Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA

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855 FXUS61 KBOX 271921 AFDBOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA 321 PM EDT Mon May 27 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Cold front brings heavy rain and thunderstorm chances to SNE tonight. Warmer and brighter for Tuesday with a chance for an isolated shower/t-storm across northern MA. Temperatures then cool off to more seasonable levels into the mid to late week period. Though dry weather should generally prevail, there are better chances for rains develop on Wednesday night into Thursday. Mostly sunny and dry weather conditions for the weekend into early next week, with a warming trend to temperatures.
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&& .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM TUESDAY MORNING/...
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Low pressure continues to track to our north this evening into southern Canada as associated cold front closes in on southern New England from the west. Warm sector remains south and west of our region, which will help mitigate the severe weather threat, but does not totally limit the convective potential this evening. Robust convective line has already developed in a NW to SE orientation form the Syracuse to NYC area which is generally well depicted in the 12Z NAM Nest, NSSL WRF, and ARW members of the HREF. This line will continue to lift into the region over the next several hours, with prefrontal downpours overspreading SNE between 21-01Z. Convection will struggle to maintain strength as it pushes east as we lack surface based instability given our position in the cool sector and very very poor low level lapse rates between 4.5- 5.5C/km, resulting in mainly elevated convection that will capitalize on ~600J/kg MUCAPE. This is good news, as storms will not be able to tap into low LCLs, below 1000ft, and strong 0-1km shear present across Upstate NY/PA, significantly curbing any tornado threat as the front moves east. Greatest threat with this cold front remains heavy rain with PWATs climbing to around 2" and high warm cloud depths approaching 12,000ft. Aforementioned conditions combined with a southerly oriented LLJ of ~40kt will lead to embedded tropical-like downpours this evening and early overnight. Fortunately, this front is quite progressive, looking to be offshore by ~07/08Z, which will mitigate any significant flooding concerns. With that said, 1-2" of rain over an urban center like Providence or Springfield could lead to some isolated poor drainage flooding. Moderately strong jet will be able to mix down in heaviest downpours, yielding gusts in excess of 25kt along the frontal boundary tonight. Residual moisture, with dewpoints still in the upper 50s/low 60s, and flow veering to the SW behind the front will lead to marine fog development again overnight. Strong southerly flow, in excess of 10kt, will mitigate the fog threat across the interior, but do expect some dense fog development overnight along the south coast and Cape.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 AM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/...
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While some stratus and fog will hang on for the first part of the morning, southerly flow and mid level dry air will begin to scour out the clouds between 12-15Z, leading to a brighter and warmer day for much of southern New England! Overnight`s cold front will stall offshore, and given proximity to the Cape and Islands results in cloud cover sticking around until at least the early afternoon, though, not too optimistic that Nantucket will break into sunshine at all. With SW surface flow and WAA, will see temperatures climb into the upper 70s and low 80s away from the coast, and with SSTs approaching 60F, even the south coast looks mild tomorrow, in the upper 60s! Trough begins to sag south from Canada tomorrow afternoon which may initiate some spotty shower and thunderstorms across far northern MA tomorrow afternoon and evening with ~600J/kg MUCape and low level lapse rates approaching 8C/km. Shear will definitely be present, with 0-6km bulk shear exceeding 50KT between 18-00Z, but mid level lapse rates are quite poor, less that 6C/km as dry air continues to work into the mid levels. Given this limiting factor, expecting low topped convection at best that may result in isolated showers and a few rumbles of thunder. Will note that instability is much higher across SE MA/RI where temps/dew points will be a few degrees warmer, with MUCAPE growing in excess of 1000J/kg, but shear and lapse rates are not colocated with that axis of greatest CAPE. If showers are even able to develop, they will be mainly north and west of Worcester/I-495. Winds shift to the W/NW tomorrow night which will significantly curb the threat for widespread fog, even with dewpoints in the upper 50s to near 60F. Cant rule out some Marine fog for the Cape and Islands, but certainly expect it to be much less widespread than the past few nights.
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&& .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
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Highlights: * Temps cool off toward more seasonable levels with comfortable humidity levels Wed thru Fri. * Stronger indications for rains on Wed night into Thurs, although soaking rains aren`t expected. Dry weather prevails otherwise. * Remains dry this weekend into early next week, but with steadily warming temperatures toward above normal levels. Details: The mid to late week period will be governed by a deep upper level trough associated with a pocket of cooler air aloft (e.g. 850 mb temps in the mid to upper single digits C range). Most of the first part of Wednesday looks dry, although rain chances start to increase later in the day associated with a cold front aloft. Really can`t see too much in the way of QPF with this late-day activity (indicated about 20-25% PoP), but the rain risk increases Wed night into Thurs associated with shortwave trough energy rounding the periphery of the upper longwave trough. While the Canadian GEM is still a suppressed/southern outlier, the GFS has now depicted showers for Wed night into Thurs, as indicated previously by the ECMWF and its ensembles. There is more uncertainty as it comes to QPF amts, with the ECMWF remaining quite bullish and the GFS being lighter. Potential is increasing for at least a steadier light rain event, but probably not looking at a soaking rain situation. Thus brought PoPs up into the 40-55% range for now for Wed night into Thurs. This could still be a bit conservative and could need adjusting upward in future updates. Otherwise, dry weather prevails into Friday. Temps in this period cool off to more seasonable levels with no significant temperature anomalies one way or the other. Wed looks to be the warmest in the 70s to a few low 80s, with a cooling trend into the lower to mid 70s for Thurs and Fri, with upper 60s near the coasts with better chances for seabreezes/onshore flow on Thurs and Fri. The deep upper-level trough then moves offshore as we move into the weekend into early next week, allowing for 500 mb heights to rise along with warming 925-850 mb temps. Expect generally dry weather in this forecast period as high pressure over the Gt Lakes moves ESE into the mid-Atlc waters through the weekend and remain in place into next Mon. As 500 mb heights start to rise and low-level temps begin a steady warming trend, expect temps to begin to rise back to slightly above normal levels with highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s with tolerable humidity levels (dewpoints in the lower 50s). Overall outlook for the first weekend in June seems pretty favorable for outdoor plans with dry weather, seasonable to slightly milder than normal temps and low humidity levels.
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&& .AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
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Forecast Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Through Tonight...Moderate Confidence. Scattered moderate to heavy rain showers through ~21Z before more stratiform rain moves into western MA. Rain will continue to push east through ~02Z, and 05Z for the outer Cape and Islands. Approaching cold front will generate a strong line of thunderstorms capable of producing heavy rainfall and frequent lightning generally between 01-07Z tonight, with TEMPOs for TSRA lasting 2-3hours for any given terminal. Rain wraps up quickly behind the front but its likely the fog will form again across the terrain and south coast. IFR becoming MVFR by daybreak with localized VFR possible except in fog where VLIFR will persist. Winds shift from the SE to the SW behind the front and may gust to 25kt. Tuesday... High Confidence. Cold front stalls offshore but will generally yield VFR conditions after 15Z tomorrow, the exception being the Cape and Islands, especially ACK, which will struggle to shake IFR. Brisk SW flow of up to 20kt. Some isolated low topped thunderstorms possible in northern MA after 21Z tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow Night... Generally VFR, though again cant rule out some marine stratus and fog. Breezy SW flow continues. KBOS TAF...High confidence in TAF trends, moderate in timing. Fog was very slow to burn off but IFR/VLIFR conditions prevail given cigs around 003ft. Shower activity increases after 23Z tonight with a strong line of thunderstorms brining heavy rain and lightning between 03-06Z. Wind shift from the SW to the SE expected behind the cold front, gusts to 25kt possible. Improvement to MVFR and eventually VFR tomorrow. KBDL TAF...High confidence in TAF trends, moderate in timing. MVFR deteriorating to IFR tonight as shower activity ramps up after 21Z. Low chance for afternoon thunder between 21-23Z. Cold front brings a renewed, greater chance for TSRA between 01-04Z. Conditions improve to MVFR and eventually VFR behind the front tomorrow as winds shift to the WSW gusting to 20kt. Outlook /Wednesday through Saturday/... Wednesday through Thursday: VFR. Chance SHRA. Thursday Night: VFR. Slight chance SHRA. Friday through Saturday: VFR.
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&& .MARINE...
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Forecaster Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Medium - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. 310 PM Update: Small craft advisories continue on most waters tonight into Tue, with SE winds near 25 kt and seas building to around 5 ft. For tonight, SE winds increase to around 20-25 kt with seas 4-5 ft offshore and around 2-3 ft nearshore. Winds will shift to SW later in the overnight as a cold front passes over the waters. Low clouds and fog could restrict visibility through later this evening. There is also a risk for thunderstorms capable of lightning and brief downpours, although severe weather is not expected. For Tue into Tue night, SW to WSW winds around 15-20 kt are expected with seas rising to around 5-6 ft on the southern and eastern outer waters and around 3 ft or less nearshore. Dry weather with good visibility Outlook /Wednesday through Saturday/... Wednesday: Winds less than 25 kt. Areas of seas approaching 5 ft. Wednesday Night through Thursday: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance of rain showers. Thursday Night through Saturday: Winds less than 25 kt.
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&& .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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CT...None. MA...None. RI...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 11 AM EDT Tuesday for ANZ232-233-235-237. Small Craft Advisory until 5 AM EDT Wednesday for ANZ250-254. Small Craft Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 5 AM EDT Wednesday for ANZ255-256.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...Loconto/KS NEAR TERM...KS SHORT TERM...KS LONG TERM...Loconto AVIATION...KS MARINE...Loconto/KS