058 FXUS63 KDVN 081842 AFDDVNArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL 142 PM CDT Wed Oct 8 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Patchy frost is possible again tonight, mainly for areas along and north of Interstate 80
- Slight chance (20-30%) of very light rain late Thursday/Friday; most areas to remain dry
- Prolonged period of above normal temperatures and mostly dry conditions this weekend and into much of next week; drought conditions to persist or worsen next week
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.SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 142 PM CDT Wed Oct 8 2025
A large area of high pressure will continue to loiter over the western Great Lakes tonight, and gradually shift to the east on Thursday. This, along with upper-level ridging, will keep our skies clear through at least Thursday afternoon.
The main focus for the short-term continues to be on frost potential for tonight. The ECMWF ensembles continue to indicate the aforementioned high pressure system will only strengthen tonight, and with clear skies and light winds, this should support another chilly night via radiational cooling. We expect tonight should generally be cooler than this morning as the surface high approaches the local region, so we have gone on the colder side of the model spectrum (near the 25th percentile), resulting in low temperatures in the middle 30s northeast to near 40 to the south. Some patchy frost is possible tonight, especially for locations along and north of Interstate 80 where temperatures closer to the middle 30s are most likely. Due to the patchy nature, we will hold off on any frost headlines at this time.
The high pressure system will continue to shift eastward on Thursday, resulting in southerly return flow and slight warm air advection to help temperatures warm to the upper 60s to near 70.
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.LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... Issued at 134 PM CDT Wed Oct 8 2025
Thursday Night-Saturday...a compact upper low will dive southeast across the Great Lakes, dragging a cold front through the region. As mentioned in the previous discussion, moisture will be limited as shown by 1000-500mb RH progs and forecast soundings. In addition, better forcing will be displaced to our north and southwest, so while we still have 20-30 percent PoPs, it may end up just being sprinkles or a very light shower. Not what we need to help the increasing drought conditions. An interesting note with the 12z guidance is the NAM has come in with a slower and deeper 500mb low that lingers over Lake Michigan on Saturday. If this verifies, then Saturday may be cooler with more clouds especially in northern IL.
Saturday Night-Wednesday...500mb ridge to slide east over the local area while the aforementioned upper low interacts with another system near the Carolina coast. This ridge will then build across the central CONUS early next week (592 dam centered over Dallas) and, unfortunately, keep any remnants of Priscilla to our west. This will also result in another prolonged period of warm and mostly dry conditions, with well above normal highs in the upper 70s/lower 80s and lows in the 50s. The latest 6-10 Day temperature outlook from CPC has very high probabilities (>70%) of above normal temps for the Oct 13th-17th timeframe. Those wanting consistent Fall conditions will need to wait a little longer to break out the jackets.
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.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1222 PM CDT Wed Oct 8 2025
VFR conditions will continue throughout the TAF period as an area of high pressure remains anchored to the western Great Lakes. Northeasterly winds this afternoon will weaken overnight and gradually turn more southwesterly for Thursday, remaining around 5 to 10 knots during the daylight hours.
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.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...None. IL...None. MO...None.
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SHORT TERM...Schultz LONG TERM...Gross AVIATION...Schultz
NWS DVN Office Area Forecast Discussion