


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Mt. Holly, NJ
Issued by NWS Mt. Holly, NJ
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488 FXUS61 KPHI 132031 AFDPHI Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 431 PM EDT Sun Jul 13 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Very warm and humid air will be over the region this week. A cold front will move eastward into the region late Monday, and then become stationary in our area on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will move northward as a warm front on Thursday. Another cold front approaches toward the end of week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/... The biggest concern through this period is the potential for heavy rain and flash flooding, particularly with the storms late Monday into Monday night. Radar showing a north to south band of convection from the lower Susquehanna Valley into the southern Poconos, grazing Berks and Carbon counties. Latest hires guidance has convection moving slowly eastward for the rest of the afternoon but it should weaken by the time it reaches the Delaware Valley area by early to mid evening. With light winds and surface dew points in the lower 70s tonight, low clouds and patchy fog will develop again. Best chance for lower visibilities in fog are in southern New Jersey, the Poconos, and Lehigh Valley. On Monday, a front will approach the area at the surface at the same time a short wave trough in the mid and upper levels crosses our area. Models have trended slightly later with the arrival of the front. Storms will happen well ahead of the front, but it may mean especially for places like Delmarva and South Jersey that storms are much later to arrive. Heavy Rain/Flash flooding risk: More detail of the heavy rain/flash flooding risk is below in the hydrology section. However, this remains the main concern with any showers and thunderstorms on Monday, particularly in the afternoon and evening. There is enough of a risk that a flood watch for flash flooding was issued for southeastern PA and in New Jersey from the I-195 to I-80 corridors. Depending on what guidance depicts with the 00Z model runs, the watch may need to be expanded to include far NW NJ and the southern Poconos. To the southeast of the watch (including Delmarva and South Jersey), given the slightly later trend, not as confident that storms will be as prolific rain producers by the time they reach those areas. Other hazards: Aside from lightning, the only other risk to talk about with the storms tomorrow is a small (5 to 15%) chance for gusty winds. Overall, DCAPE values are very low, but there is potential for precip loading to develop into a wet downburst with stronger storms. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... The previously mentioned front is expected to stall over our region through mid week. A mid to upper level short wave ridge will try to build in from the southwest, which could work to suppress coverage of convection despite the presence of the decaying frontal boundary. However, there is uncertainty in how quickly this ridge will build east. Scattered showers and storms are probable Tuesday and Wednesday, primarily in the afternoon and evening, and especially along and south of where ever the frontal boundary ends up. Precipitable water values will remain well above average, so locally heavy downpours will remain possible. At this point, the risk for severe hazards is low. Seasonable temperatures with humid conditions can be expected through this period. High temperatures will be mainly in the mid to upper 80s, with muggy nighttime low temperatures in the low to mid 70s. Fog formation is possible for areas during the late nighttime and early morning periods, but this will be dependent on precipitation occurrence and mixing. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... This period will start off with a focus of dangerously hot conditions, before another cold front approaches the region late in the week. Humid air will remain in place, and with continued southwesterly flow (before the next cold front arrives), warm air advection will continue. As such, heat index values near or above 100F will be possible across most of the area (excluding higher terrain in the Poconos and NW NJ) on Thursday. Depending on the timing of the cold front, similar hot and muggy conditions could continue on Friday. This pattern supports a continuation of the showery and stormy summertime pattern. Expect mostly diurnally driven afternoon/evening showers and thunderstorms, that will be limited in coverage. However, the next cold front will probably end up being a focus for more widespread rain. As for severe hazards, no strong signal either way; if the front comes in during peak heating (which is unlikely at this point), then the risk for severe storms could increase. Heavy downpours will remain possible through the entire week. The severe thunderstorm potentially will probably be more mesoscale drive than synoptic, typical of July. && .AVIATION /21Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... The following discussion is for KPHL, KPNE, KTTN, KABE, KRDG, KILG, KMIV, KACY and surrounding areas. This afternoon...MVFR ceilings becoming VFR. Thunderstorms possible west of the Delaware valley. Light Southeast winds. Tonight...Scattered thunderstorms this evening west of the Delaware valley, otherwise VFR early. MVFR to IFR in low ceilings after midnight. Light south wind. Monday...VFR. MVFR in scattered afternoon thunderstorms. South wind 5 to 10 knots. Outlook... Monday night through Friday...Overall, prevailing VFR conditions. However, afternoon and evening SHRA/TSRA may result in brief periods of sub-VFR conditions daily. Sub-VFR conditions are also possible overnights/early mornings due to low clouds and fog, but uncertainty remains on this potential, so confidence is low. && .MARINE... Winds and seas should generally stay below Small Craft Advisory criteria through Monday. gusty winds could be possible in the vicinity of any thunderstorms late tomorrow. Outlook... Monday night through Thursday...Winds and seas should stay below Small Craft Advisory criteria through this period. Showers and thunderstorms are possible daily, primarily in the late afternoon and evening hours. Rip Currents... Monday, winds will be out of the south-southeast at 5-10 mph with breaking waves around 1 to 2 feet. This combined with a 1-2 foot easterly swell around 6 seconds in length will result in a LOW risk for the development of dangerous and life threatening rip currents at all beaches. Tuesday, southerly winds 5-10 mph with breaking waves around 1 to 2 feet. This combined with an easterly swell around 1 foot at 6-7 seconds in length will result in a continued LOW risk for the development of dangerous and life threatening rip currents at all beaches. Rip currents occur often in the vicinities of jetties and piers and the speed of the currents are generally maximized at low tides. For specific beach forecasts, visit weather.gov/beach/phi && .HYDROLOGY... As mentioned above, there is a risk for heavy rain leading to flash flooding with any showers and storms Monday. A flood watch for flash flooding was issued for southeastern Pennsylvania, and the I-195 to I-80 corridor in New Jersey. As mentioned by the previous shift, there are a lot of factors that are increasing our risk for flash flooding. To start, the pattern shows some similarities to the Maddox Synoptic Event pattern, with the front becoming quasi stationary and limited wind shear between the low and upper levels. Model soundings indicate a tall, skinny CAPE profile typical of a heavy rain pattern. Expect precipitable water values well above the 90th percentile for this time of year, and possibly close to daily records. Additionally, the warm cloud layer should be quite deep, and storm motions, although slightly faster than what we have seen Friday and Saturday, will still be less than 20mph. The only factors not present that typically are with heavy rain events is that wind shear will be weaker than typical (near or below 10 kt), and there doesn`t look like there will be much of a low level jet for moisture transport. This could limit how long individual cells last before dissipating. Additionally, confidence is lower than normal on the placement and amount of precip given how poorly high resolution models have depicted the showers and thunderstorms today. At this point, the biggest concern is for flash flooding on roadways, in urban areas, and for small streams and creeks. What areas have flash flooding will be highly dependent on where the heaviest downpours set up. Significant main stem river flooding isn`t expected. && .PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...Flood Watch from Monday afternoon through Monday evening for PAZ060>062-070-071-101>106. NJ...Flood Watch from Monday afternoon through Monday evening for NJZ007>010-012-015. DE...None. MD...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Franklin NEAR TERM...Franklin/Johnson SHORT TERM...Johnson/Staarmann LONG TERM...Johnson/Staarmann AVIATION...Franklin/Johnson/RCM MARINE...Franklin/Johnson/RCM HYDROLOGY...Johnson