Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Knoxville/Tri Cities, TN

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572 FXUS64 KMRX 261132 AFDMRX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Morristown TN 732 AM EDT Sun May 26 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (Today and tonight) Issued at 221 AM EDT Sun May 26 2024 Key Messages: 1. Fog is possible early this morning in a moist and stagnant air mass. 2. Showers and thunderstorms are possible this afternoon as upstream convection may move into the area, although confidence is low on timing, coverage and intensity of storms. 3. High confidence that a line of strong to severe storms will move through the region late Sunday night/early Monday morning. 4. Localized flooding will be possible in places where soils are more saturated from recent rains. Discussion: In the upper levels, nearly zonal flow will be present today with a shortwave moving into the Tennessee Valley late tonight. At the surface, a low will move into Missouri/Illinois this afternoon with the cold front still west of the Mississippi at sunset. The low will move slowly into the Great Lakes Region by morning with the cold front just west of our region by sunrise. With clear skies maximizing radiational cooling, calm winds and abundant ground moisture, fog development is possible in the early morning hours. Currently (3 AM EDT) fog is very patchy. Uncertainty is high regarding shower/storm activity this afternoon. The CAMs are not in good agreement on coverage and timing of storms this afternoon/evening. The CAMs that do have activity this evening have isolated strong to severe storms and even some helicity tracks. The environment will be favorable for severe this afternoon/evening with CAPE in the 2K to 3K range, Effective shear 50 to 60 knots and good mid level lapse rates. The limiting factor this afternoon/evening is lack of trigger with the main front and trough well to the west but if a minor wave moves through the pattern we could get some strong activity this afternoon/evening and possibly a couple tornadoes. There is higher confidence in storms moving through late tonight as the cold front and trough approach the region. CAMs are in good agreement on a squall line moving through around 2 AM to 7 AM. CAPE will be lower at this time less than 1K in most areas but shear will be favorable around 50 to 60 knots. The main threat will be damaging straight-line winds but a few isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out with favorable 0-1 km shear (30 knots) and 0-1 km helicity (200 to 300). Rain amounts will generally be 1 to 2 inches for most locations. The line of storms will be moving fairly quickly but will likely have high rain rates. Flooding potential will be higher in places where storms do materialize this afternoon/evening and places that have had heavy rain recently. Overall, flooding is expected to be fairly isolated. && .LONG TERM... (Monday through Saturday) Issued at 221 AM EDT Sun May 26 2024 Key Messages: 1. Another round of afternoon/evening possible on Monday 2. Drier and cooler weather to begin Tuesday through the end of the week. with a gradual warming trend into the weekend. Discussion: By late Monday morning the front will be moving through the region as the line of storms from overnight should be well to the east of the Appalachians. Moving into the afternoon/evening hours we will likely see another round of thunderstorms along shortwave energy traversing the south side of the low pressure system over the Great Lakes. Storms on Monday are expected to be much weaker and more isolated in coverage, with the greatest chances to see storms being north of Interstate 40. If the sky is able to clear out earlier in the day on Monday the atmosphere could destabilize enough that some of the stronger storms are capable of producing strong winds gusts and hail during the afternoon/evening. Once the sun begins to set Monday night the better synoptic forcing and diurnal convection should quickly come to an end. For the rest of the work week we`ll generally see a trend of cooler weather, a few degrees below seasonal normals as we sit at the base of the trough which will help keep light westerly to northwesterly winds over the region. We also could see some light showers along the spine of the Appalachians with the northwest flow, but generally most of the eastern Tennessee Valley should remain dry Tuesday through Friday. Rain chances return over the weekend as a low tries to move through the eastern United States. PoP chances will remain lower at this time due to uncertainty with how far east the system is able to progress before taking a more northward course towards the Great Lakes Region. The ridging that will build in to fight against this system will also likely increase temperatures to above seasonal normals by Saturday/Sunday. && .AVIATION...
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(12Z TAFS) Issued at 724 AM EDT Sun May 26 2024 Fog is reducing visibilty near TRI but will dissipate shortly after 12Z. Model guidance is not in good agreement on shower and storm potential this afternoon and evening. Confidence is low on timing and coverage but the best chances appear to be near TYS and TRI but it is possible storms may be more isolated. The best chance for widespread thunder will be late tonight/early tomorrow morning when a line of storms moves through. Some storms may be strong to severe.
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&& .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
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Chattanooga Airport, TN 90 70 87 64 / 30 70 50 10 Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport, TN 85 68 83 62 / 40 70 70 10 Oak Ridge, TN 85 67 84 60 / 50 80 60 10 Tri Cities Airport, TN 84 64 80 60 / 50 50 70 20
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&& .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE. && $$ SHORT TERM...McD AVIATION...McD