@                      FXUS63 KPAH 191738
AFDPAH

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Paducah KY
1238 PM CDT Tue May 19 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Another round of showers and thunderstorms will impact the
  Quad State this afternoon into tonight, with a 60-90% chance 
  of rain peaking this evening. A few isolated strong to severe 
  storms are possible during peak heating, with damaging winds 
  being the main hazard of concern. 

- Daily rain chances continue over the next week, with at least
  a 30-50% chance or greater of rain each day. Thursday will be
  the driest day with rain chances confined to mainly the 
  south. 

- Temperatures trend below normal after today into the 70s along
  with a decrease in humidity before quickly rebounding back
  into the 80s by the weekend.

&&

.UPDATE...
Issued at 1233 PM CDT Tue May 19 2026

Updated aviation discussion for 18z TAFs.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1253 AM CDT Tue May 19 2026

An MCS upstream this morning across Missouri will set the stage for 
more unsettled weather later today. Ahead of an approaching cold 
front, an influx of moisture will cause dewpoints to rise near 70. 
High temperatures will be unseasonably warm in the mid to upper 80s 
with the exception of the far west due to more cloud cover. An 
increase in the pressure gradient will support deep layer mixing in 
the boundary layer that will yield breezy conditions with wind gusts 
between 20-25 mph. As a prefrontal mid-level impulse approaches 
midday, the CAMs differ on the redevelopment of showers and 
thunderstorms along residual outflow boundaries. The 0z ARW and HRRR 
keep convection this afternoon more scattered with storms growing 
more upscale tonight. Meanwhile the NSSL, FV3, and newer hourly runs 
of the HRRR show more robust convection occurring during the 
afternoon with a line propagating east. Despite the uncertainly in 
the timing of storm coverage, rain chances increase late this 
afternoon into the evening, peaking at a 60-90% chance. 

Although the SPC maintains a slight risk of severe weather (Level 
2/5) over much of the Quad State, the shear will be more meager 
compared to yesterday with 20-30 kts of effective bulk shear at 
best. However, given a robust MLCAPE axis of 2000 to 3000 J/kg and 
steep low-level lapse rates of 8.0 to 8.5 C/km, the thermodynamics 
will still support an isolated severe storm with damaging winds 
being the main hazard of concern if convection can become organized 
during peak heating. The main forcing mechanism will be surface 
convergence as the better upper level kinematics lift more north 
through the afternoon which may limit the potential. With that said, 
the other concern will be torrential downpours that will be capable 
of causing localized flash flooding issues in the typical low-lying 
locations with PWATs around 1.75 to 2.00 inches. 

Despite the cold front pushing south of the FA on Wednesday, daily 
chances of showers and thunderstorms will continue into the latter 
half of the week, with a 30-50% chance confined to the southern most 
counties on Thursday when the driest conditions are progged. High 
temperatures will also be a few degrees below normal in the 70s 
along with lower humidity as northerly flow associated with a ~1030 
mb sfc high pressure over the Great Lakes region advects in drier 
air. The more comfortable airmass will not last for long as the 
front lifts back north on Friday, causing humidity levels to quickly 
rebound along with a warming trend into the 80s for the upcoming 
weekend. Isentropic lift will also yield numerous showers and 
thunderstorms, with a 80-90% chance of rain peaking during the 
morning hours on the NBM. Daily storm chances then continue into 
early next week, with high temperatures trending back into the 
mid to upper 80s.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 1233 PM CDT Tue May 19 2026

Scattered convection will continue to blossom across the region
this afternoon, producing brief restrictions to vsby and cigs.
Fairly widespread coverage of -SHRA is expected tonight into
Wednesday morning, with embedded thunder aspect. Timing of -TSRA
is a bit tricky, but for now kept mention primarily during the
afternoon and again overnight. Cigs are expected to deteriorate
later this evening and overnight, eventually becoming IFR for 
many areas and stay that way into Wednesday morning. Breezy 
south-southwest winds today will switch around to northerly 
tomorrow as the cold front makes passage.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IL...Flood Watch through Wednesday afternoon for ILZ083-085>094.
MO...None.
IN...Flood Watch through Wednesday afternoon for INZ081-082-085>088.
KY...Flood Watch through Wednesday afternoon for KYZ014-018.

&&

$$

UPDATE...SP
DISCUSSION...DW
AVIATION...SP
