Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, SC

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000 FXUS62 KCHS 170740 AFDCHS AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 340 AM EDT MON JUN 17 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
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HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO RETREAT FARTHER INTO THE ATLANTIC EARLY THIS WEEK. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST TUESDAY...THEN SLOWLY PROGRESS THROUGH THE AREA WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD FROM THE NORTH INTO NEXT WEEKEND.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/...
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THROUGH SUNRISE...CLOUDS HAVE BEEN SLOW TO THICKEN EARLY THIS MORNING. TEMPERATURES ARE RUNNING A TAD COOLER THAN EXPECTED AS A RESULT. A LARGE MASS OF SHOWERS/TSTMS MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN GEORGIA AND THE UPPER SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY WILL CONTINUE TO PROPAGATE SLOWLY EAST. MOST HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS DISSIPATE THE BULK OF THIS ACTIVITY BEFORE REACHING THE FAR WESTERN ZONES PRIOR TO SUNRISE. WILL MAINTAIN A MENTION OF SLIGHT CHANCE POPS IN THESE AREAS TO COVER ANY ACTIVITY THAT MAY DRIFT EAST INTO THE LOCAL FORECAST AREA. TODAY...IT LOOKS TO BE CONVECTIVELY ACTIVE DAY AS THE UPPER RIDGE RAPIDLY BREAKS DOWN AND THE WESTERN FLANKS OF ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE BUCKLES. FILTERED SUNSHINE THIS MORNING WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO WARM QUICKLY INTO THE UPPER 80S FOR MOST LOCATIONS AWAY FROM THE COAST WITH MODIFIED BUFR SOUNDINGS SUPPORTING CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES AROUND 84-85 DEGREES. THE PRIMARY FOCI FOR TSTMS TO DEVELOP TODAY WILL BE ALONG A SOMEWHAT ILL-DEFINED SEA BREEZE AND A CONVECTIVE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT CAN BE SEEN EMERGING FROM THE CONVECTION OVER NORTHERN GEORGIA EARLY THIS MORNING. THE VARIOUS LAKE BREEZE CIRCULATIONS AROUND THE SANTEE-COOPER LAKES COULD ALSO COME INTO PLAY AS THE AFOREMENTIONED OUTFLOW BECOMES ALIGNED SOUTHWEST-NORTHEAST ACROSS THE INTERIOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA ZONES BY EARLY AFTERNOON. THERE LOOKS TO BE A PRETTY HEALTHY COVERAGE OF SHOWERS/TSTMS DURING PEAK HEATING SO WILL BUMP POPS UP SLIGHTLY TO 60 PERCENT AWAY FROM THE BEACHES...WHICH WILL LINGER INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. SHEAR IS WEAK AND INSTABILITY PROGNOSTICATIONS ARE NOT ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE SO THE RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER LOOKS TO BE PRETTY LOW...HOWEVER AN ISOLATED WET MICROBURST OR TWO CAN NOT BE COMPLETELY RULED OUT WHERE UPDRAFTS BECOME ENHANCED BY MESOSCALE BOUNDARY INTERACTIONS. SHOWER/TSTMS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY FORM/REFORM ACROSS INTERIOR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA BY LATE AFTERNOON... POSSIBLY BECOMING ENHANCED BY ADDITIONAL CONVECTIVE OUTFLOW.
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&& .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/...
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TONIGHT...SHOWER/TSTMS ACTIVITY WILL GRADUALLY WIND DOWN AS INSTABILITY WANES WITH THE LOSS OF INSOLATION AND THE ATMOSPHERE IS STEADILY OVERTURNED. THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS THAT CONVECTION COULD CLUSTER ALONG/NEAR THE ALTAMAHA RIVER EARLY THIS EVENING AS THE GULF SEA BREEZE MAKES A RUN FOR THE FAR SOUTHERN ZONES...BUT IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THE GULF SEA BREEZE WILL MAKE IT THIS FAR NORTH. THIS WILL HAVE TO THE WATCHED CAREFULLY. WILL CARRY 40-60 PERCENT POPS EARLY THIS EVENING...DIMINISHING TO 20-30 PERCENT FORTH OVERNIGHT HOURS. LOWS WILL RANGE FROM AROUND 70 WELL INLAND TO THE MID 70S AT THE COAST. TUESDAY...A PROGRESSIVE NEARLY ZONAL PATTERN ALOFT WILL ALLOW A SERIES OF WEAK SHORTWAVES TO CONTINUALLY MOVE THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST STATES EARLY IN THE WEEK. AT THE SURFACE...A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP ALONG A COLD FRONT STRETCHING FROM APPROXIMATELY UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA THROUGH COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA. THE COMBINATION OF UPPER LEVEL ENERGY AND DEEP LAYER MOISTURE...ALONG WITH FRONTAL CONVERGENCE...WILL SUPPORT INCREASING CONVECTIVE COVERAGE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE ALONG THE FAR INLAND TIER COUNTIES CLOSEST TO THE LINGERING FRONT...YET SOLID DEEP WESTERLY FLOW SHOULD STILL PUSH UPSTREAM CONVECTION TOWARD THE COAST. WILL THUS ADVERTISE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RANGING FROM 50 TO 60 PERCENT INLAND TO 40 PERCENT CLOSER TO THE COAST DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS. IF THE CENTER OF THE MAIN SURFACE WAVE SLIPS TOWARD THE OUTER BANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA LATE TUESDAY NIGHT...THEN SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE WILL DECREASE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH AFTER MIDNIGHT. SUFFICIENT SYNOPTIC SCALE FORCING WILL STILL MAINTAIN CHANCES IN THE 20 PERCENT RANGE SOUTHEAST GEORGIA TO THE 30 TO 40 PERCENT RANGE CHARLESTON TRI COUNTY REGION TOWARD THE PRE DAWN HOURS. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL REACH THE UPPER 80S TO AROUND 90 DEGREES AWAY FROM THE LOCALLY COOLER COASTLINE. WEDNESDAY...CONVECTIVE COVERAGE WILL SURGE AGAIN AFTER DAYBREAK...AS THE AMPLIFYING SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING OVER THE EAST COAST PULLS THE FRONT DIRECTLY INTO THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. HAVE INDICATED HIGHEST THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL OF THE PERIOD ON WEDNESDAY...WITH LIKELY POPS FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE ZONES AWAY FROM THE COASTLINE. THE AXIS OF THE LOW PRESSURE WAVE WILL SHIFT INTO THE MARINE ZONES WITH THE MAIN SHORTWAVE OVERNIGHT...PULLING DEEPEST MOISTURE AND ASSOCIATED CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY TOWARD THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA AND THE COASTAL WATERS. HIGH TEMPERATURES ON WEDNESDAY WILL BE A BIT TRICKY...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS THAT COULD END UP ON THE COOL SIDE OF THE DESCENDING FRONT. WILL INDICATE MID TO UPPER 80S NORTHERN MOST ZONES AND UPPER 80S TO AROUND 90 FARTHER SOUTH. THURSDAY...THE WEAK COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO SLIP SOUTH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA EARLY IN THE DAY...BEFORE STALLING ALONG THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY AS IT BECOMES MORE PARALLEL TO FLOW ALOFT. THERE IS SOME DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF MODEL SOLUTIONS REGARDING PRECIPITATION COVERAGE...A RESULT OF THE GFS MAINTAINING A MORE PROMINENT UPPER TROUGH OVER THE SOUTHEAST STATES. HAVE OPTED TO MAINTAIN SOLID THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ACROSS THE AREA FOR THE AFTERNOON PERIOD...INDICATING SLIGHTLY HIGHER POTENTIAL ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS CLOSEST TO THE STALLED BOUNDARY. HIGH TEMPERATURES COULD ONCE AGAIN REFLECT A SLIGHT NORTHEAST/SOUTHWEST GRADIENT...WITH SUBTLE COOLER CONDITIONS IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S CHARLESTON TRI COUNTY REGION COMPARED TO AROUND 90 DEGREES FARTHER SOUTH NEAR THE ALTAMAHA RIVER. OVERALL SEVERE POTENTIAL LOOKS LOW THROUGH THE PERIOD...AS THE STRONGEST SYNOPTIC FORCING AND WIND FIELDS REMAIN NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. HOWEVER...AS IS TYPICAL THIS TIME OF YEAR...AN ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE WHERE BOUNDARY INTERACTIONS OCCUR AND ENHANCE UPDRAFT STRENGTH.
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&& .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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THE CENTER OF UPPER LEVEL RIDGING WILL REMAIN WEST OF THE REGION...ALLOWING THE PATTERN ALOFT FOR THE SOUTHEAST STATES TO BE SOMEWHAT WEAK AND PROGRESSIVE THROUGH MUCH OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. THE LINGERING FRONT NEAR THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF THE FORECAST AREA LOOKS TO REMAIN GENERALLY IN PLACE...EVENTUALLY TRANSITIONING INTO A COASTAL FRONT/COASTAL TROUGH FEATURE AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS FROM THE NORTH. MEDIUM RANGE MODEL SOLUTIONS STILL DIVERGE ON DETAILS FOR THE LATE WEEK AND WEEKEND PERIOD...AND HAVE DECIDED TO MAINTAIN A RATHER GENERIC 30 PERCENT POP DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS FRIDAY THROUGH AT LEAST SUNDAY. IF THE COASTAL TROUGH PATTERN DOES INDEED TAKE SHAPE...THEN EXPECT BEST CONVECTIVE COVERAGE TO TRANSITION OFFSHORE EACH NIGHT. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL VARY LITTLE EACH AFTERNOON...REACHING THE UPPER 80S TO AROUND 90 DEGREES AWAY FROM THE LOCALLY COOLER COASTLINE.
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&& .AVIATION /06Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... GENERALLY VFR. RISK FOR SHOWERS/TSTMS WILL INCREASE LATER THIS MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON. MODELS GENERALLY FAVOR THE CORRIDOR OF GREATEST COVERAGE REMAINING TO THE WEST OF THE KCHS- KSAV CORRIDOR...ALTHOUGH SOME OF THE HIGHER RESOLUTION DATA SUGGEST KCHS MAY HAVE A BETTER SHOW LATER THIS AFTERNOON FOR IMPACTS. WILL TEMPO 19-21Z FOR 4SM TSRA BR SCT015 BKN035CB TO COVER FOR NOW. WILL LEAVE TSRA OUT OF THE KSAV TAF UNTIL CONFIDENCE INCREASES. AMENDMENTS WILL MOST CERTAINLY BE NEEDED THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS MESOSCALE AND SHORT TERM RADAR TRENDS BECOME MORE APPARENT. EXTENDED AVIATION...PERIODIC FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY IN ASSOCIATION WITH SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHRA/TSRA. && .MARINE...
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TODAY...SOUTHERLY WIND REGIME WILL PERSIST WITH WINDS GENERALLY 10 KT OR LESS AND SEAS 2-4 FT. TONIGHT...WINDS WILL INCREASE SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. SPEEDS COULD REACH AS HIGH AS 15-20 KT AT TIMES WITH SEAS 2-4 FT. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS ARE UNLIKELY AT THIS TIME. TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...THE MARINE ZONES WILL BECOME SITUATED BETWEEN AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT/SURFACE TROUGH INLAND AND RETREATING HIGH PRESSURE TO THE EAST EARLY THIS WEEK. SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL SURGE SLIGHTLY BY WEDNESDAY AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS BETWEEN THE TWO FEATURES...SUPPORTING A BRIEF PERIOD OF 15 TO 20 KT WINDS AND SEAS UP TO 5 FT BEYOND 20 NM. EXPECT WIND DIRECTIONS TO VEER WEST/NORTHWEST AS THE FRONT STEADILY SLIPS INTO THE FORECAST AREA THURSDAY...AS SPEEDS DIMINISH A BIT WITHIN A WEAKENING PRESSURE GRADIENT. NUMERICAL MODEL SOLUTIONS DIFFER REGARDING THE PRECISE LOCATION OF THE STALLING FRONT BY LATE WEEK...AND WILL LEAN TOWARD PERSISTENCE IN INDICATING A GENERAL EAST/NORTHEAST FLOW FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. WINDS AND SEAS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY CONDITIONS THROUGH THE PERIOD.
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&& .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && $$ ST/WMS

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