Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Cleveland, OH

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212 FXUS61 KCLE 261045 AFDCLE Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Cleveland OH 645 AM EDT Sun May 26 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Low pressure will track northeast from the Mississippi Valley toward the central Great Lakes today and tonight, lifting a warm front into the area today followed by a cold front on Monday. A few disturbances will cross the area Tuesday into Wednesday before high pressure returns Thursday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/...
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630 AM Update... Dense fog/low stratus have expanded west into southeastern Cuyahoga County and northern Summit County. Opted to expand the Dense Fog Advisory to include these zones. Diurnal mixing should kick in pretty quickly this morning so still think that 10 AM is more than sufficient for an expiration time. No changes needed with this update beyond making adjustments to the headline. Previous Discussion... Areas of dense fog have developed across interior NW PA and NE OH, primarily in river valleys and locations that received rainfall on Saturday. A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for inland zones including Geauga and Portage counties east, however a period of patchy dense fog is possible in Summit, Lake, and far eastern Cuyahoga counties right around sunrise. The advisory ends at 10 AM, but it`s likely that most fog is gone by 8 or 9 AM since diurnal mixing will kick in pretty quickly. The forecast becomes quite challenging later today. A warm front will lift north into at least the southern half of the area today as low pressure lifts northeast from the Mississippi Valley towards the central Great Lakes with a shortwave crosses the area along the warm front late this afternoon into this evening. The shortwave will lift a line of showers and thunderstorms into southwestern zones at around 21Z/5 PM. There has been quite a shift in guidance in the last 12-24 hours with most CAMs hinting at a bit more instability across the area and the better LLJ support over the area this afternoon into early to mid evening rather than overnight, which could result in an earlier window for severe weather potential and perhaps slightly higher chances since convection will be occurring during a more diurnally favorable period. With that being said, stronger convection to the south could rob the area of additional moisture and destabilization will depend on the location of the warm front when the shortwave crosses the area. If destabilization does occur, damaging wind gusts will be the primary threat but can`t rule out large hail in the Slight Risk area. Instability wanes with the loss of diurnal heating this evening, so the severe weather risk should diminish as the storms track northeast. There may be enough helicity/shear (shear values are ~30 knots) for potential for a few tornadoes in the western half of the area. If a scenario with higher low level moisture pans out, heavy rainfall will be possible but the flooding threat will be low since storms will be quite progressive. The line should exit the area shortly before midnight. The next round of showers and thunderstorms will likely clip the area overnight into Monday morning as an MCS tracks across the Ohio Valley and a pre-frontal shortwave ripples across the region. The nocturnal severe weather risk has shifted south into the Ohio Valley where the MCS will take advantage of the best LLJ and instability. Will need to keep an eye on guidance and mesoscale features throughout the day though, especially if the afternoon/earlier evening convection does not materialize. Any precip may less progressive and PWAT values as high as 1.5 inches may result in locally heavy rainfall and a low-end flooding threat, primarily south of US-30. The aforementioned low will track northeast across the central Great Lakes Monday and its cold front will cross the CWA Monday morning and afternoon. Scattered showers/storms remain likely in the eastern half of the local area Monday morning and afternoon and can`t rule out a few stronger storms in far eastern zones as the front begins to exit during peak heating. By that time, the best forcing/instability will likely be to the east of the area so the severe weather threat is low in NW OH/NW PA. Today`s highs will be in the low to mid 80s with overnight lows in the 60s. Temps will be a bit cooler Monday and anticipate maximum temps in the mid 70s.
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&& .SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... Shortwave troughs will continue to move along the parent upper level trough for much of the short term period, resulting in additional potential for showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday. Initially on Monday night, a few lingering showers are possible across the eastern counties as a surface cold front moves east of the area, but any dry period will be shortly lived as another shortwave advects energy across the area Tuesday morning. The best chance of showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday should be downwind of a northwest flow across Lake Erie, but with diurnally instability and enough moisture elsewhere, cannot rule out additional showers and thunderstorms over the remainder of the area through Tuesday night. On Wednesday, another weak cold front will move southeast across the area, marking the transition to a dry period for the end of the week. By Wednesday night, high pressure and an associated upper level ridge will finally be pushing east and drying out the area. High temperatures on Tuesday will climb into the upper 60s to low 70s for much of the area before cooling behind the departing cold front to only reach into the 60s on Wednesday. Overnight lows will also gradually cool from the mid to upper 50s on Monday night to the mid 40s by Wednesday night. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... A dominant upper level ridge and associated surface high pressure over the central portion of the US will act as the primary moderator of weather through the long term period. This will allow for at least a couple dry days, but will also result in temperatures again climbing to above normal for this time of year with highs reaching into the upper 70s to low 80s by Saturday. There is a bit of difference in the timing of the progression of the ridge, but either way it looks to remain over the area. && .AVIATION /12Z Sunday THROUGH Thursday/...
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Patchy fog and low stratus are producing non-VFR conditions at NE OH/interior NW PA terminals. Conditions should improve to VFR no later than 14Z. A line of showers and thunderstorms will lift northeast into the area late this afternoon or early this evening (~20-21Z) and reach NW PA before Midnight. The showers/storms should be progressive so any non-VFR visibilities should be short-lived at any given terminal. A few strong gusts to 25 to 35 knots are possible within thunderstorms from KCLE to KMFD west. There will likely be a brief break in precipitation before the next round of showers begin to lift into the area towards after 06Z tonight. This round of showers will likely bring better chances of non-VFR conditions. There will likely be at least some embedded thunder, but guidance is variable with the coverage. Outlook...Non-VFR possible in showers and thunderstorms Monday. Periodic Non-VFR conditions may persist in scattered showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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&& .MARINE... Low pressure over the Plains will move northeast towards the region today, extending a warm front north of Lake Erie this afternoon. This will result in east winds of 5-10 knots transitioning to south- southwest winds at 10-15 knots which will persist into Monday. On Monday, a cold front will move east, again shifting the winds to gain a more westerly component and increasing to 15-20 knots for the nearshore waters and up to 25 knots for the open waters. With an established onshore component, waves will build to 3-5 feet throughout the day on Monday, additionally creating hazardous swimming conditions with an increased risk of rip currents. One or two additional weak cold front will move east across the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, keeping winds from west-northwest, but gradually weakening them to 10-15 knots by Wednesday morning. This period will likely need a Small Craft Advisory, but held off for one more forecast period to get a better handle on timing. Late Wednesday into Thursday, high pressure will build across the region, allowing for winds on Lake Erie to persist on Thursday from the north-northwest at 10-15 knots before weakening to below 10 knots through the end of the week. && .CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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OH...Dense Fog Advisory until 10 AM EDT this morning for OHZ011-013- 014-021>023-033. PA...Dense Fog Advisory until 10 AM EDT this morning for PAZ002-003. NY...None. MARINE...None.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...Maines NEAR TERM...Maines SHORT TERM...Campbell LONG TERM...Campbell AVIATION...Maines MARINE...Campbell