FXUS63 KARX 192357

AFDARX



Area Forecast Discussion

National Weather Service La Crosse WI

657 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2026



.KEY MESSAGES...



- Warmer temperatures into the weekend with highs by Saturday 

  mostly in the mid 60s to mid 70s.



- Low precipitation chances (15 to 30%) for Saturday night into

  Sunday.



- Mild temperatures next week with highs generally near to

  slightly above normal.



&&



.DISCUSSION...

Issued at 143 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2026



Today-Saturday: Warmup Into the Weekend



A ridge situated over the western US will move east as we head into 

the weekend. The 850mb temperatures for Saturday are between 9 and 

16C according to the latest LREF. Latest NBM probabilities for 70F 

are between 30 and 70% for areas of southeast Minnesota, southwest 

Wisconsin, and all of northeast Iowa. Soundings for Saturday are 

showing a potential good mixing day with good southwest flow aloft, 

around 15 to 25 kts at 925 mb. Combining the warmer near surface 

temperatures with the warm air advection moving into the region 

could result in some records on Saturday, particularly for areas 

along and west of the Mississippi River. As far as temperatures go 

for today and Friday, expect highs in the mid 40s to mid 50s today 

and the mid 50s to mid 60s for Friday. Highs on Saturday are 

currently forecasted to largely be in the mid 60s to low 70s. There 

are some factors to consider for how warm we truly can get for 

Friday and Saturday and those are the March sun angle and the amount 

of snowpack leftover. Looking at today, temperatures have already 

overachieved by a few degrees thanks to that March sun angle and the 

mostly clear skies. If most of the snowpack melts today and Friday, 

temperatures could overachieve on Saturday, which could result in 

more low to mid 70s across much of the forecast area.



Sunday-Thursday: Mild Temperatures with Low Precipitation Chances



Northwest flow aloft returns Sunday and stays over the region 

through midweek. This will allow for a few systems to move through 

the Upper Midwest. Most of the precipitation stays north of the 

forecast area with a couple of waves, one on Sunday and another on 

Thursday providing some low end preciptiation chances, around 15 to 

30%. With this flow pattern, temperatures largely stay near to above 

normal with highs generally in the 40s and 50s.



&&



.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/...

Issued at 631 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2026



VFR expected outside of central Wisconsin where a mix of MVFR-

LIFR ceilings will be sprinkled with visibility impacts

overnight into Friday morning. 



&&



.CLIMATE...

Issued at 631 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2026



Record warmth potential Saturday, March 21st, 2026:



                   Forecast / Record High 



Rochester, MN:          71  /   70  (1918) 

La Crosse, WI:          73  /   75  (2022)



&&



.ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

WI...None.

MN...None.

IA...None.



&&



$$



DISCUSSION...Cecava

AVIATION...JAR

CLIMATE...JAR