Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC

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330 FXUS62 KRAH 190800 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 400 AM EDT Sun May 19 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front will move south across southern NC and SC Sunday morning. High pressure will follow and extend across the southern Middle Atlantic through Tuesday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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As of 355 AM Sunday... A positive tilt mid/upr-level trough will move across and offshore the Middle and South Atlantic through tonight. The most prominent shortwave perturbation, evident as a compact cyclone over wrn TN in the 00Z 250 mb upr air chart last evening, will move from the TN Valley this morning to the GA/SC this afternoon. While height falls and forcing for ascent will be maximized along the track of that feature (ie. south of cntl NC), a weaker disturbance now over MD will move south and across VA/NC through 00Z Mon. At the surface, a cold front now draped from sern NC wwd across n- cntl SC will continue to make steady progress swd and across SC and the Savannah Basin today. Ridging over the Middle Atlantic will follow and extend across NC with associated nely flow. Widespread low overcast that has developed in the post-frontal, nely low-level flow regime over cntl NC will lift and scatter partly to variably cloudy from northwest to southeast this afternoon-evening. While the focus for light measurable rain will result over far srn NC this morning, near and north of the aforementioned cold front, the weak disturbance approaching from MD/VA may result in the development of a few very light showers/sprinkles over the ne Piedmont and Coastal Plain this afternoon. Continued clearing skies this evening-early tonight will result in the development of radiation fog and stratus, later tonight-Mon morning. Temperatures and dewpoints will be 5-10 F lower than Sat on average, with highs mostly 70-75 and lows in the 50s to around 60.
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&& .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... As of 341 AM Sunday... Under mid-level ridging, cool nely flow will continue on Monday as high pressure extends down the eastern seaboard. Dry weather is expected with some continuation of stratocu likely through the early evening. Low-level thicknesses will rebound a bit compared to Sunday, but temperatures will still top out a few degrees below normal in the mid to upper 70s. Dry weather and cooler overnight lows in the mid 50s is expected. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 341 AM Sunday... Upper pattern through the extended: Mid-level ridging will largely hold over the eastern US before shifting offshore through Wednesday evening. The next series of upper troughs will then lift through the Great Lakes Thursday and potentially the TN Valley on Friday/Saturday. Tuesday through Wednesday: By Tuesday, the air mass will start to moderate some as flow turns a bit more ely, and then sely/swly Wednesday into Thursday. However, overall Tuesday and Wednesday should be dry with temperatures warming into the lower to mid 80s. Thursday through Saturday. Ensembles continue to suggest the potential for periods of rain over this time as upper forcing from the aforementioned upper features move overhead. On Thursday, an upper trough will lift through the Great Lakes. Some mid-level energy associated with this feature may trickle down into our northern locations and promote showers/storms later in the day. However, the better forcing and low-level moisture transport appears to stay well to our north, and thus as of now will maintain just slight chance to low chance POPs during this time. From Friday onward, there is a bit better agreement amongst ensembles simulating a potentially potent short wave riding through the TN Valley and eventually over central NC through Saturday. Still a bit far out to get into specifics, but This setup could provide a bit better coverage in showers/storms for our area early this weekend. There is high probabilities amongst ensembles that temperatures will exceed the mid 80s both Thursday and Friday. The quartile spread widens a bit more over the weekend, likely due to differing solutions wrt to any sfc boundaries. Regardless, temps will likely remain in the 80s this upcoming weekend. && .AVIATION /06Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 150 AM Sunday... Widespread, generally IFR ceilings throughout cntl NC this morning will lift through MVFR after 14-15Z and scatter to VFR from northwest to southeast - first at INT/GSO and latest at FAY. Looking ahead: After a return to VFR conditions this afternoon, lingering boundary layer moisture could result in sub-VFR cigs again late tonight and Mon nights. Otherwise, expect largely VFR conditions Mon through Wed. The next chance for sub-VFR conditions will be Thu/Thu night with cold front and associated chance of showers and storms. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...MWS NEAR TERM...MWS SHORT TERM...Green LONG TERM...Luchetti AVIATION...MWS/KC