Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA

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855
FXUS61 KBOX 271921
AFDBOX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
321 PM EDT Mon May 27 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
Cold front brings heavy rain and thunderstorm chances to SNE
tonight. Warmer and brighter for Tuesday with a chance for an
isolated shower/t-storm across northern MA. Temperatures then
cool off to more seasonable levels into the mid to late week
period. Though dry weather should generally prevail, there are
better chances for rains develop on Wednesday night into
Thursday. Mostly sunny and dry weather conditions for the
weekend into early next week, with a warming trend to
temperatures.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM TUESDAY MORNING/...

Low pressure continues to track to our north this evening into
southern Canada as associated cold front closes in on southern New
England from the west. Warm sector remains south and west of our
region, which will help mitigate the severe weather threat, but does
not totally limit the convective potential this evening.

Robust convective line has already developed in a NW to SE
orientation form the Syracuse to NYC area which is generally
well depicted in the 12Z NAM Nest, NSSL WRF, and ARW members of
the HREF. This line will continue to lift into the region over
the next several hours, with prefrontal downpours overspreading
SNE between 21-01Z. Convection will struggle to maintain
strength as it pushes east as we lack surface based instability
given our position in the cool sector and very very poor low
level lapse rates between 4.5- 5.5C/km, resulting in mainly
elevated convection that will capitalize on ~600J/kg MUCAPE.
This is good news, as storms will not be able to tap into low
LCLs, below 1000ft, and strong 0-1km shear present across
Upstate NY/PA, significantly curbing any tornado threat as the
front moves east.

Greatest threat with this cold front remains heavy rain with PWATs
climbing to around 2" and high warm cloud depths approaching
12,000ft. Aforementioned conditions combined with a southerly
oriented LLJ of ~40kt will lead to embedded tropical-like
downpours this evening and early overnight. Fortunately, this
front is quite progressive, looking to be offshore by ~07/08Z,
which will mitigate any significant flooding concerns. With that
said, 1-2" of rain over an urban center like Providence or
Springfield could lead to some isolated poor drainage flooding.
Moderately strong jet will be able to mix down in heaviest
downpours, yielding gusts in excess of 25kt along the frontal
boundary tonight.

Residual moisture, with dewpoints still in the upper 50s/low 60s,
and flow veering to the SW behind the front will lead to marine fog
development again overnight. Strong southerly flow, in excess of
10kt, will mitigate the fog threat across the interior, but do
expect some dense fog development overnight along the south coast
and Cape.
&&

.SHORT TERM /6 AM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/...

While some stratus and fog will hang on for the first part of the
morning, southerly flow and mid level dry air will begin to scour
out the clouds between 12-15Z, leading to a brighter and warmer day
for much of southern New England! Overnight`s cold front will stall
offshore, and given proximity to the Cape and Islands results in
cloud cover sticking around until at least the early afternoon,
though, not too optimistic that Nantucket will break into sunshine
at all. With SW surface flow and WAA, will see temperatures climb
into the upper 70s and low 80s away from the coast, and with SSTs
approaching 60F, even the south coast looks mild tomorrow, in the
upper 60s!

Trough begins to sag south from Canada tomorrow afternoon which may
initiate some spotty shower and thunderstorms across far northern MA
tomorrow afternoon and evening with ~600J/kg MUCape and low level
lapse rates approaching 8C/km. Shear will definitely be present,
with 0-6km bulk shear exceeding 50KT between 18-00Z, but mid level
lapse rates are quite poor, less that 6C/km as dry air continues to
work into the mid levels. Given this limiting factor, expecting low
topped convection at best that may result in isolated showers and a
few rumbles of thunder. Will note that instability is much higher
across SE MA/RI where temps/dew points will be a few degrees warmer,
with MUCAPE growing in excess of 1000J/kg, but shear and lapse rates
are not colocated with that axis of greatest CAPE. If showers are
even able to develop, they will be mainly north and west of
Worcester/I-495.

Winds shift to the W/NW tomorrow night which will significantly curb
the threat for widespread fog, even with dewpoints in the upper 50s
to near 60F. Cant rule out some Marine fog for the Cape and Islands,
but certainly expect it to be much less widespread than the past few
nights.

&&

.LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...

Highlights:

* Temps cool off toward more seasonable levels with comfortable
  humidity levels Wed thru Fri.

* Stronger indications for rains on Wed night into Thurs, although
  soaking rains aren`t expected. Dry weather prevails otherwise.

* Remains dry this weekend into early next week, but with steadily
  warming temperatures toward above normal levels.

Details:

The mid to late week period will be governed by a deep upper level
trough associated with a pocket of cooler air aloft (e.g. 850 mb
temps in the mid to upper single digits C range). Most of the first
part of Wednesday looks dry, although rain chances start to increase
later in the day associated with a cold front aloft. Really can`t
see too much in the way of QPF with this late-day activity
(indicated about 20-25% PoP), but the rain risk increases Wed night
into Thurs associated with shortwave trough energy rounding the
periphery of the upper longwave trough. While the Canadian GEM is
still a suppressed/southern outlier, the GFS has now depicted
showers for Wed night into Thurs, as indicated previously by the
ECMWF and its ensembles. There is more uncertainty as it comes to
QPF amts, with the ECMWF remaining quite bullish and the GFS being
lighter. Potential is increasing for at least a steadier light rain
event, but probably not looking at a soaking rain situation. Thus
brought PoPs up into the 40-55% range for now for Wed night into
Thurs. This could still be a bit conservative and could need
adjusting upward in future updates. Otherwise, dry weather prevails
into Friday. Temps in this period cool off to more seasonable levels
with no significant temperature anomalies one way or the other. Wed
looks to be the warmest in the 70s to a few low 80s, with a cooling
trend into the lower to mid 70s for Thurs and Fri, with upper 60s
near the coasts with better chances for seabreezes/onshore flow on
Thurs and Fri.

The deep upper-level trough then moves offshore as we move into the
weekend into early next week, allowing for 500 mb heights to rise
along with warming 925-850 mb temps. Expect generally dry weather in
this forecast period as high pressure over the Gt Lakes moves ESE
into the mid-Atlc waters through the weekend and remain in place
into next Mon. As 500 mb heights start to rise and low-level temps
begin a steady warming trend, expect temps to begin to rise back to
slightly above normal levels with highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s
with tolerable humidity levels (dewpoints in the lower 50s). Overall
outlook for the first weekend in June seems pretty favorable for
outdoor plans with dry weather, seasonable to slightly milder than
normal temps and low humidity levels.
&&

.AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
Forecast Confidence Levels:

Low - less than 30 percent.
Moderate - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

Through Tonight...Moderate Confidence.

Scattered moderate to heavy rain showers through ~21Z before
more stratiform rain moves into western MA. Rain will continue
to push east through ~02Z, and 05Z for the outer Cape and
Islands. Approaching cold front will generate a strong line of
thunderstorms capable of producing heavy rainfall and frequent
lightning generally between 01-07Z tonight, with TEMPOs for TSRA
lasting 2-3hours for any given terminal. Rain wraps up quickly
behind the front but its likely the fog will form again across
the terrain and south coast. IFR becoming MVFR by daybreak with
localized VFR possible except in fog where VLIFR will persist.
Winds shift from the SE to the SW behind the front and may gust
to 25kt.

Tuesday... High Confidence. Cold front stalls offshore but will
generally yield VFR conditions after 15Z tomorrow, the
exception being the Cape and Islands, especially ACK, which will
struggle to shake IFR. Brisk SW flow of up to 20kt. Some
isolated low topped thunderstorms possible in northern MA after
21Z tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow Night...
Generally VFR, though again cant rule out some marine stratus
and fog. Breezy SW flow continues.

KBOS TAF...High confidence in
TAF trends, moderate in timing.

Fog was very slow to burn off but IFR/VLIFR conditions prevail
given cigs around 003ft. Shower activity increases after 23Z
tonight with a strong line of thunderstorms brining heavy rain
and lightning between 03-06Z. Wind shift from the SW to the SE
expected behind the cold front, gusts to 25kt possible.
Improvement to MVFR and eventually VFR tomorrow.

KBDL TAF...High confidence in TAF trends, moderate in timing.

MVFR deteriorating to IFR tonight as shower activity ramps up
after 21Z. Low chance for afternoon thunder between 21-23Z. Cold
front brings a renewed, greater chance for TSRA between 01-04Z.
Conditions improve to MVFR and eventually VFR behind the front
tomorrow as winds shift to the WSW gusting to 20kt.

Outlook /Wednesday through Saturday/...

Wednesday through Thursday: VFR. Chance SHRA.

Thursday Night: VFR. Slight chance SHRA.

Friday through Saturday: VFR.

&&

.MARINE...
Forecaster Confidence Levels:

Low - less than 30 percent.
Medium - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

310 PM Update:

Small craft advisories continue on most waters tonight into Tue,
with SE winds near 25 kt and seas building to around 5 ft.

For tonight, SE winds increase to around 20-25 kt with seas 4-5 ft
offshore and around 2-3 ft nearshore. Winds will shift to SW later
in the overnight as a cold front passes over the waters. Low clouds
and fog could restrict visibility through later this evening. There
is also a risk for thunderstorms capable of lightning and brief
downpours, although severe weather is not expected.

For Tue into Tue night, SW to WSW winds around 15-20 kt are expected
with seas rising to around 5-6 ft on the southern and eastern outer
waters and around 3 ft or less nearshore. Dry weather with good
visibility

Outlook /Wednesday through Saturday/...

Wednesday: Winds less than 25 kt. Areas of seas approaching
5 ft.

Wednesday Night through Thursday: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance
of rain showers.

Thursday Night through Saturday: Winds less than 25 kt.

&&

.BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CT...None.
MA...None.
RI...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 11 AM EDT
     Tuesday for ANZ232-233-235-237.
     Small Craft Advisory until 5 AM EDT Wednesday for ANZ250-254.
     Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 5 AM EDT
     Wednesday for ANZ255-256.

&&

$$

SYNOPSIS...Loconto/KS
NEAR TERM...KS
SHORT TERM...KS
LONG TERM...Loconto
AVIATION...KS
MARINE...Loconto/KS