Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
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469 FXUS62 KRAH 302014 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 314 PM EST Sun Nov 30 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front will move across the region early tonight. Another area of cold high pressure will build briefly overhead Monday, then offshore ahead of coastal low pressure that will develop and rapidly strengthen while tracking along and offshore the South and Middle Atlantic coasts Monday night and Tuesday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 310 PM Sunday... Water vapor imagery this afternoon depicted a strong short-wave ejecting east over the Great Lakes region. At the sfc, latest obs depict a sfc cold front moving east across central TN/KY. Ahead of this front, the MIMIC-TPW satellite depicted weak moisture advection into the Deep South/Southeast. With time, deeper moisture should stream into the southeast and into central NC, but any stronger upper forcing will remain well to our north. As such, expect just continued light rain to stream west to east across our area through the early overnight period. The actual cold front will pass through central NC late tonight through early Monday morning, with a brief period of 15 to 25 mph gusts possible between ~06 and 13Z for locations outside the northwest Piedmont where CAD will keep things stable. Additionally, a brief period of patchy dense fog will be possible, primarily across the southern/western Piedmont ahead of the front between ~03 and 8Z. Overnight lows in the upper 20s/lower 30s are expected. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... As of 310 PM Sunday... Monday will serve as a transitory day, as central NC remains wedged between the departing system off the eastern seaboard, and a digging upper trough across central US. Expect cool nely sfc flow via a sfc high centered over New England with highs reaching the mid 40s to around 50 in the south. By late Monday night, the potent upper trough will begin to lift across the TN Valley/eastern seaboard. Associated mid-level height falls and anomalous moisture will spill across the Deep South/southeast. At the sfc, a low is forecast to develop over the Gulf and ride north along the I-95 corridor through early to mid Tuesday afternoon. These sfc and upper features, along with a deep pool of moisture will promote a good soaking of rain for us with amounts of 1 to 1.5 inches widely. Most of the guidance is in good agreement riding the sfc low through our Coastal Plain, keeping the warm sector along the coast/to our south. However, if this tracks slower and further west, there could be a brief window of high shear/low CAPE overlap in our far southeast counties. Hodographs are large and curved, which, in this scenario could promote storm organization. Think the chances are limited as of now (better chances down in Georgia), but we`ll monitor trends as we get into high-res guidance range. The sfc low and associated rain/moisture will quickly skirt offshore by late Tuesday afternoon, behind which nwly flow aloft and drying will persist through 12Z Wednesday. Overnight lows in the mid to upper 20s are expected behind the system Tuesday night with some gusty nwly winds of 20+ mph possible through Wednesday morning. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 400 AM Sunday... * Dry and continued unseasonably chilly/cold, while under the influence of a couple of cold highs mid to late week * Wet late Fri-early Sat, with a slight chance of fleeting wintry across the Piedmont at onset The pattern across the mid-latitudes will remain generally cold but progressive through the period. The progressive nature of the pattern will favor a continuation of transitory and weakening Arctic highs as they migrate across the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic, then offshore. To get more than a cold rain into cntl NC, the next system from the Southwest would need to eject quickly and interact, briefly, with the retreating Arctic cold and dry, which the deterministic and ensemble guidance indicates would be fleeting at precipitation onset at best. Dry weather will prevail on Wednesday and Thursday as chilly surface high pressure builds in from the west. A second chilly high will build down from the north on Friday before moving offshore. The next wave will move across the Southeast US in the southwest flow aloft sometime Friday/Saturday, potentially spawning a coastal low and bringing additional precipitation. Details such as timing and amounts are still uncertain at this time. Below-normal temperatures will likely continue from Wednesday through Friday, with confidence decreasing by Saturday. && .AVIATION /18Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 1235 PM Sunday... A mixture of MVFR/VFR conditions are expected to start the TAF period. The approach of some light rain/showers ahead of a cold front will favor a period of some IFR to MVFR restrictions, mainly in the form of low ceilings, though some brief low visibilities are possible at RDU and RWI. The main time period for these restrictions are expected between 19 and 00z at GSO/INT and 00-07z at the eastern terminals. There could be some brief IFR conditions prior to 20z at GSO/INT but this should not be prolonged. As the front moves through, rain will end, with a return to VFR, and some gustiness is possible from the north of up to 20 kt, most favored at the eastern terminals. These northerly gusts may continue through 18z Mon at FAY/RWI. While prior LLWS was included in the TAFs, we omitted it for the 18z package given a lack of pilot reports and SSW winds developing, leading to only a minor potential. Outlook: After VFR returns Mon, another storm system will bring widespread rain and IFR or lower conditions late Mon night through Tue. VFR returns Wed and Thu under high pressure. Another late-week system may bring rain/showers late Fri-Sat. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...MWS NEAR TERM...Luchetti SHORT TERM...Luchetti LONG TERM...MWS/Danco AVIATION...AK