Radiational Cooling
Friday, August 21, 2026 · 6:23 PM
Watch and listen
Lyrics
Low rain and storm chances east of Interstate sixty-five today and tomorrow, best chances across the Plateau. Overall drier with slightly below-normal temperatures this weekend with fog possible tomorrow and Sunday mornings. Low to medium rain and storm chances next week with seasonal temperatures. Upper-level troffing! Shortwave disturbance! Drier tropospheric air! Low seventies dewpoints! One point three inches precipitable water! Light northwesterly wind! Plateau convective coverage! Calm winds! Clear skies! Radiational cooling! Low seventies dewpoints lingering! Humid conditions! Valley fog development! Weak perturbation! Rotating from the northwest! Isolated storm chances! Radiational cooling! Valley fog! Radiational cooling!
The forecast discussion
KEY MESSAGES
Updated at 618 PM CDT Fri Aug 21 2026
- Low rain and storm chances east of I-65 today and tomorrow, best chances across the Plateau.
- Overall drier with slightly below-normal temperatures this weekend with fog possible tomorrow and Sunday mornings.
- Low to medium rain and storm chances next week with seasonal temperatures.
SHORT TERM
(Rest of today through Saturday) Issued at 1150 AM CDT Fri Aug 21 2026
Upper-level troughing is situated across the eastern CONUS and an embedded shortwave disturbance is now moving off to our east.
Drier tropospheric air has now worked into the region with PWs in the 1.3" range, though surface dewpoints in the low 70s are lingering making for humid conditions today.
Overall we expect lesser convective coverage today with only low rain/storm chances focused across the Plateau this afternoon and evening.
Otherwise we'll enjoy a light northwesterly wind today with scattered clouds.
Mostly clear skies and calm winds will support radiational cooling tonight, so fog development is possible, especially across the valleys and cooler rural areas.
Another weak perturbation looks to rotate in from the northwest tomorrow which has resulted in additional rain shower/isolated storm chances.
LONG TERM
(Saturday Night through next Friday) Issued at 1150 AM CDT Fri Aug 21 2026
Troughing will remain in place this weekend with northwesterly flow persisting across our region.
This will favor slightly below-normal temperatures with cooler overnight conditions into Monday.
The trough will slowly migrate east by Tuesday which will help bring temperatures up a couple degrees.
This will also open the door for an axis of higher PWs/instability to push into the area from the west.
At least a couple of passing shortwave perturbations are progged to move through the northwesterly flow aloft which should foster isolated to scattered rain/storms Tuesday through Thursday.
Forecast temperatures are essential right at seasonal norms most days next week.