Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wakefield, VA

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000 FXUS61 KAKQ 150130 AFDAKQ AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA 930 PM EDT TUE MAY 14 2013 .SYNOPSIS... A WARM FRONT LIFTS THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL BRING MUCH WARMER TEMPERATURES TO THE REGION AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. A WEAK FRONT APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE NORTH THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND SLOWLY SETTLES INTO THE ARE THROUGH FRIDAY. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING/... THE LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS INDICATES A 1025MB SURFACE HIGH CENTERED OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO, WITH A SURFACE RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING NE JUST OFF THE CAROLINA COAST. ALOFT...A PROGRESSIVE LONGWAVE PATTERN IS DEVELOPING AS THE COLD TROUGH OF THE PAST FEW DAYS MOVES OFF THE COAST...AND A STRONG RIDGE OVER THE CENTRAL US EXPANDS EASTWARD. THIS WILL PRODUCE SUBSTANTIAL WARMING ALOFT IN THE THERMAL PROFILE...BUT ESPECIALLY ABOVE 800MB...WHICH SHOULD RESULT IN CONSIDERABLE MID AND HIGH CLOUDS OVERNIGHT. AT THE SURFACE...A WARM FRONT BEGINS TO LIFT SW-NE ACROSS THE AREA LATE TONIGHT. A WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGH TRACKING NW-SE IN NNW FLOW ALOFT OVERNIGHT ALONG WITH WAA HAS ALREADY TRIGGERED A FEW SPRINKLES ALONG THE MASON DIXON LINE FROM HAGERSTOWN TO THE UPPER EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND, AND A SLIGHT CHC POP HAS BEEN RETAINED FOR A FEW SCT SHOWERS OVER THE LOWER MD EASTERN SHORE OVERNIGHT (QPF GENERALLY A TRACE TO A FEW HUNDREDTHS). LOW TEMPERATURES WILL BE MUCH MILDER IN THIS QUICKLY MODIFYING AIRMASS, WITH EARLY MORNING LOWS TO RANGE FROM THE UPPER 40S TO LOW 50S...UNDER A PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY SKY. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY/... THE WARM FRONT LIFTS THROUGH THE REGION WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH A W-E CLEARING TREND. ANY LINGERING SHOWERS OVER THE EASTERN SHORE SHOULD EXIT THE REGION EARLY. TEMPERATURES WILL SOAR ABOVE NORMAL WEDNESDAY AS THE MID-LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE REGION WITH HIGHS RISING NEARLY 20F OVER THOSE OF TODAY...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE IMMEDIATE COAST. MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE PROGGED TO STEEPEN LATER WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING. FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE A DECENT AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY ALBEIT ABOVE A RATHER STRONG CAP. THE BEST FOCUS FOR ANY CONVECTION WILL BE N OF THE LOCAL AREA (ACROSS PA) AS A WEAK FRONT DROPS DOWN FROM THE N. HOWEVER...SOME OF THE COULD CLIP THE FAR NE LATER WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING...SO A SLIGHT CHANCE/LOW CHANCE OF THUNDER WILL BE MAINTAINED. THE AFOREMENTIONED BOUNDARY DROPS INTO THE AREA THURSDAY PROVIDING AN INCREASED FOCUS FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDER. OVERALL FORCING IS RATHER WEAK...SO ANY STORMS SHOULD BE RATHER DISORGANIZED AND HENCE WILL FORECAST NO HIGHER THAN A 40 POP. SIMILAR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY WITH THE PRIMARY FOCUS FOR CONVECTION SHIFTING S AS A WEAK HIGH PUSHES INTO THE NE CORNER OF THE AREA. HIGHS THURSDAY SHOULD BE IN THE IN THE LOW TO MID 80S (AWAY FROM THE ATLANTIC COAST) AND LOWER A FEW DEGREES TO 80-85 FRIDAY. LOWS SHOULD LARGELY BE IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY THROUGHOUT THE EXTENDED PERIODS REGARDING SMALLER SCALE FEATURES...HOWEVER THE OVERALL MESSAGE REMAINS THE SAME. SFC HIGH PRESSURE AND UPPER LEVEL RIDGING DOMINATE THE WEATHER PATTERN WITH WARM AIR ADVECTING IN THE REGION FROM THE SW. IN REGARD TO TEMPERATURES...SATURDAY APPEARS TO BE THE COOLEST DAY IN THE LONG RANGE FORECAST AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH CROSSES NRN NEW ENGLAND AND HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SFC BRINGS A BRIEF COOL DOWN TO THE REGION. SAT HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S...LOW-MID 70S ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST DUE TO PERSISTENT ONSHORE/ELY FLOW. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO SLOWLY REBOUND BY A FEW DEGREES EACH DAY FROM SUN INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES OVER THE ERN SEABOARD. HIGHS GENERALLY IN THE LOW-MID 80S (MID-UPPER 70S IMMEDIATE COAST) WITH LOWS SAT-MON GENERALLY IN THE LOW-MID 60S. IN REGARD TO PRECIPITATION...VARIOUS SHORTWAVES/MOISTURE PASSING THROUGH W-NW FLOW ALOFT...IN ADDITION TO DIFFERING LONG RANGE MODEL SOLUTIONS...WILL MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO NAIL DOWN EXACT TIMING OF POTENTIAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WILL THEREFORE CARRY A CHANCE FOR AFTN/EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WITH LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS DURING THE OVERNIGHT AND MORNING TIMEFRAMES FOR FRI NIGHT THROUGH MON. && .AVIATION /02Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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MID LEVEL WAA CLOUDINESS WILL PASS OVER THE AREA IN NW FLOW THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. AS A WARM FRONT PASS TO THE EAST OF THE REGION...THIS CLOUDINESS WILL SCATTER OUT. WINDS WILL BECOME GUSTY FROM THE SOUTHWEST ON WEDNESDAY. RADAR RETURNS OVER THE MD EASTERN SHORE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ANY SIGNIFICANT PCPN DUE TO DRY AIR IN THE LOW LEVELS. OUTLOOK...MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM TIME TO TIME...ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTN AND EVENING WHICH MAY BRIEFLY LOWER AVIATION CONDITIONS. ALSO PATCHY FOG NEAR SUNRISE WILL BE PSBL BY THE WEEKEND.
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&& .MARINE...
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RAISED SCA FOR THE BAY AS WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO BETWEEN 15 AND 20 KNOTS PER MOST MODELS. ALSO SURFACE TRANS WINDS PER NAM INDICATE WINDS REACHING 20 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. SEAS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN THE COASTAL WATERS TNGT AND WEDNESDAY AS MUCH AS WAVE WATCH AND SWAN AS THESE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO OVERDUE THE SEAS DURING SHORT LIVED SOUTHERLY FLOW EVENTS. CURRENT FORECASTS HAVE WINDS IN MUCH OF OUR WATERS RUNNING 15 TO 20 KNOTS ON WEDNESDAY. AS AIR TEMPERATURES WARM SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN WATER TEMPERATURES...THESE WINDS MAY REMAIN ELEVEATED AND OUR FORECAST WINDS MAY NEED TO BE LOWERED A BIT BY THE MID SHIFT. THEREFORE...THE SCA FOR THE BAY FOR NOW EXPIRES AT 14Z WEDNESDAY. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... HI PRES SLIDES INTO THE ATLC TNGT...AND A WEAK WARM FRONT WILL MOVE ACRS THE AREA LATE TNGT INTO WED MORNG. W OR VRBL WNDS 10 KT OR LESS THIS EVENG...WILL BECOME S AND INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 KT LATER THIS EVENG INTO WED MORNG. SSW WINDS 15 TO 20 KT WILL CONTINUE WED INTO WED NGT...AS WARM FRONT LIFTS ENE OF THE REGION AND PRES GRADIENT TIGHTENS A BIT MORE. WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...WITH SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. SEAS COULD GET TO 5 OR 6 FT OVR THE NRN CSTL WTRS WED EVENG/NGT...BUT FOR NOW DID NOT ISSUE A SCA. WINDS BECOME WNW AND WEAKEN WED NGT...THEN BECOME VRBL THU AFTN. A WEAK FRONT WILL THEN DROP ACRS THE AREA LATE THU INTO FRI MORNG...WITH WINDS SHIFTING FM SW TO THE N OR NE ARND 10 KT OR LESS.
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&& .AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...NONE. NC...NONE. VA...NONE. MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EDT WEDNESDAY FOR ANZ630>632- 634. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AJZ NEAR TERM...AJZ/MAM SHORT TERM...AJZ LONG TERM...BMD AVIATION...LSA MARINE...TMG/LSA

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