Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV

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845 FXUS61 KRLX 230631 AFDRLX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Charleston WV 231 AM EDT Thu May 23 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Cold front brings showers/thunderstorms today. Wave grazes our area from the south late Friday/early Saturday. Daily shower and thunderstorm chances through the weekend/early next week.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 500 PM Wednesday... Did increase pops across parts of SE Ohio and Northern WV later this evening, as there is the potential for storms to refire along the cold frontal boundary to our west this afternoon/evening and potentially survive into our CWA. Otherwise, the previous forecast was mainly on track. As of 137 PM Wednesday... Thunderstorms are beginning to develop over southeast Ohio and northeast Kentucky this afternoon. A slight risk of severe weather remains in place from central WV to points north and west with the main threats being damaging wind gusts and hail. In this area, pockets of 1000-1500 J/kg of MLCAPE and 30 kts of 0-6km bulk shear will support the development of a few stronger storms. The overall best threat for severe weather today still appears to be west of our region, across central Ohio and central Kentucky, where more shear and instability will be available. There is the potential for another round of thunderstorms overnight and into Thursday morning as a shortwave approaches from the southwest. Some uncertainty exists regarding the strength of these storms, and that will depend on how much energy is dampened by this afternoon`s convective activity. Some models show any convection weakening to just showers as they approach from the west by 03-06Z. There will be another threat for stronger thunderstorms Thursday afternoon with a marginal risk currently forecast by SPC. The threat level appears to be lower than today with lower instability and shear. The main threats appear to be wind and hail once again. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/...
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As of 225 AM Thursday... An upper level short wave will interact with a frontal boundary south of the region late Friday into Saturday morning. This will cause a wave to move along the front. Models continue to struggle with the strength and timing of the short wave, and hence how far north the moisture gets and how strong the dynamics are with this system. Several models keep most of the precipitation south of the area. The best chances of precipitation will be across southwest Virginia, with chances becoming lower further to the north. A weak cold front will move into the area on Saturday or Saturday night. With the parent low in southern Canada, very little push and energy is available for the front in our area, thus not really providing much cool air. Diurnal heating should aid the front in enhancing the potential for some shower and thunderstorm activity Saturday afternoon and evening.
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&& .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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As of 225 AM Thursday... Models show a system lifting from the midwest on Sunday into the Great Lakes region on Monday. This will push a warm front across the area Sunday and Sunday night, followed by a cold front on Monday. With systems nearly every day from today into Monday, we are getting increasingly concerned with the threat for flash flooding to occur for Sunday and Monday. This will be followed by an upper level wave on Tuesday in the significantly cooler air, with yet another upper level wave on Wednesday. Models continue to have some differences on the timing of the cold front on Monday, as well as the strength and timing of the upper level waves Tuesday and Wednesday.
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&& .AVIATION /06Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
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As of 100 AM Thursday... Visible satellite and radar show a band of showers moving northeast across the area along the Ohio River with another band just to our east along the Greenbrier River Valley, but this set looks to stay just outside our area. Some lightning was previously being picked up in these, but most of the convection and looks to be dying off at this point. That said VCTS was taken out of most sites this cycle. Mainly VFR to start, even with these showers around. Periods of showers will be possible as a cold front stalls at our doorstep in Ohio this morning. MVFR/IFR conditions and gusty winds are likely within any showers. However, outside of any precipitation, fog and low stratus will likely form this morning. Sites that saw the most precipitation today will see more restrictions and coverage. MVFR/IFR possible with with fog/low stratus. There will likely be a brief period of improvement to VFR for much of the area later this morning, but another round of showers and storms will move from west to east through the area between ~15-18Z, MVFR and IFR restrictions possible in vicinity of storms. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Coverage, timing and intensity of fog/low stratus could vary from the forecast. Timing and location of storms today may vary. EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION: H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS. L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. DATE THU 05/23/24 UTC 1HRLY 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 EDT 1HRLY 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H M H H H H H H HTS CONSISTENCY H H H M H H H H H H H H BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H EKN CONSISTENCY H H L H L M M H H H M H PKB CONSISTENCY H H M H H M M H M M M M CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H M H H H M H AFTER 06Z FRIDAY... IFR possible at times in showers and storms through Monday.
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&& .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...RPY/JMC NEAR TERM...SL/JMC SHORT TERM...RPY LONG TERM...RPY AVIATION...LTC