Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC

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889 FXUS62 KRAH 300538 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 135 AM EDT Thu May 29 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A weak cold front will move through the area tonight, bringing a reinforcing shot of cooler/drier air to the area for the rest of the week. High pressure will build in behind the front and remain in place across the Mid Atlantic through Saturday. && .NEAR TERM /TONIGHT/... As of 925 PM Wednesday... The front currently crossing the forecast area doesn`t have much of a temperature difference nor a wind difference, but can primarily be detected by a dewpoint gradient - RDU`s 9pm dewpoint was 50 degrees while Rocky Mount`s was 65. As expected, all isolated showers that developed were north or east of the forecast area, and it appears that the rest of the night will remain dry. Although there are currently a good amount of mid level clouds across the state, skies should become mostly clear after midnight. Overnight lows will be a couple degrees cooler than last night, with nearly all locations in the 50s and some isolated low 60s. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT/... As of 237 PM Wednesday... Troughing will remain in place on Thursday. Much like today, a weak shortwave aloft will rotate through the flow, over the mountains, and into the Piedmont. However, Thursday`s wave will be displaced much farther south and there are about 15-20/100 ensemble members suggesting precip across portions of the northern Coastal Plain late tomorrow afternoon into the evening. There will be very little to no instability available by the time the wave arrives late in the day so anything that develops should have a very limited thunder threat. Similarly, given dry air in place across the area, QPF will be limited to a few hundredths of an inch or less. Temps Thursday will be a few degrees lower than today - highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Friday morning lows still in the low to mid 50s. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH Wednesday/... As of 200 PM Wednesday... * Unseasonably cool and notably less humid on Friday and Saturday. * Turning warmer and more humid early next with with a limited threat of a shower or storm. A vigorous mid and upper level trough will move off the mid-Atlantic and Carolina coast early Friday followed by a north to northwest flow aloft into Saturday. A narrow mid and upper level ridge will move into the mid-Atlantic on Saturday and off the coast by Saturday night. At the low levels, a cool and dry air mass will move into the region on Friday morning with dew points in the 40s and low level thickness values in the 1360s to start the day. The result will be a really nice weather day on Friday with mainly clear skies with highs 3 to 8 degrees below average, generally ranging in the mid and upper 70s. Lows Friday night into Saturday morning will range in the upper 40s to lower 50s, or about 6 to 10 degrees below average. Expect an increase in mid and high clouds on Saturday as the ridge axis moves overhead and cirrus clouds spill into the area. It will remain dry with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s, which is near or just a degree or two below average. A light southerly flow develops on Saturday and especially Saturday night resulting some dew point recovery. In addition, a disturbance aloft moves into the region providing a bit more cloud cover. These features should result in milder lows on Sunday morning in the mid and upper 50s. The upper level pattern becomes more zonal early next week and a few disturbances aloft move toward the region, especially on Tuesday and Wednesday. With surface high pressure setting up off the Southeast coast, a southwesterly flow develops early in the week and continues through Wednesday. This will result in a moderating air mass and an increase in deep level moisture. PW values increase from around 0.5 inches on Friday to more than 1.5 inches on Wednesday. Accordingly, there is a very small risk of a shower or storm on Monday with a marginally greater but still rather limited risk on Tuesday or Wednesday with PoPs generally in the slight to very low chance range. Highs by Tuesday and Wednesday will moderate into the upper 80s to lower 90s with lows in the mid to upper 60s. -Blaes && .AVIATION /06Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
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As of 135 AM Thursday... There is high confidence in VFR conditions through the TAF period ending at 06z Friday. An upper level disturbance moving through the area during the evening and overnight hours may bring a passing shower INVOF RWI after midnight. However, given the limited moisture little to no impacts are expected. Otherwise, light N-NWLY winds are expected behind the exiting cold front. Outlook: Dry VFR weather likely through Saturday with high pressure overhead/offshore. As the high moves offshore Sunday, return flow will advect moisture into the area with stratus/non-VFR weather possible Sunday and Monday. Chances for rain will also return Sunday through early next week.
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&& .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Leins NEAR TERM...Green SHORT TERM...Leins LONG TERM...Blaes AVIATION...CBL/Leins