AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 646 AM CST SUN MAR 12 2006 .DISCUSSION... ...HIGH RISK FOR A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OUTBREAK TODAY WITH VERY LARGE HAIL DAMAGING WINDS AND A POTENTIAL FOR STRONG AND LONG-TRACK TORNADOES OVER THE ENTIRE AREA... TODAY IS ONE OF THOSE DAYS OF DAYS WE ALL DREAD. CONDITIONS ARE GOING TO BE RIPE FOR A POTENTIALLY DISASTEROUS DAY OF WEATHER FOR THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA OF MISSOURI AND ILLINOIS. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A PUBLIC WEATHER OUTLOOK HEADLINING THE SPECIFICS OF THE VOLATILITY OF THE WEATHER TODAY AND TONIGHT. AN UNUSUALLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE BISTATE AREA FROM THE WEST. STRONG PRESSURE FALLS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN OVER CENTRAL KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. A TEMPORARY SURGE OF COOLER AIR HAS DROPPED TO A POINT FROM CHICAGO TO 50 MILES SOUTH OF ST LOUIS TO SPRINGFIELD BUT IT WILL STOP AND RETURN BACK TO THE NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. THE AIR IS EXTREMELY UNSTABLE AND WARM HUMID AIR WILL RETURN NORTH ACROSS THE BISTATE AREA WITH EXPLOSIVE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT FORECAST TO BEGIN BY MIDDAY. EVERY EMERGENCY MANAGER...EVERY SPOTTER...EVERY MEDIA SOURCE THAT HAS WEATHER COVERAGE...AND EVERY PERSON SHOULD MAKE WEATHER THE TOP PRIORITY. LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD PLAN TO HAVE EXTRA PEOPLE ON TAP TO HANDLE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND STRONG LONG-TRACK AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY TORNADOES ARE LIKELY TODAY AND TONIGHT. STORMS THAT FORM COULD BECOME TORNADIC IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. PREPAREDNESS ACTIVITIES SHOULD START NOW. PEDIGO