Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Jackson, KY
Issued by NWS Jackson, KY
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
797 FXUS63 KJKL 061956 AFDJKL AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Jackson KY 356 PM EDT Mon May 6 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Our main shower and thunderstorm potential lasts through Thursday, with a smaller possibility at times through the weekend. - Severe thunderstorms are possible Tuesday through Wednesday night. Large hail and damaging winds are the primary threats, but there is also a small risk of tornadoes. Locally heavy rainfall could also lead to flooding. - Above normal temperatures are forecast through Thursday. A cold front should pass late in the week and turn temperatures below normal through the weekend. && .UPDATE... Issued at 1258 PM EDT MON MAY 6 2024 Did several updates throughout the morning, first to freshen up the temps/dew points/winds based on the latest observations, and then to update the pops/weather based on the latest trends. Overall precip is likely throughout the day, but there were 2 defined lines that went through this morning. We may have a bit of a break for an hour or two before the next round of precip moves in and develops in the afternoon. Will continue to monitor the radar and make updates as needed. All updates have been published and sent to NDFD/web. UPDATE Issued at 700 AM EDT MON MAY 6 2024 Did a quick update of this morning`s low temperatures. Based on recent obs, it appears that no appreciable ridge valley split occurred overnight or early this morning, so the morning lows needed to be refreshed to match current trends with lows being warmer by a couple of degrees at a number of locations. Also used the latest obs to freshen up the rest of the hourly forecast grids(dewpoints, RH, winds, etc). Lastly, made a few minor tweaks to the precip probability grids between 9 and 12Z this morning, but this should not affect the existing zone forecast text product. && .SHORT TERM...(Today through Tuesday) Issued at 521 AM EDT MON MAY 6 2024 Active weather expected across eastern Kentucky to kick off the new work week. Showers and storms will become quite numerous today and tomorrow, especially during the afternoon and evening periods during peak heating and when instability will be maximized. The triggers for convection the next two days will be series of waves of low pressure and a couple of surface fronts. Today`s showers and storms, which were already ongoing when the 4 am forecast package was sent out, will continue to increase in coverage through out the day, as a wave of low pressure moves eastward along a sluggish surface frontal boundary. The rain should taper off a bit overnight, but conditions should still support scattered shower and storm activity during the night into early Tuesday morning. Another round of widespread showers and storms are expected for Tuesday, as cold front moves in from the west. Showers and storms should be most widespread Tuesday afternoon and evening as the front begins moving across Kentucky. With strong instability, ample low level moisture, and decent wind shear, conditions late in the day Tuesday will support severe weather. Large hail and damaging wind gusts will both be possible Tuesday, with locally heavy rainfall, frequent cloud to ground lighting, and isolated tornadoes being secondary threats. The models have been a bit all over the place regarding areal coverage and timing of shower and thunderstorm activity on Tuesday. The higher resolution models such as the CAMS, HREF, and NAMNEST are all producing isolated to scattered showers and storms at best on Tuesday, with most activity only initiating during the mid to late afternoon. The WPC forecasts have been consistently showing widespread precipitation affecting the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, and upper Midwest regions the past couple of days. Considering how moist and unstable the atmosphere is going to be today and tomorrow, it shouldn`t take much to fire showers and storms across our area. That being said, in spite of the issues the models are having, went with high precipitation chances across eastern Kentucky today and Tuesday, especially during the afternoon and evening hours each day. Scattered showers and storms will likely continue overnight tonight, as the low level jet remains active. Dewpoints will also likely be surging into the mid and upper 60s on Tuesday across most of the area, lending further support to widespread shower and storm activity and severe weather potential. With a steady flow of warm moist air surging in the area, temperatures should remain well above normal to begin the week. We will see highs today rising into the mid to upper 70s across most of the area, and into the upper 70s and lower 80s on Tuesday, as strengthening southerly flow brings even more warm air into the area. The primary weather concerns today and tomorrow will be the potential for severe weather on Tuesday and locally heavy rainfall both days. Confidence is increasing that we will see some sort of severe weather Tuesday afternoon or evening. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Monday) Issued at 356 PM EDT MON MAY 6 2024 A warm front will lift northward on Wednesday ahead a surface cold front and low pressure across the Plains. This will put a good portion of the Ohio Valley into the warm sector, with decent agreement on this among the ensemble and deterministic data. The caveat to Wednesday is how convection evolves Tuesday into Tuesday night. This thunderstorm activity Wednesday will come in two waves. The first will be any activity that is able to develop in the warm sector. These would have to potential to be more supercell like with all hazards possible. However, it would seem the better parameter space for this would be central and western Kentucky, as MLCAPE rises to 2000-3000 J/kg amid 40-50 knots of effective shear. This would be ample for organizing convection and all hazards would be possible. The further east you go leads to less certainty given the potential for morning convection and left over cloud cover here in eastern Kentucky. However, some medium range CAM guidance such as experimental C-SHiELD do show some warm sector supercell potential even here in the east. This will have to be watched close in forecast updates. Now the second threat will be a line of convection (QLCS type) that develops ahead of the front and propagates east Wednesday evening into Wednesday night. This would pose more of a wind threat, but a quick spin up tornado can`t be ruled out. This as effective STP values climb to around 2-3 and effective shear increasing to 40-50 knots through the evening. A cold front will push across the area Thursday and will keep 60-90 percent chance of PoPs going mainly in the morning. We will see storm chances decrease through the day. By Friday, the ensembles and deterministic show a positively tilted trough axis pushes into and through the Ohio Valley. This will keep chances of showers going Friday in the 20-40 percent range. This will also usher in a cooler airmass, with afternoon highs topping out in the low to mid 60s. This is around 10 degrees below normal for this time of year. The somewhat active pattern does tend to roll on into the weekend, as several shortwaves dive into the Ohio Valley. The rain chances will generally be in the 20-40 percent range during this period. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday afternoon) ISSUED AT 218 PM EDT MON MAY 6 2024 Bit of a messy period starting. Scattered showers and thunderstorms have been impacting the TAF sites throughout the day so far. The period is starting off in a bit of a break between waves, however the western most TAF sites should begin to ramp back up with showers/storms within the next couple of hours. Most TAF sites should expect showers and thunderstorms by 22Z. These will taper off to more scattered and isolated activity by this evening and overnight, before ramping back up during the daytime hours on Tuesday. A round of strong to potentially severe storms will begin to push into eastern KY by the end of the period, and will continue on into the late afternoon and evening. Overall, TAF sites should remain VFR outside of any heavier showers or storms that move through, which could temporarily drop CIGS and VIS. CIGS will then begin to lower overnight, with several sites expected to drop to MVFR at times. These lower CIGS may continue into the day Tuesday. Right now SYM may have the most impacts, as CIGs here may drop below IFR criteria overnight, recovering to MVFR during the day tomorrow. Winds will generally be out of the SW throughout the period and under 10kts, though any showers or storms could lead to some higher gusts as they move through. After the period ends, and the next round of storms moves in late Tuesday, can`t rule out some periods of strong wind gusts, along with the potential for large hail and possibly even an isolated tornado. An active TAF period in store, as showers and storms will be moving across the area today and tonight. The rain will be most widespread from late this morning through early this evening, before tapering off to scattered showers and storms overnight. Conditions will vary from VFR outside of showers and storms, to MVFR or IFR when an intense shower or storm moves over an airport. Any storm could produce gusty winds, frequent lightning, and locally heavy rainfall today. Winds will start out light and variable, but will increase to 5 to 10kts out of the south or southwest by 15 or 16Z this morning. Inserted a tempo group in each TAF to account for any strong storms this afternoon. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ UPDATE...JMW SHORT TERM...AR LONG TERM...DJ AVIATION...JMW