIS PRECIP EPISODE LIKELY TO SHIFT DEPENDING ON
HOW THE INTERVENING EPISODES OVER THE WEEKEND EVOLVE. WITH
DIFFICULTY IN KNOWING WERE THE FRONT WILL END UP DURING ANY GIVEN
PERIOD...TENDED TO FAVOR A COMPROMISE OF NUMERICAL GUIDANCE
MINS/MAXES TONIGHT THRU SUN...THEN GFS MAV AND MEX-MOS GUIDANCE
VALUES SIMILAR TO ENSEMBLE MEANS AND LOOK REASONABLE. CATEGORICAL
TSRA PROBABILITY TONIGHT. RAISED TSRA CHANCES TO LIKELY SAT/SAT
NIGHT FOR MOST/ALL OF THE FORECAST AREA.

.LONG TERM...TUESDAY THRU FRIDAY

AS PREVIOUS FORECASTER MENTIONED...THE UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN
LOOKS TO CONTINUE. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS REASONABLY SIMILAR THRU
27/00Z BEFORE DIVERGING WITH HANDLING OF THE MORE SIGNIFICANT
SHORTWAVES. LATEST RUNS NOT THAT CONSISTENT WITH THEIR EARLIER RUNS
AFTER ABOUT 26/00Z. STRONG RIDGE-TROUGH COUPLET IN THE EASTERN
PAC/WESTERN N.A. PERSISTS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH MEDIUM RANGE
MODELS SHOWING DIFFERING SOLUTIONS WITH THE BREAKDOWN OF THIS
PATTERN. THIS VARIABILITY WITH A PATTERN CHANGE IS NOT ALL THAT
UNEXPECTED...IT JUST MAKES FOR A RATHER LOW CONFIDENCE FORECAST FOR
TUE THRU FRI. GFS ENSEMBLES SHOW LOW VARIABILITY THRU 12Z TUE...THEN
BECOME QUITE NOISY AS THEY TRY TO HANDLE THE TUE/WED PATTERN CHANGE.
ENSEMBLE MEAN EVOLVES INTO A BROAD UPPER TROUGH/ZONAL FLOW ACROSS
THE NORTHERN U.S. BY LATE IN THE WEEK. IF TIMING OF THE MORE
SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVES HOLDS...THE SYSTEM EXITS MON NIGHT WITH HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST FOR A DRY DAY ON TUE.
REMOVED -SHRA CHANCE FROM TUE FOR NOW. SMALL -SHRA/-TSRA CHANCE
CONTINUES THRU MUCH OF THE EXTENDED PART OF THE FORECAST. HOWEVER
THE ENTIRE PERIOD WILL NOT BE WET. THERE WILL BE BREAKS FROM THE
PRECIP...BUT WITH THE LOW CONFIDENCE FORECAST AND INHERENT PROBLEMS
OF TIMING OF WEAKER YET SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVES THRU THE FLOW...WHICH
DAYS IN THE 4-7 DAY TIME-FRAME WILL BE DRY IS DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN
AT THIS POINT. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO BE NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS FOR
NEXT WEEK.

&&

.ARX...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT...NORTHEAST IOWA...IOWA ZONES 008>011...
     IOWA ZONES 018-019-029-030.
MN...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT...SOUTHEAST MN...MINNESOTA ZONES 079...
     MINNESOTA ZONES 086>088...094>096.
WI...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT...SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL WI...
     WISCONSIN ZONES 017...029...032>034...041>044...
     WISCONSIN ZONES 053>055...061.

&&

RRS

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1100 AM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034-
041>044-053>055-061-220900-
ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE-
FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE-
MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON-
WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA-
1100 AM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST
IOWA...SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND CENTRAL INTO SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

AMPLE INSTABILITY AND SUFFICIENT WIND SHEAR NORTH OF WARM FRONT COULD
PRODUCE A FEW SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND AGAIN TONIGHT.
THE PRIMARY MAIN THREAT SHOULD BE LARGE HAIL. IN ADDITION...LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN COULD BE ONGOING
THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF SATURDAY. MEANWHILE...THE FRONT
WILL CONTINUE LIFTING NORTHWARD...THEN BECOME QUASI-STATIONARY OVER
THE AREA. WITH THE MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE...PERIODS OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
DEPENDING UPON THE LOCATION OF THE FRONT SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BE
SEVERE. IN ADDITION LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO STILL A CONCERN
WITH THE ALREADY SATURATED SOILS IN SOME LOCATIONS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY ALSO BE NEEDED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. IN
ADDITION...RAINFALL REPORTS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

THOMPSON/RIECK

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1255 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1246 PM     HAIL             DE SOTO                 43.43N 91.20W
05/21/2004  1.00 INCH        VERNON             WI   POST OFFICE

&&

04

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
104 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1258 PM     HAIL             RETREAT                 43.45N 91.08W
05/21/2004  1.50 INCH        VERNON             WI   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

&&

04

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
118 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0113 PM     HAIL             7 SE VIROQUA            43.49N 90.79W
05/21/2004  1.75 INCH        VERNON             WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

04

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
121 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0111 PM     HAIL             LIBERTY POLE            43.48N 90.90W
05/21/2004  0.75 INCH        VERNON             WI   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

04

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
230 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0216 PM     HAIL             1 W HILLSBORO           43.65N 90.36W
05/21/2004  0.75 INCH        VERNON             WI   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

04

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
243 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0225 PM     TSTM WND GST     2 NE WEST UNION         42.98N 91.78W
05/21/2004  66 MPH           FAYETTE            IA   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

04