Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, SC

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000 FXUS62 KCHS 160749 AFDCHS AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC 349 AM EDT SUN JUN 16 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
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HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO RETREAT FARTHER INTO THE ATLANTIC EARLY NEXT WEEK. A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...WITH THE FRONT LIKELY STALLING OVER THE REGION THROUGH AT LEAST THE LATE WEEK PERIOD.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/...
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THE UPPER RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY BREAK DOWN TODAY AS A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES PROPAGATE ALONG ITS NORTHERN PERIPHERY. AT THE SURFACE...THE WESTERN FLANKS OF ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE WILL HOLD STRONG WHILE THE CENTER OF THE ANTICYCLONE SLOWLY MEANDERS FARTHER OFFSHORE. THE NET RESULT WILL BE ONE MORE DRY AND WARM DAY FOR LOWCOUNTRY AND COASTAL EMPIRE WITH ONLY MODERATE INCREASES IN HUMIDITY. MODEL BUFR SOUNDINGS 16/18-21Z FOR CHARLESTON...SAVANNAH AND FORT STEWART ALL SHOW A STRONG SUBSIDENCE INVERSION BETWEEN 800-600MB HOLDING THROUGH THE DAY DESPITE TEMPERATURES RISING INTO THE UPPER 80S. EXPECT DRY CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL AS A RESULT ALTHOUGH A SLIGHTLY CHANCED CUMULUS FIELD WILL LIKELY ACCOMPANY THE INLAND MOVING SEA BREEZE ITSELF. HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM AROUND 90 WELL INLAND TO THE MID 80S AT THE BEACHES. A HEALTHY CUMULUS FIELD WILL DEVELOP BY MID-MORNING WITH CLEARING OCCURRING ACROSS THE COASTAL COUNTIES THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON IN THE WAKE OF THE SEA BREEZE.
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&& .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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TONIGHT...LOW-LEVEL RETURN FLOW WILL BE IN FULL SWING TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS OFFSHORE AND A STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. A FEW MODELS SPIT OUT A LITTLE SHOWER ACTIVITY OVER THE ATLANTIC WATERS AFTER MIDNIGHT...BUT THIS MAY BE A BIT AGGRESSIVE CONSIDERING A TREND OVER DEVELOPING NOCTURNAL SHOWER/TSTM ACTIVITY OVER THE COASTAL WATERS HAS BEEN OBSERVED SINCE LAST FALL. SHOULD ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY DEVELOP...LOW-LEVEL TRAJECTORIES COULD FAVOR CHARLESTON COUNTY FOR ANY POTENTIAL MEASURABLE RAINFALL. PLAN TO KEEP POPS WELL BELOW MENTIONABLE THRESHOLDS. DIURNAL CUMULUS WILL QUICKLY DISSIPATE THIS EVENING WITH THE LOSS OF INSOLATION...BUT MID/HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS WILL STEADILY INCREASE FROM LATE EVENING ON. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL BECOME MOSTLY CLOUDY LATE WITH LOWS RANGING THE UPPER 60S WELL INLAND TO THE MID 70S AT THE BEACHES. IT WILL BE NOTICEABLY MORE HUMID AS DEWPOINTS CLIMB BACK INTO THE UPPER 60S/LOWER 70S. MONDAY...DEEP LAYER RIDGING WILL CONTINUE TO BREAK DOWN AND ALLOW SHORTWAVE ENERGY TO SLIP EASTWARD WITHIN A MORE PROGRESSIVE ZONAL FLOW ALOFT. WITH ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE STEADILY RETREATING...A SURFACE TROUGH WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE SHAPE UPSTREAM OF THE FORECAST AREA. WEAKENING SUBSIDENCE AND INCREASING DEEP MOISTURE WITHIN THE TRANSITIONING PATTERN WILL SUPPORT MORE TYPICAL CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE REGION. HAVE INTRODUCED THUNDERSTORM CHANCES GENERALLY ALONG AND INLAND OF THE SEABREEZE BY EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON. NUMERICAL MODEL CONSENSUS THEN INDICATES CONVECTION LINGERING INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS ASSISTED BY SOME UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT FROM THE SERIES OF SHORTWAVES...AS WELL AS FROM A SUBTLE WARM FRONTAL FEATURE LIFTING NORTH AHEAD OF A STRENGTHENING WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE TO THE WEST. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL ONCE AGAIN REACH SEASONAL NORMALS IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S AWAY FROM THE LOCALLY COOLER COASTLINE. TUESDAY...MODEL SOLUTIONS DEPICT VARYING DEGREES OF STRENGTH IN THE WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPING ALONG A COLD FRONT EMBEDDED WITHIN THE UPSTREAM SURFACE TROUGH. IN GENERAL...FORECAST GUIDANCE SHOWS THE SURFACE WAVE TRACKING FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ALONG THE BOUNDARY...GUIDED BY AN AMPLIFIED SHORTWAVE SWINGING TOWARD THE EAST COAST. THIS SCENARIO COULD HAVE THE CENTER OF THE WAVE SHIFTING THROUGH THE UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA REGION INTO THE CAROLINA COASTLINE BY TUESDAY NIGHT. THE FRONT WILL LIKELY REMAIN JUST TO THE NORTH/NORTHWEST OF THE FORECAST AREA AT THIS POINT...WITH BEST CONVECTIVE COVERAGE INITIALLY FOUND ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND INLAND ZONES CLOSEST TO FRONTAL CONVERGENCE AND SHORTWAVE ENERGY. HAVE INDICATED THUNDERSTORM CHANCES PEAKING NEAR 50 PERCENT FOR THE FAR NORTHWEST TIER COUNTIES TRENDING DOWN INTO THE 20 TO 30 PERCENT RANGE TOWARD THE COAST. CONSIDERING SYNOPTIC LEVEL SUPPORT...ORGANIZED CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY IS POSSIBLE...MAINLY AS UPSTREAM THUNDERSTORMS ATTEMPT TO DRIFT SOUTHEAST INTO THE FORECAST AREA AS THE DAY PROGRESSES. BEST FORCING ALOFT LOOKS TO REMAIN TO THE NORTH...EXCEPT FOR A 20 TO 30 KT LOW LEVEL JET DEVELOPING OVERNIGHT. THERMODYNAMICS STILL APPEAR A BIT UNIMPRESSIVE...AND THUS PREFER NOT TO MENTION SEVERE POTENTIAL IN THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AT THIS TIME. WILL CONTINUE TO FORECAST HIGHEST TEMPERATURES FOR THE PERIOD ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON...AS THE WARMING EFFECTS OF SOME PRE-FRONTAL COMPRESSION ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO REACH THE LOWER 90S AWAY FORM THE COAST DESPITE ABUNDANT CLOUD COVER. WEDNESDAY...THE SURFACE WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE WILL SHIFT OFF THE NORTH CAROLINA COASTLINE DURING THE MORNING HOURS...WHILE THE WEAKENING FRONT BECOMES PARALLEL TO FLOW ALOFT AND STALLS OVER OR NEAR THE FORECAST AREA. THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY WHETHER THE FRONT WILL SET UP JUST SOUTH OF THE ALTAMAHA RIVER OR STRUGGLE TO PROCEED PAST THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE LOCATION OF THE FRONT WILL DICTATE CONVECTIVE COVERAGE...AND PREFER TO MAINTAIN PERSISTENCE BY LEANING TOWARD THE SLOWER ECMWF SOLUTION. WILL ADVERTISE SOLID CHANCE POPS OVER ALL OF SOUTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA THROUGH AT LEAST WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY AS THE STRONGEST IN THE SERIES OF PROGRESSIVE SHORTWAVES SWEEPS THE EAST COAST.
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&& .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/...
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WITH THE CENTER OF UPPER LEVEL RIDGING REMAINING WELL WEST OF THE REGION THROUGH THE PERIOD...THE PATTERN ALOFT WILL BE SOMEWHAT ILL DEFINED AND PROGRESSIVE INTO AT LEAST LATE WEEK. THUS EXPECT UNSETTLED CONDITIONS TO PERSIST INTO THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD...WITH FORECAST DETAILS QUITE UNCERTAIN DUE TO MODEL INCONSISTENCIES. THE LINGERING FRONT ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF THE FORECAST AREA...WHEN COMBINED WITH WEAK SHORTWAVE ENERGY EMBEDDED WITHIN UPPER TROUGHING...WILL MAINTAIN DEEP MOISTURE AND CONVERGENCE TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORM CHANCES EACH DAY. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS DO SUGGEST THAT THE SURFACE PATTERN WILL EVENTUALLY SETTLE TOWARD HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NORTH AND A COASTAL TROUGH DEVELOPING ALONG THE PERSISTENT FRONT TO THE SOUTH AND EAST. 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 SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
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VFR. EXTENDED AVIATION...PERIODIC FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLE LATER MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE RETURN OF CONVECTION.
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&& .MARINE...
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THROUGH TONIGHT...SOUTHERLY WIND REGIME WILL PERSIST THROUGH TONIGHT AS ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS CENTERED OFFSHORE. WINDS WILL BE NO HIGHER THAN 10-15 KT WITH SEAS 2-4 FT THROUGH THE PERIOD. MONDAY AND TUESDAY...SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL PREVAIL INTO THE EARLY WEEK PERIOD. EXPECT A BRIEF SURGE BY TUESDAY AS THE GRADIENT TIGHTENS BETWEEN AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT UPSTREAM AND HIGH PRESSURE RETREATING FARTHER INTO THE ATLANTIC. WIND SPEEDS WILL INCREASE INTO THE 15 TO 20 KT RANGE ON TUESDAY...WITH SEAS BUILDING FROM 2 TO 5 FT NEARSHORE UP TO POTENTIALLY 5 TO 6 FT BEYOND 20 NM. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ARE NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS...AND THERE IS ONLY A SMALL CHANCE FOR MARGINAL ADVISORIES IN THE OUTER WATERS IF 6 FT SEAS BECOME MORE LIKELY. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...THE APPROACHING FRONT WILL LIKELY STALL NEAR THE COASTAL WATERS BY MID WEEK. UNCERTAINTY IN THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE LINGERING BOUNDARY LENDS LOWER CONFIDENCE TO WIND DIRECTION DETAILS. AT THIS POINT...WILL INDICATE SOUTHERLY WINDS VEERING AROUND TO THE NORTH BY THURSDAY AS THE FRONT DRIFTS INTO THE REGION. SPEEDS LOOK TO REMAIN 15 KT OR LESS WITHIN A WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT.
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&& .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && $$ ST/WMS

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