Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wakefield, VA

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374 FXUS61 KAKQ 081741 AFDAKQ AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 141 PM EDT Sat Jun 8 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Drier conditions continue today. A weak cold front crosses Sunday, bringing a chance for isolated to scattered showers and storms. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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As of 140 PM EDT Saturday... Key message: - Dry and warm through the afternoon with a few more clouds expected tonight. Weak low pressure has moved offshore this afternoon with high pressure building into the region from the west. Flow aloft is generally zonal with ridging across the southern half of the country and an upper trough moving across Maine. Dry and pleasant conditions continue this afternoon with temps in the low/mid 80s with extremely (by June standards) agreeable dew points in the upper 40s and low 50s. Some cirrus clouds are noted on satellite imagery streaming into the SW portions of the CWA from the NW. Dry air aloft resulting in very few (if any) cumulus clouds this afternoon. Clouds do increase a bit tonight but it should be comfortable with low temps generally in the 60s.
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&& .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 325 AM EDT Saturday... Key Messages: - Another weak front pushes through the area Sunday, with widely scattered showers and perhaps a few storms. - Cooler temps expected Monday and Tuesday with periods of isolated showers Sunday through the early week period will feature a deepening trough aloft over the eastern CONUS. There is increased confidence in this time period now that 00z global models are coming into better agreement on the synoptic pattern. At the sfc, a weak cold front will pass through the area Sunday. Precip associated with the front will probably be isolated to widely scattered. PoPs are within the 15-30% range. Showers with a few rumbles of thunder will be in the NW 2/3rds of the area in the early afternoon, then will move to the SE for the late afternoon and into the evening. Total QPF will likely only be a few hundredths. Temps for Sun should heat up to around 90 in Hampton Roads/NE NC and mid-upper 80s elsewhere. A bit more humid as well as dewpoints return to the 60s ahead of the front. For the early week period, it should be mostly dry, but cannot rule out a few periods of isolated showers/thunder given the presence of the UL trough axis, which looks to pass through the FA Monday night. Any PoPs through Tues have been kept to Schc. Temps will be below seasonal averages by Tues. Highs on Mon will range from the upper 70s in the NW to the mid 80s in the SE. Highs on Tues likely stay in the upper 70s across the entire area. Lows will generally be in the mid-upper 50s in the piedmont and low-mid 60s in the east. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 325 AM EDT Saturday... Key Messages: - Disagreements in guidance leads to uncertainty in rain chances. - Warming trend expected through the end of the week with highs reaching the 90s by Friday. Latest global guidance shows a general agreement regarding UL low pressure and trough moving offshore and lifting out mid to late week. However, the ECMWF is more amplified and deepens a surface low just offshore. This solution would bring rain to at least eastern portions of the area Tuesday night whereas other solutions keep the FA dry through the end of the week. Will favor the blended guidance for now, which is generally dry. Temps look to follow a warming trend during this period. Highs on Wed will be in the low-mid 80s, then upper 80s on Thurs, low 90s on Fri. Lows will be in the low-mid 60s Wed night, then upper 60s to around 70 on Thurs/Fri nights. && .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
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As of 140 PM EDT Saturday... VFR conditions prevail for the 18z TAF period. Not much cloud cover affecting the terminals but some cirrus is noted moving into the SW portion of the area from the W/NW. Expect clouds to increase somewhat tonight with winds becoming light and variable. SW winds increase to ~10 kt by mid morning Sunday with some gusts possible through the afternoon hours. Another cold front will bring a slight chc of showers/tstms later Sunday. A slight chc of showers/tstms lingers in to Monday, but overall VFR conditions should prevail Sunday and Monday.
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&& .MARINE... As of 345 AM EDT Saturday... Key messages: - All headlines have been cancelled. - Low rip current risk at all area beaches this weekend. The cold font has pushed well off to the SE, with sfc high pressure building across the region. All SCAs have been cancelled as winds briefly gusted to 20-25 kt across the Bay but have relaxed back down to 10-15 kt or less early this morning. Winds become W 5-10 kt today, with the gradient light enough to allow for local seabreeze development/onshore flow during the aftn. Seas will average 2-3 ft with waves generally 1-2 ft or less. Winds become SW 10-15 kt with a few gusts to 20 kt across the lower bay and coastal waters late tonight into Sunday, not enough to issue any additional SCA headlines. On Sunday, expect the rivers to be a bit gusty from the W/SW in advance of the next (weak) cold front. Overall, the surge Sunday night looks a bit weaker and probably sub-SCA again other than a brief period with potential gusts to 20kt+ Sunday evening. May see a better chance for marginal SCA conditions late Mon night/Tuesday as the front lingers along the SE coast along with a sfc trough of low pressure with high pressure building in from the NW. This would lead to elevated NNE winds, but there remains a lot of uncertainty as to the strength of the pressure gradient which most of the guidance keeps fairly weak at this time. Otherwise, high pressure builds back in by midweek w/ sub-SCA conditions continuing. There is a low rip current risk this weekend given 2 ft nearshore seas. && .AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...RHR NEAR TERM...RHR SHORT TERM...AM LONG TERM...AM AVIATION...RHR MARINE...LKB