Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, SC

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000 FXUS62 KCHS 200813 AFDCHS AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 413 AM EDT MON MAY 20 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
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AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE OVER THE AREA WILL DISSIPATE THROUGH MID WEEK WHILE ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE PREVAILS UNTIL LATE WEEK. A COLD FRONT WILL DROP THROUGH THE AREA LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY... FOLLOWED BY HIGH PRESSURE THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND.
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&& .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/...
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PRE-DAWN...THROUGH 4 AM IT HAS BEEN A QUIET OVERNIGHT WITH AREAS OF LAYERED CLOUDS...SOME INLAND STRATUS AND FOG WAS VERY PATCHY IN NATURE. SUMMER-LIKE TEMPS IN THE 69 TO 73 DEGREE RANGE...WARMEST ALONG COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA WHERE STRONG LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE WAS ONGOING. A SHORTWAVE TROUGH ALOFT OVER THE REGION TODAY IS COMPLEX PER LOOPS OF OVERNIGHT WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY. THE MAIN UPPER WAVE WAS DRIFTING E ALONG THE VA/NC BORDER WHILE A WEAK VORTICITY AXIS EXTENDED S OVER COASTAL GEORGIA IN NE FLORIDA. AN INTERESTING FEATURE IS THE IMPULSE OVER THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...OUR ANALYSIS DID NOT DETECT THIS FEATURE AT 500 MB...IT MAY BE PART MCV AND IS FORECAST TO STRETCH THE MID LEVEL TROUGH TODAY. THE MAIN FORECAST PROBLEMS OF THE DAY ARE TWOFOLD. THERE APPEARS TO BE HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL UNTIL MID AFTERNOON ALONG COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND THEN AN ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER RISK W OF I-95 IN SE GEORGIA AND FAR SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA THIS AFTERNOON. ADDRESSING THE MORNING POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPING CONVECTIVE RAINS ALONG THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST...VERY DEEP MOISTURE IS IN PLAY. LATEST ANALYSIS INDICATES MOISTURE TRANSPORT CONVERGENCE AND A INSTABILITY GRADIENT HAS SETUP ALONG THE COAST. A SLEW OF THE 00Z HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS ERUPT EXCESSIVE QPF OUTPUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN EDISTO BEACH AND THE GRAND STRAND. MOST OF THESE MODELS APPEAR TO HAVE CONVECTIVE FEEDBACK ISSUES BUT THE TREND IS WORTH WATCHING GIVEN THE 1.8 INCH PWATS LURKING ON THE LATEST RUC ANALYSIS. WE HAVE BUMPED POPS TO LIKELY IN PARTS OF THE CHARLESTON TRI-COUNTY AREA CLOSER TO THE COAST. THE SECOND ISSUE OF THE DAY WILL TURN TO DIURNAL CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT DURING THE AFTERNOON ONCE AGAIN. MODELS INDICATE A 35 KT 700 MB WIND MAX DEVELOPING OVER THE INLAND CAROLINAS AROUND MIDDAY AND PUNCHING DUE S INTO GEORGIA W OF I-95 LATER TODAY. 300 MB FLOW ACROSS SE GEORGIA RAPIDLY BACKS FROM SW TO SE TODAY AND A POCKET OF UPPER DIFLUENCE IS PROGGED...EVEN THOUGH THE FLOW IS WEAK AT JET LEVEL. MORNING LOW CLOUDS ARE LIKELY TO DISSIPATE LEAVING A POTENTIAL FOR SOME INSOLATION LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. MODEL INSTABILITY PROGS SHOW PARAMETERS A BIT MORE UNSTABLE THAN ON SUNDAY BACK OVER OUR INLAND ZONES. MUCH OF THIS SCENARIO WILL DEPEND ONCE AGAIN ON MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES AND SURFACE HEATING. CANNOT RULE OUT ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WIND MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL OR SOME VERY SMALL SCALE CONVECTIVE ORGANIZATION. MANY OF THESE STORMS WILL ALSO PRODUCE VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS. THE CONFIDENCE OF EITHER OF THESE SCENARIOS BECOMING REALITY IN SPACE AND TIME IS NOT GREAT...THUS WE OPTED TO NOT ADD ANY MENTIONS IN OUR HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK UNTIL RADAR TRENDS BECOME MORE DEFINITIVE AND A 12Z ANALYSIS IS PERFORMED. HIGH TEMPS TODAY 80 TO 85 DEGREES MOST AREAS WITH LIGHT SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY/...
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UPPER LEVEL TROUGHING OVER THE AREA IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE TONIGHT BUT WE DO EXPECT CONVECTION TO DECREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY DURING THE EVENING. LOW LEVEL COASTAL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE WILL INCREASE TOWARD DAYBREAK ON TUE ALONG COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND CONVECTIVE RAINS MAY BREAK OUT ONCE AGAIN THERE. WILL ALSO NEED TO WATCH TRENDS FOR FOG DEVELOPMENT TONIGHT IF CLOUDS BREAK. WITH WIDESPREAD CONVECTIVE RAINS EXPECTED TODAY...THERE SEEMS TO BE INCREASING CHANCES FOR FOG...ESPECIALLY INLAND. A MOIST AIRMASS WILL PERSIST DURING THE PERIOD ALTHOUGH WE SHOULD SEE A SLIGHT DECREASE IN PW VALUES BY THURSDAY. THE UPPER SHORTWAVE WILL SLOWLY DISSOLVE OVERHEAD ON TUESDAY BUT ANOTHER WAVE WILL APPROACH LATE WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AT THE SURFACE ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE WILL MAINTAIN ITS CONTROL...KEEPING SOUTHERLY FLOW IN LOW-LEVELS AND ALLOWING DAILY SEABREEZE CIRCULATIONS TO DEVELOP. CONVECTIVE COVERAGE WILL VARY SOMEWHAT BETWEEN THE THREE DAYS WITH WEDNESDAY CURRENTLY LOOKING LIKE THE LEAST ACTIVE DAY DUE TO A LACK OF APPRECIABLE UPPER ENERGY TO WORK WITH. HIGH TEMPS WILL CLIMB INTO THE MID TO UPPER 80S WITH LOWS IN THE MIDDLE 60S.
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&& .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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FAIRLY GOOD MODEL CONSISTENCY REGARDING AN UPPER TROUGH SHIFTING SOUTHEAST AND A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE FRIDAY OR FRIDAY NIGHT. DRY AND SLIGHTLY COOLER CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE LOOKS TO BUILD IN FOR THE WEEKEND BEFORE SHIFTING OFFSHORE EARLY NEXT WEEK.
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&& .AVIATION /08Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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KCHS...VFR WEATHER TO PREVAIL OVERNIGHT UNTIL LATE. A FEED OF ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND ASSOCIATED CONVERGENCE WILL PRODUCE SCATTERED CONVECTION THIS MORNING. WHILE MUCH OF THIS ACTIVITY LOOKS TO REMAIN EAST OF THE TERMINAL PRIOR TO DAYBREAK...MODELS DEVELOP CONVECTIVE RAINS AROUND DAWN AND THEN RAIN CHANCES FOR THE REST OF TODAY LOOK PRETTY GOOD AS DEEP MOISTURE INTERACTS WITH THE UPPER TROUGH AND THE SEA BREEZE. SHOWERS/TSTMS SHOULD DECREASE LATE DAY WITH MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS THIS EVENING. KSAV...VFR OVERNIGHT WEATHER COULD DROP TO THE MVFR RANGE IN LIGHT FOG/LOW STRATUS LATE. THERE IS THEN A DECENT CHANCE OF SHRA AND POSSIBLE TSRA FROM 16-22Z MONDAY WITH SEVERAL MESO-SCALE BOUNDARIES IN PLACE AIDED BY A SHORT WAVE ALOFT. MVFR WEATHER CAN CERTAINLY OCCUR PERIODICALLY DURING THIS TIME. EXTENDED AVIATION...THE MAIN CONCERN WILL BE SPORADIC REDUCTIONS IN CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES...MAINLY ASSOCIATED WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE GREATEST CHANCES WILL BE IN THE AFTERNOON HOURS TUE THROUGH THU...ALTHOUGH EARLY MORNING FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS CANNOT BE RULED OUT EACH DAY.
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&& .MARINE...
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THROUGH TONIGHT...A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE ATLANTIC WILL EXTEND W ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS...GENERATING SE AND S WINDS OF 10-15 KT OR LESS AND SEAS IN THE 2-4 FOOT RANGE. HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT WITH SEABREEZE CIRCULATIONS DEVELOPING EACH AFTERNOON. A COLD FRONT WILL DROP THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING OR SATURDAY MORNING WITH A NORTHEAST FLOW DEVELOPING AS CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN. WINDS AND SEAS WILL LIKELY INCREASE OVER THE WEEKEND IN RESPONSE.
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&& .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS... NEAR TERM... SHORT TERM...JRL LONG TERM...JRL AVIATION... MARINE...JRL

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