Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA

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000 FXUS61 KBOX 211748 AFDBOX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA 148 PM EDT TUE MAY 21 2013 .SYNOPSIS... A BACKDOOR COLD FRONT WILL DROP SOUTH ACROSS THE REGION LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY RESULTING IN BRIEFLY COOLER WEATHER ACROSS EASTERN NEW ENGLAND AND CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN WESTERN NEW ENGLAND. WARM AND HUMID CONDITIONS CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE. A COOLER AND LESS HUMID AIR MASS IS EXPECTED FOR THE COMING WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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145 PM UPDATE... CU FIELD IS INCREASING ACROSS SNE AWAY FROM THE COASTLINE...WHILE LOW CLOUDS ASSOCD WITH BACKDOOR FRONT LINGERING ACROSS NE MA AND SE NH. SPC MESOANALYSIS SHOWS A RATHER UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH MLCAPES NEARING 2000 J/KG ACROSS LOWER CT VALLEY AND MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES 6.5 TO 7 C/KM. THIS IS A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR CONVECTION TO DEVELOP AND EXPECT SHOWERS/STORMS TO DEVELOP AROUND MID AFTERNOON. BACKDOOR FRONT OVER NE MA WILL BEGIN TO PUSH SW DURING MID TO LATE AFTERNOON AND WILL PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR CONVECTION. BEST CHC FOR TSTMS WILL BE ACROSS CENTRAL AND WESTERN MA...N CT AND POSSIBLY N RI...WITH FOCUS FOR ACTIVITY SHIFTING TO CT VALLEY LATE AFTERNOON AND TOWARD EVENING AS THE BACKDOOR FRONT MOVES SW. 0-6KM SHEAR IN THE UNSTABLE AIR IS 25-30 KT WHICH IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR STORM ORGANIZATION GIVEN MAGNITUDE OF CAPE. EXPECT A FEW STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE STORMS. TEMPS HAVE RISEN INTO THE 80S SOUTH OF THE FRONT...WHILE READINGS ARE IN THE 60S ACROSS NE MA. THIS COOLER AIR WILL BEGIN TO SPREAD SW TOWARD LATE AFTERNOON.
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&& .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY/... BACK-DOOR COLD FRONT SHOULD MOVE FARTHER NORTH LATE TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AS A WARM FRONT. THIS SHOULD ALLOW FOR A WARMER DAY ACROSS EASTERN MA. STILL NOT CONVINCED SYNOPTIC FLOW WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PREVENT LOCAL SEABREEZES FROM DEVELOPING...SO TEMPERATURES WILL BE TRICKY ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COASTLINES. AM CURRENTLY EXPECTING A BRIEF DIMINISHMENT OF ANY CONVECTION LATE TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING...AS SUGGESTED BY CLIMATOLOGY. INSTABILITY REGENERATES WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...SO KEPT AT LEAST A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FORECAST. THE LOWEST RISK FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACROSS THE CAPE AND ISLANDS...WHERE ANOTHER ROUND OF LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES LOWER. USED A BLEND OF MOS GUIDANCE ONCE AGAIN FOR TEMPERATURES. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... HIGHLIGHTS... * SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THURS INTO FRIDAY * COOLER AND LESS HUMID FOR THE WEEKEND CONFIDENCE LEVEL/MODEL GUIDANCE...MODERATE CONFIDENCE IN THE OVERALL FORECAST...YET LOW CONFIDENCE ON MODEL PERFORMANCE. THE 00Z GFS/NAM SIGNIFICANTLY SLOWED DOWN THE DIGGING TROUGH FOR THE NORTHEAST. THE REST OF THE MODEL GUIDANCE FOLLOWED SUIT BUT NOT AS DRASTICALLY. LEANED FORECAST TOWARDS EC/UKMET WHICH WHERE IN BETWEEN THE 12Z AND 00Z GUIDANCE AS WELL AS PREV FORECAST. OVERALL HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT PRECIP WILL OCCUR THURS AND MODERATE CONFIDENCE FOR FRIDAY. HIGH CONFIDENCE IN A COOL DOWN FOR THE WEEK WITH MOD CONFIDENCE FOR SEASONAL TEMPS AND DRY FORECAST FOR BEGINNING OF THE WORK WEEK. DETAILS... THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY... APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BRING A ROUND OF PRECIP AND THUNDER TO THE REGION. STILL SOME TIMING ISSUES AS MODELS STILL DIFFER ON EXACT LOCATION AND MESOSCALE PARAMETERS. REGARDLESS...SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND WILL BE LOCATED IN THE WARM SECTOR OF THE SYSTEM ALLOWING HIGHER DEWPOINTS AND THEREFORE MUGGY CONDITIONS. TEMPS WILL WARM INTO THE 80S. BELIEVE DIURNAL PRECIP WILL BE THE MAIN TREAT FOR THIS DAY...WITH STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE. MAIN THREAT OF THESE STORMS WILL BE HAIL...STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS. A COLD FRONT WILL BEGIN TO APPROACH THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT AND MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON FRIDAY. THIS WILL CHANGE THE CONVECTIVE MODE TO MORE OF A POSSIBLE SQUALL LINE ON FRIDAY. CONVECTIVE PARAMETERS APPEAR TO BE MORE IN LINE DUE TO THE SLOW DOWN OF THE OVERALL SYSTEM. ONLY THING TRULY LACKING IS THE AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY AS CLOUD DEBRIS WILL BE AROUND FROM THE PREV NIGHTS SHOWERS/THUNDER. IF STORMS DO DEVELOP THEN BELIEVE THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS AS PWATS REACH CLOSE TO 1.5 IN. THIS WEEKEND... UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL PUSH THROUGH OVER THE WEEK...CAA WILL BRING A THERMAL TROUGH INTO THE REGION. THIS WILL DROP TEMPS WELL BELOW SEASONAL AVG. AM NOT ANTICIPATED ANY FROST/FREEZE HEADLINES AT THIS TIME BUT MAY NEED TO MONITOR IN THE FUTURE AS THE ENTIRE AREA IS NOW IN THE GROWING SEASON. EXPECT MAINLY DRY WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND AND TEMPS IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S. MONDAY AND BEYOND...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE IN CONTROL FOR THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL HELP TEMPS REACH SEASONAL CONDITIONS. APPEARS THAT THERE IS LIMITED MOISTURE...HOWEVER CANNOT RULE OUT A SPOT SHOWER OR TWO...ESP IF SEA BREEZE DEVELOPS. && .AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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FORECASTER CONFIDENCE LEVELS... LOW...LESS THAN 30 PERCENT. MODERATE...30 TO 60 PERCENT. HIGH...GREATER THAN 60 PERCENT. OVERVIEW...MODERATE CONFIDENCE IN TIMING AND AREAL COVERAGE OF STRATUS AND FOG THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. CONDITIONS HAVE IMPROVED TO VFR ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION...WITH IFR PERSISTING AT ACK AND STRATUS/PATCHY FOG ACROSS NE MA TO BOS HARBOR. EXPECT THE IFR CONDITIONS TO GRADUALLY EXPAND SW ACROSS THE REGION LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHILE THE FOG BANK NEAR THE ISLANDS GRADUALLY LIFTS NORTH. SCT CONVECTION EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WITH BRIEF MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS IN SHOWERS/TSTMS. WIDESPREAD IFR/LIFR LIKELY TONIGHT...GRADUALLY IMPROVING TO VFR 14-16Z AS SW WINDS DEVELOP...BUT IFR MAY PERSIST MOST OF THE DAY AT ACK. KBOS TERMINAL...HIGH CONFIDENCE IN LOWERING TREND...LOWER CONFIDENCE IN TIMING. IFR/LIFR CIGS/VSBYS WILL REDEVELOP...POSSIBLY AS SOON AS LATE AFTERNOON. KBDL TERMINAL...HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT CONDITIONS LOWER TO IFR TONIGHT. EXACT TIMING UNCERTAIN. OUTLOOK...THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...LOW TO MODERATE CONFIDENCE. MODERATE CONFIDENCE ON SEA BREEZE DEVELOPMENTS. VERY UNSETTLED PATTERN WITH VARIABILITY BETWEEN VFR CONDITIONS AND MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS IN SHRA/TSRA/FOG. IMPROVING CONDITIONS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING. SATURDAY...HIGH CONFIDENCE. VFR.
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&& .MARINE... FORECASTER CONFIDENCE LEVELS... LOW...LESS THAN 30 PERCENT. MODERATE...30 TO 60 PERCENT. HIGH...GREATER THAN 60 PERCENT. HIGH CONFIDENCE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WINDS AND SEAS EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CRITERIA MOST OF TODAY. LEANED MORE HEAVILY UPON THE SWAN WAVE GUIDANCE AS THE WNA WAVE GUIDANCE APPEARS TO BE TOO HIGH. STILL EXPECTING AREAS OF FOG TO PERSIST THROUGH TODAY BEFORE EXPANDING ONCE AGAIN TONIGHT. INCREASING SOUTHWEST WINDS WEDNESDAY MAY LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT OF MARGINAL 5 FT SEAS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN OUTER COASTAL WATERS OF MA AND RI. WILL HOLD OFF ON ISSUING ANOTHER SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY RIGHT NOW TO AVOID CONFUSION WITH EXISTING ADVISORY. OUTLOOK...THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...HIGH CONFIDENCE. APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM WILL INCREASE SEAS ABOVE 5FT DURING THIS TIME PERIOD...SCA WILL BE NEEDED. EXPECT LOW VSBYS IN HEAVY SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDER AS WELL. BELIEVE FRIDAY IS THE BETTER DAY FOR TSTORMS ACROSS THE WATERS AS COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH NEW ENGLAND ON FRIDAY. THIS WEEKEND...MODERATE CONFIDENCE. SEAS WILL REMAIN ABOVE SCA FOR MOST OF THE WEEKEND ESP FOR THE OUTER WATERS. GUSTY NW BEHIND THE FRONT WILL BRING GUSTS CLOSE TO GALE FORCE SAT INTO SAT NIGHT. && .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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CT...NONE. MA...NONE. NH...NONE. RI...NONE. MARINE...NONE.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...BELK/DUNTEN NEAR TERM...KJC SHORT TERM...BELK LONG TERM...DUNTEN AVIATION...KJC/DUNTEN MARINE...BELK/DUNTEN

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