Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wakefield, VA

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675 FXUS61 KAKQ 110016 AFDAKQ AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 816 PM EDT Mon Jun 10 2024 .SYNOPSIS... An upper level trough lingers over the area through Tuesday with a few isolated showers possible tonight across the north and isolated to scattered storms likely near the coast on Tuesday. High pressure moves in from mid to late week with a warmup expected. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM TUESDAY MORNING/... As of 345 PM EDT Monday... Key message: - A few isolated showers are possible across northern portions of the area this evening into early tonight. Current surface analysis depicts an upper level trough moving towards the East Coast with a surface trough over MD and N VA. Temps as of 300 PM were mainly in the low-mid 80s with dew points in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Highs today a degree or two warmer. The upper level trough (and surface trough) continue to move towards the local area this evening while a weak surface low develops over central VA. CAMs show just spotty shower development, mainly over the NW by late afternoon. However, with low dew points across the area and shallow cloud moisture depth, don`t expect much to reach the ground before the evening. As such have only a slight chance for showers by late afternoon across the far NW. By tonight, as the upper level trough tracks closer to the area, along with weak sfc convergence as a weak surface low and cold front moves through, PoPs increase to ~30% across the N, with lower chances S. Models show some instability closer to the coast tonight, however, confidence in thunder is quite low. As such, have removed thunder from the forecast. Showers gradually taper off from W to E overnight with clouds clearing late and overnight lows in the mid 50s NW to the mid 60s SE. Total QPF of only a couple hundredths of an inch of rain is possible. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... As of 345 PM EDT Monday... Key Messages: - Isolated to scattered storms develop along the sea breeze Tuesday. A few storms may be strong to severe across far southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina. An upper level trough lingers through Tue before moving offshore. Meanwhile, a surface trough is expected to be centered across NE NC into far SE VA. A sea breeze is expected to develop by late Tue morning into early Tue afternoon and gradually push inland through the day. Behind it, dew points in the mid 60s (potentially higher) are expected. These higher dew points combined with modest mid-upper level lapse rates of 6.5-7 C in the 850-500 mb region should allow for MLCAPE of 1500-2000 J/kg. Meanwhile, 0-6km shear of 30-40 kt exists (highest across NE NC) with most of the shear above 700 mb. The combination of MLCAPE, shear, and modest lapse rates should allow for some strong to locally severe storms to develop along the sea breeze as early as around noon and continuing through the afternoon. Small to marginally severe hail as well as strong to severe downbursts are the main threats. As such, SPC has introduced a marginal risk for severe storms across this area (extreme SE VA and NE NC). Storms taper off by late afternoon into the evening as the seabreeze pushes farther inland while the upper level trough moves E. Isolated to scattered storms will also be possible across the rest of the coastline and especially the Eastern Shore Tue afternoon, however, shear and instability are lower in these areas with general thunderstorms expected. Total QPF of ~0.25" (locally 1"+) is expected across extreme SE VA/NE NC with mainly <0.2" elsewhere. Highs Tue will be cooler in the upper 70s NW to the mid 80s SE. High pressure moves in Wed with drier weather and highs in the mid 80s. Lows in the mid 50s W to low-mid 60s E Tue night and lower 60s W to mid-upper 60s E Wed night. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 345 PM EDT Monday... Key Messages: - A warming trend is expected through the end of the week with highs reaching the mid 90s by Friday. - Mostly dry into early next week with only a slight chance for a few evening showers and storms Friday and afternoon showers and storms Saturday. A ridge builds over the East Coast from mid-late week while surface high pressure gradually moves offshore. This will allow for dry conditions and a warming trend from mid-late week as highs increase from the upper 80s to lower 90s Thu to the mid 90s on Fri (lower 90s along the coast). While temps will be hot by Fri, dew points in the 60s will act to mitigate the heat index from being much warmer than the actual air temp. That being said, we could be looking at heat indices in the mid-upper 90s on Fri afternoon. A cold front moves through Fri night with a few isolated showers or storms possible along it Fri evening across NE portions of the FA. A few additional storms are possible across the S Sat afternoon. The upper level ridge builds back in to the East Coast this weekend into early next week with warm temps continuing. Highs in the mid-upper 80s NE to the lower 90s SW Sat, low-mid 80s E to the upper 80s to ~90F W Sun, and upper 80s to lower 90s Mon. && .AVIATION /00Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
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As of 815 PM EDT Monday... VFR conditions to begin the 00z/11 TAF period. A weak front/surface trough will cross the region this evening, with a few isolated to widely scattered showers through around midnight N of RIC and through ~06z NW IVOF of SBY. Confidence in any showers reaching SBY is too low to go with more than VCSH in the TAFs. Clouds clear late tonight into Tue morning before CU increase in coverage by mid- late morning (especially along the coast). Light W-NW winds become NE < 5 kt late. Isolated to scattered storms are expected to develop by early Tue afternoon along a sea breeze boundary across far SE VA/NE NC and the eastern shore. Storms may produce small hail as well as strong winds and short-lived LCL MVFR-IFR VIS. The best chance is at ORF/ECG. Any showers/storms taper off by Tue evening. In addition to the convection, CIGs may drop to MVFR briefly Tue morning into early Tue afternoon along the coast (potentially impacting ORF/PHF/ECG). Winds become N 5-10 kt Tue, becoming E (due to the seabreeze) along the coast Tue afternoon. Outlook: VFR conditions should prevail with dry weather Tue night through Friday.
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&& .MARINE... As of 330 AM EDT Monday... Key messages: - Brief increase of S-SE winds to 15 kt this evening ahead of a weak cool front. - Winds turn northerly later tonight. - Generally quiet marine conditions expected through Thursday before an increase of S-SE winds on Thu night and Friday. Winds will turn south to southeast late this afternoon into this evening ahead of a weak cold front/trough. Latest high resolution models suggest a bump up of winds especially across the southern Chesapeake Bay and adjacent coastal waters to near small craft advisory conditions (18kt). The high res ensemble guidance shows about a 60% probability of 18kt winds. However, these high res models tend to be a tad high with winds in the lower bay. As such, will increase winds late this afternoon and this evening to 15 kt with a few gusts to 20 kt, but keep out any SCA. Winds turn northerly tonight behind this feature. Will continue with 10-15 kt winds through Tuesday, then decrease these winds as high pressure builds overhead. High pressure moves offshore by the end of the week, likely causing S-SE winds to increase once again to near SCA. Waves generally 2 feet or less through much of the week. Seas will likely build to 2 to 4 feet over the ocean later in the week as the high shifts offshore. Despite winds becoming slightly onshore on Tuesday across the southern waters, the rip current risk will remain low through Wednesday with surf heights of 1-2 ft. && .AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...RMM NEAR TERM...RMM SHORT TERM...RMM LONG TERM...RMM AVIATION...MAM MARINE...MRD