Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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825 FXUS62 KILM 210342 AFDILM Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 1142 PM EDT Mon May 20 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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High pressure will shift offshore bringing warmer temperatures this week. A stalling cold front will bring rain chances starting Friday.
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&& .UPDATE...
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Cancelled the Coastal Flood Advisory but otherwise no big changes with the latest update. The concern overnight will be the risk for fog, mainly away from the coast, which could become locally dense.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/... A ridge axis sfc-aloft, oriented SW-NE across the Carolinas today, will transition very slowly eastward through Tuesday. Time-height cross sections show a very dry column above 800 mb, and the low- level moisture gets even shallower tomorrow. As a result, rain chances will be nil, although some stratus development will be possible late tonight. With the surface ridge remaining inland, northeast flow will continue tonight and through most of Tuesday. Lows tonight will be a couple of degrees below climo, however with more sunshine on tap, and given the positive height anomalies overhead, high temps Tuesday should reach seasonable norms of lower to mid 80s. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... Winds still out of the NE Tuesday night as wedge of high pressure still sites to our north. This will bring fairly quiet weather and seasonable temperatures. A slight retreat of this high will turn winds more onshore and then southerly Wednesday bringing highs in the mid to upper 80s. The continued WAA will add about 5 degrees to Wednesday night`s lows compared to its predecessor. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Humidity will be creeping up on Thursday but zonal flow just upstream from an offshore mid level ridge should keep the area rain- free. Changes get underway on Friday as the ridge moves farther offshore and some vort-laden southwesterly flow impinges upon the area from the west. This will also drive a front towards the area. The best mid level forcing and surface boundary arrive Friday night, which appears to offer better rain chances than Friday`s daytime hours. The weekend forecast details are murky as the boundary likely stalls out in the area. It`s not that any given day late in the period looks like a washout but temperatures will hinge considerably on the uncertain placement of the boundary. At this time it appears that the boundary does not in fact push through and temperatures will remain elevated above climatology. && .AVIATION /04Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
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High confidence in mainly VFR conditions across SE NC and NE SC through the 06Z TAF period. Expect some restrictions from low clouds/fog toward daybreak and possibly again late in the TAF period. IFR or worse conditions are possible but confidence is too low to mention anything worse than MVFR for now. Light N/NE winds this morning will shift to the E/SE this afternoon but mostly stay 10 kt or less. Extended Outlook...Morning vis/cig restrictions possible each day with showers/storms return Thursday night, otherwise VFR.
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&& .MARINE... Through Tuesday: Surface ridge inland is resulting in a moderate gradient across the waters. The gradient will ease up this evening into Tuesday as the high slowly transitions eastward, and winds will begin to veer from NE to E by late Tuesday. Tuesday night through Saturday... High pressure still nosing in from the NE at the start of the period keeping winds NE to E and quite light, generally capped at 10kt. A light southerly component develops on Wednesday as the ridge axis retreats to the N. The remainder of the period will feature a SW wind that will become more and more typical as we head further into the warm season as the Bermuda high establishes increasing semi-permanence. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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NC...None. SC...None. MARINE...None.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...ILM UPDATE...RJB NEAR TERM...CRM SHORT TERM...MBB LONG TERM...MBB AVIATION...RJB MARINE...MBB/CRM