Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wakefield, VA

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088 FXUS61 KAKQ 141731 AFDAKQ AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 131 PM EDT Fri Jun 14 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will be centered off the coast today, bringing a warmup to the region to end the week. A cold front pushes through tonight with a chance for a few showers and storms. Dry with seasonable temperatures over the weekend, followed by a hot and mainly dry pattern next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 650 AM EDT Friday... Key Messages: - Warm today with moderate humidity levels, a chance for storms this evening and tonight. Surface analysis shows developing low pressure off the SC coast with another area of low pressure over eastern Canada. A front extends SW from this low into the Midwest states. Satellite imagery shows mostly clear skies across the area. Upper ridge builds NE from the southern Plains toward the local area as the aforementioned cold front translates SE. Expect mostly sunny skies today with high temperatures in the low 90s inland with onshore flow keeping temps in the mid and upper 80s near the coast. Dew points continue to be fairly low, mixing into the low-mid 60s, which will serve to keep the heat index from being much warmer than the actual air temp. Guidance is now in agreement that the coastal low pressure will remain safely south and east of the local area. The cold front approaches late this afternoon and crosses the area this evening into the overnight hours. Hi-res guidance has trended toward less coverage of showers and storms with this feature but will maintain PoPs in the 20-50% range (highest N and NE) this evening. Any lingering showers/storms near the coast should move offshore after midnight. Overnight low temps range from the mid 60s to low 70s. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 300 AM EDT Friday... Key Messages: - Dry weather and cooler temperatures (seasonable) return for Saturday into Sunday. Cooler on Saturday with pleasant humidity values behind the front. Highs rise into the mid to upper 80s but dew points mix out into the 50s to low 60s during the afternoon. Mostly sunny skies will prevail with northerly winds continuing through the afternoon. Could be a bit breezy, especially near the coast. Continued dry and pleasant Saturday night with lows dropping into the upper 50s to low 60s. Surface high pressure to the north will move offshore on Sunday as an upper ridge builds NE. High temps will be a degree or two above what we will see on Saturday with highs in the upper 80s inland with low to mid 80s near the coast. Dew points remain comfortable in the upper 50s to low 60s. Low temps Sunday night in the low/mid 60s inland with upper 60s likely for coastal locations. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 300 AM EDT Friday... Key Messages: - Hot and dry weather returns next week, likely persisting through the end of the forecast period. Models continue to depict the upper level ridge building across the eastern 1/3 of the CONUS next week. Global models have come into decent agreement showing the center of the upper ridge orienting just N and NW of the local area. The ECMWF continues to be the most bullish with upper heights but the GFS/GEM and their ensembles generally agree that a period of hot temperatures will occur across the area next week. With the core of the upper ridge displaced to the N, will maintain some degree of onshore flow across the area. Highs should be into the low-mid 90s well inland, but will tend to stay in the upper 80s to lower 90s closer to the coast. The continental origin of the ridge will likely mitigate heat indices. The current forecast has heat indices through midweek right around the actual air temperatures, generally in the low to mid 90s. An inverted upper trough moves eastward to the south of the upper ridge mid to late week which may allow a few showers and storms to form over the southern CWA. Overnight lows slowly creep up through the week and range from the upper 60s to lower 70s. && .AVIATION /18Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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As of 130 PM EDT Friday... A weak front will be advancing southward across the area during the late evening and overnight period. This front will likely touch off isolated to widely scattered showers and storms, especially from just north of KRIC over to KSBY between 00-06z Sat. Included VCSH at SBY where confidence is highest. MVFR CIGs are also forecast at KSBY from 06z-12z Sat, with VFR prevailing elsewhere outside of isolated shower/storm influences. Winds will be light from the S-SE through this evening before the frontal passage causes winds to shift around out of the N early Sat morning. Winds will average 10 kt or less with VFR conditions and mostly clear skies Sunday into early next week as high pressure gradually shifts off the coast.
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&& .MARINE... As of 300 AM EDT Friday... Key Messages: - Southerly winds turn northerly early Saturday morning behind a cold front. Northerly winds are expected to gust to around 20 kt for a few hours Saturday morning. - Sub-advisory conditions are expected through the remainder of the weekend into early next week. Southerly winds have diminished to 10-15 kt and will remain in that range today as a cold front slowly approaches from the north and low pressure tracks well offshore. Could see the S-SE winds occasionally gust to 20 kt for a few hours this aftn/evening on the bay. The aforementioned cold front is progged to cross the waters early Saturday morning, allowing winds to turn northerly. There will be a weak surge behind this front (peak winds are expected to occur between 6-11 AM with gusts to 20 kt likely for a few hours), but not confident enough in frequent 20-25 kt gusts on the bay to issue a 3rd period SCA given the marginal nature/short duration of the potential event. Local wind probabilities of sustained 18 kt winds are 25-40% on the bay for a 2-4 hour period Saturday morning. Sub- SCA conditions are expected Sat aftn-Sun with NE to E winds around 10 kt as high pressure builds toward the waters. The high will shift offshore by Monday, allowing winds to become S-SE at ~15 kt for the early part of next week. Seas generally 2-3 ft over the ocean with 1-3 ft waves on the bay through the period, although seas will briefly build to 4 ft by mid to late Saturday morning behind the cold front. Will continue with a moderate risk of rip currents for the northern beaches today, with a moderate risk of rip currents for all of the beaches on Saturday. Surf height during these periods of moderate rip current risk will reach 3 feet. && .CLIMATE... Record highs are not expected Friday, but are listed below for reference as RIC could be close: - RIC: 99 (1926) - ORF: 97 (1945) - SBY: 97 (1945) - ECG: 98 (1944) && .AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AJB/RHR NEAR TERM...RHR SHORT TERM...RHR LONG TERM...AJB/RHR AVIATION...JDM/RHR MARINE...ERI CLIMATE...AKQ