textproduct: La Crosse

KEY MESSAGES

- Severe weather possible tonight. Main threat is between 8 PM and 11 PM. Severe weather threats is large hail, damaging winds, and maybe an isolated tornado. In addition, with frozen ground and precipitable water values near 1 inch, this will result rises on area rivers and streams.

- Warmer temperatures return for Sunday and Monday with daytime highs peaking from the 50s into low 60s for some.

- Precipitation chances persist through the forecast longer term forecast, initially Monday night through Tuesday and again Friday into next weekend. While on the increase, snowfall probabilities remain meager 30-50%.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 244 PM CST Fri Mar 6 2026

This Afternoon into Tonight

At 2 PM, subsidence in the wake of the morning convection will cap of much of shower activity this afternoon. There has even some breaks in the clouds. The surface warm front has been moving north across Iowa today. South of this front, temperatures have warmed into the 60s and 70s and dew points are in the lower and mid-60s. North of the front temperatures and dew points are in the 40s and 50s.

As the surface low, currently in southwest Iowa, moves northeast across across northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and west-central and central Wisconsin, the warm front may lift as far northeast toward the Interstate 90 corridor. The CAMS are in general agreement that there will be ample shear and instability for supercells to develop over eastern Kansas and Nebraska this afternoon. As cold pools coalesce, line segments will move east and northeast and remain primarily south of Interstate 90 along and ahead of the cold front.

Soundings continue to suggest that most of the instability in our area will be more elevated than surface-based tonight. In the various meso models, most-unstable CAPES climb into the 250-750 J/kg south of Interstate 90. This will result in the potential of hail. The threat for damaging winds will be highly dependent on the depth of stable air near the surface. With the better surface-based CAPES up to 250 J/kg more across far northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin. This is more likely where the tornado threat would likely exist.

The severe weather timing for tonight will likely be from the 8 pm to 11 pm.

With precipitable water values around an inch and frozen ground, there will be potential for ponding and rapid run off. This will result rises on area rivers and streams.

Warm End To The Weekend Into Early Next Week:

The overall lifting nature to tonight and Saturday's cold sector allows WAA and moisture advection to return through the end of the weekend. LREF confidence (60%-80%) for daytime high temperatures into the 50s and low 60s for Sunday decreases for Monday with timing and advection of resultant frontal boundary passing through the Upper Mississippi River Valley.

Precipitation Chances Increase Monday Night Through Tuesday:

Accompanying precipitation chances increase for Monday night initially locally for the northern and southern portions of the forecast area with subsequent filling in due to a confluent pattern across the forecast area through Tuesday. Previous LREF (06.00Z) members limited locally highest precipitation probabilities in central Wisconsin due to later confluence in the synoptic pattern with recent (06.12Z) members (GEFS/EPS) bringing 60-80% probabilities for measurable precipitation in 24 hours across the forecast area through Tuesday.

Precipitation Type(s) Through Tuesday:

Cyclogenesis along the baroclinic boundary will lift east-northeast towards the forecast area through Tuesday, ushering in potential instability along our southern counties in northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin and snowfall probabilities in our northern counties in central Wisconsin. AI Convective Model (FengWu/Pangu) forecast trends have shunted higher convective probabilities south and east of the local forecast area with a more southern solution to the low track keeping the warmer sector south of the forecast area. Resultant impacts from snowfall also shunt south, primarily affecting locally northern counties in central Wisconsin at the current forecast hour.

Late Week Precipitation Chances:

A diffluent, low confidence synoptic pattern through midweek creates challenges for location of cyclogenesis along quasi-zonal to northwest flow through the end of the work week into the weekend. A stronger solution in the EPS (06.12Z) compared to previous runs raised 1" of snowfall probabilities in 24 hours to 40-60% from western into central Wisconsin locally. The GEFS remains slightly weaker, keeping probabilities for the same less than 10%.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 610 PM CST Fri Mar 6 2026

Messy aviation forecast ahead with predominant LIFR/IFR conditions due to a combination of fog, showers, and TS over the next 12 hours. As showers and TS shift east and fog reduces in coverage, areas along and northwest of a AUM-RST-MDZ axis may (30%) see some light snow and FZDZ between 10z and 16z Saturday. Post-frontal stratocumulus should keep conditions MVFR into the afternoon Saturday but eventual improvement to VFR will occur around the end of the period.

ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

WI...None. MN...None. IA...None.