Hays, Kansas 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

046
FXUS63 KDDC 250558
AFDDDC

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Dodge City KS
1258 AM CDT Fri Apr 25 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- There is a 50-70% chance for strong to severe thunderstorms
  tonight.

- Unseasonably cool temperatures expected Friday.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 300 PM CDT Thu Apr 24 2025

WV imagery indicates a southwest flow aloft prevailing across the
Western High Plains. Near the surface, an area of low pressure
remains anchored in extreme southeast Colorado with an attendant
frontal boundary extending northeast through western Kansas.

Thunderstorm chances (50-70%) pick up again late this
afternoon/early evening with a similar setup to yesterday as the
SREF indicates a weak/compact upper level shortwave perturbation
ejecting northeast out of the Southern Rockies into the Western High
Plains early in the period. Meanwhile, a larger scale upper level
shortwave trough swinging east through the Upper Midwest into the
Great Lakes Region will help nudge the aforementioned frontal
boundary southward across southwest Kansas into northern Oklahoma
later this evening/overnight. Near the surface, a prevailing
southeasterly upslope flow will reinforce a moist airmass across
central/southwest Kansas with surface dewpoints holding generally in
the mid/upper 50s(F) to the lower 60s(F), supporting reasonable
instability with MUCAPE values upward of 1500 to 2000 J/kg. With
sufficient instability within a zone of steepening mid-level lapse
rates thunderstorm development is expected this afternoon as H5
vort maxima begin to kick out across the Western and Southern
High Plains, interacting with a dryline attendant to the surface
low in southeast Colorado and subsequent stalled boundary in
western Kansas as suggest by CAMs, not to mention any remnant
outflow boundaries from lingering morning convection. The focus
for storm development then shifts southward toward the Oklahoma
border through the evening hours in conjunction with the quasi-
stationary boundary beginning to shift south. The best chance
for storm development is expected to be across central/south
central Kansas and eastern portions of southwest Kansas where
the HREF shows a 30-50% probability of 6-hr QPF exceeding 0.25
of an inch by late this evening with storms potentially lingering
well into Friday morning.

Increased rain chances (60-80%) return Friday night/early Saturday
as medium range ensembles indicate a southwesterly flow aloft
returning across the Western High Plains in wake of a ridge axis
shifting east into the Central Plains. Departing surface high
pressure through the Upper Midwest will set up a east-southeasterly
upslope flow across the high plains of eastern Colorado/western
Kansas with a projected frontal boundary extending generally across
the Texas Panhandle northwest into southeast Colorado. With
sufficient moisture return providing increased instability, diurnally
driven thunderstorm development is expected in vicinity of the
frontal boundary with storms then spreading northeast into southwest
Kansas late Friday night into Saturday morning. This is supported
by the latest NBM painting a widespread 20-30% probability for
12-hr QPF exceeding 0.25 of an inch by early Saturday afternoon.

Near seasonal temperatures are forecast tonight as a weak frontal
boundary sinks slowly south through west central Kansas and portions
of southwest/central Kansas by daybreak Friday. With the HREF
indicating a 40-60% probability of temperatures dropping below 50F
in west central Kansas to a 20-40% probability of falling below 55F
in south central Kansas, look for lows in the upper 40s(F) to the
mid-50s(F). Unseasonably cool temperatures are likely Friday as
cooler air filters into western Kansas behind a cold front dropping
south into the Texas Panhandle/western Oklahoma, lowering H85
temperatures down to near 5C in extreme southwest Kansas to around
12C in south central Kansas. The HREF shows a 40-60% probability of
temperatures climbing above 55F out near the Colorado border to a
90% probability of temperatures nudging above 60F in south central
Kansas, so look for afternoon highs only up into the 50s(F) out west
to the lower 60s(F) farther east, especially if expected early
morning low level stratus lingers. A warming trend is then expected
through the weekend as departing surface high pressure returns a
southerly flow to western Kansas.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1254 AM CDT Fri Apr 25 2025

A cold front was passing through western Kansas early this
morning. Along and ahead of the front, batches of thunderstorms
will continue to develop and may affect KDDC and KHYS through
12z. In the wake of the front, CIGS will lower to IFR given a
moist upslope flow pattern, along with north to northeast winds
at 10-15 kts.The low clouds (IFR and low MVFR) will likely hang
around all day given the persistent post frontal upslope.


&&

.DDC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...JJohnson
AVIATION...Finch