FXUS63 KFGF 181134 AFDFGF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 634 AM CDT Mon May 18 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Another round of showers is expected this afternoon through tonight, bringing a two day total of a quarter to half inch for nearly all areas. && .UPDATE... Issued at 634 AM CDT Mon May 18 2026 Drizzle and scattered showers continue this morning across the area, along with an increase in north winds. Cloudy skies are expected through the day, with drizzle winding down late this morning. Additional shower activity is expected this afternoon and evening, however, followed by a surge of cooler air. UPDATE Issued at 640 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026 Severe potential continues to dwindle in our southeast (Wilkin, Grant, Ottertail, Wadena counties) with a small hail threat the main concern as of now through about 10-11pm. Could see some hail up to dime size but even that feels like a stretch. IN OTHER NEWS ITS RAINING. For the first time since mid to late April for most we are seeing rain totals over a quarter inch which should immensely help to put a damper on blowing dust and fire danger. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 144 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026 ...Synopsis... Severe convection potential looks to remain mainly in west- central Minnesota this afternoon/evening as model guidance continues to prog the main surface-based instability barely approaching southern Grant County. Elevated instability remains expected to ascend north of the warm front this afternoon, bringing the potential for elevated showers and thunderstorms across southeast North Dakota and west-central Minnesota. Areas that see storms through the evening will have the potential to see rainfall exceed 1 inch. Elsewhere, generally expect rainfall totals between a quarter inch to half inch. For severe convection potential, see the severe section below. Rainfall should exit the region late this evening/early tomorrow morning giving a brief break from precipitation before the main upper trough ejects over the intermountain west. As this trough ejects, it looks increasingly likely that a swath of precipitation will dump a broad swath of at least a quarter of an inch of precipitation. Unfortunately, there looks like there will be a region between where rain falls today and where rain falls tomorrow that could see very limited rainfall amounts, which may exacerbate ongoing dryness. Instability will be well cut off tomorrow so severe thunderstorms and thunderstorms are not expected to develop. The remainder of the period will be characterized by relatively cool temperatures through midweek with frost/freeze potential Wednesday morning. Drier conditions will also return but with flow aloft being relatively weak, the probability for red flag conditions is low. ...SEVERE POTENTIAL TODAY... Surface analysis this afternoon shows the warm front roughly situated just north of Sioux Falls. This has allowed intense isentropic ascent over our area, bringing some solid moisture content to the region. This warm front remains expected to propagate northward this afternoon and bringing surface moisture with it. CAM guidance continues to generally prog the surface instability south of our CWA, barely scraping Grant County. Per HREF probabilities, there is only a 10% chance to even see 500 J/kg of SCAPE. MUCAPE also is very closely attached to this warm front and shares similar probabilities as a result. Having said that, shear associated with the front is rather strong, approaching 50+ knots. There will be a brief window this evening (likely at most 1-2 hours) wherein severe convection may impact our west-central Minnesota counties. Any severe convection will most likely be hail as storms are likely to be elevated as storm relative winds in the 0-2km layer are most likely to be due easterly, so it will be difficult to ingest warmer air to the south. If surface-based convection arises, tornadoes can't be ruled out but again this is very unlikely at this time and would require very strong propagation northward in the warm front. The window of severe thunderstorms ends roughly close to midnight at the latest, but should generally be out of the area by 8-10 PM CDT. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 634 AM CDT Mon May 18 2026 LIFR to IFR ceilings prevail at all TAF sites this morning except KBJI, where MVFR ceilings are being reported. Look for continued low ceilings and drizzle this morning, with cloudy skies and IFR ceilings through much of the period. Showers move back into the area late this afternoon and evening, with the potential for LIFR conditions once more as BR and light rain impact visibility. Shower activity should gradually wind down overnight, however, there is support for continued IFR ceilings heading into Tuesday morning. Winds remain out of the north through the TAF period at all TAF sites. Gusts will range from 25-30 knots at KGFK, KFAR, and KDVL from late this morning through the evening hours. && .FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...None. MN...None. && $$ UPDATE...Lynch/TT DISCUSSION...Perroux AVIATION...Lynch