Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
777 FXUS62 KRAH 171659 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 1159 AM EST Mon Nov 17 2025 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will build across and offshore the southern Middle Atlantic through Tuesday. A wavy frontal zone will then waver over the Carolinas Tuesday night through Thursday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 1155 AM Monday... * Unseasonably dry, and chilly tonight A mid/upr-level cyclone will move across Atlantic Canada and allow a deamplifying ridge to progress ewd from the MS Valley to the OH and TN Valleys. A srn stream, tropopause-based perturbation will outpace the deeper layer ridge and track through it from the mid-South this evening to the ern Carolinas by 12Z Tue. At the surface, ~1021-1022 mb high pressure now over the lwr OH Valley will strengthen a few millibars while migrating squarely over the srn Middle Atlantic, including cntl NC, tonight. A related, unseasonably dry airmass characterized by surface dewpoints in the teens today will only minimally nocturnally-recover into the teens, with calm, tonight. While the aforementioned srn stream perturbation will be accompanied by a small area of cirrus and cirrostratus that will likely track across srn and cntl NC during the late evening and early morning hours, skies will otherwise be clear. Excellent radiational cooling will consequently result, with low temperatures likely to range in the upr 20s to lwr-mid 30s. These temperatures are most closely represented by the MET statistical guidance and the NBM 5th-10th percentile, as has been the case throughout this fall season. Those maintaining sensitive vegetation beyond the technical end of the growing season and RAH Frost/Freeze program should take protective action. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT/... As of 215 AM Monday... * Moderating temperatures * Light rain overspreads the area Tuesday night A mid-level shortwave trough will move from the Midwest to the Mid- Atlantic through Tuesday night. Surface high pressure centered over the area will move offshore by the afternoon. This will allow a warm front, associated with a weakening sfc wave approaching from the west, to lift north across the area late in the day. The day will begin with mostly sunny skies. However, a strong zone of low and mid-level warm moist air advection will lead to increasing cloudiness during the afternoon and evening. Rain is expected to spread into the area after midnight as a ~90kt upper jet streak and associated upper divergence overspreads the area. With the strongest forcing and deepest moisture skirting north of the area, measurable rain chances should largely remain confined to areas along and north of Highway 64. Rain amounts are expected to be light, generally 0.10" or less. Southerly return flow will allow temperatures to moderate, with highs back into the lower to upper 60s, warmest across the south. Overnight lows will be mild, settling in the 40s. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 130 AM Monday... As the warm front lifts early Wednesday morning rain chances will diminish across the region. A few lingering showers across the northern VA/NC border cant be ruled out but conditions are expected to significantly improve early Wednesday. Otherwise, temperatures are expected to be 10-15 degrees above normal with highs in the 70s Wednesday-Friday and lows generally in the 50s with cooler spots in the upper 40s some nights. The next frontal system will move across the Mid-Atlantic region over the weekend but is generally trending drier overall. Latest models keep much of the rain across the north, but there are a few outliers that keep a bulk of the rain moving across NC late Friday night into Saturday. For now kept PoPs ranging from 20-35% late Friday evening through Saturday afternoon. Lingering moisture sticks around Saturday evening but NBM shows Sunday to be cloudy cool and dry. Sunday and Mondays high temperatures are expected to be in the mid to upper 60s with some areas reaching 70 across the south. Overnight lows will be in the upper 40s to 50 degrees. && .AVIATION /11Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 600 AM Monday... 24-hour TAF period: VFR conditions will prevail through the next 24 hours. Daytime heating and mixing will result in some 15-20 kt northwesterly gusts at the surface from mid morning into the afternoon today, before quickly diminishing after sunset. Outlook: Light, probably VFR rain will be possible along a frontal zone that will waver invof NC late Tue into Thu, with any associated flight restrictions more likely across VA and adjacent far nrn NC. Another system may affect the area with light rain on Fri night. && .FIRE WEATHER... As of 1130 AM Monday... An unseasonably dry airmass will remain over cntl NC and favor critical minimum relative humidity values mostly in the teens today. Nwly surface winds will be weaker than Sun, however, but still around 10 mph sustained and with occasional gusts to around 20 mph - shy of Increased Fire Danger criteria. While the airmass will begin to modify in a developing return flow regime by Tue, NWP guidance are notoriously to fast with the degree of moisture recovery. As such, minimum RH values will likely again be critical and mostly between 20-25 percent Tue afternoon, during which time swly winds will be strongest at 10-15 mph and most frequently gusty to around 20 mph over the Piedmont. Despite these very dry and critical, but only marginally gusty conditions, the NCFS did not want to waive wind criteria for an Increased Fire Danger statement. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...MWS NEAR TERM...MWS SHORT TERM...CBL LONG TERM...CA AVIATION...CBL/MWS FIRE WEATHER...MWS