Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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000 FXUS62 KILM 261745 AFDILM Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 145 PM EDT Fri Apr 26 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will build in from the north through Saturday with dry weather expected. A warming trend will develop early next week as the high shifts to off the southeast US coast. && .UPDATE...
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Skies continue to clear across the area, but haven`t made significant adjustments to allow temperatures to rebound. Updated aviation discussion can be found below.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Quiet weather continues through tonight with high pressure off of the New England coast. Onshore flow will continue today and should keep coastal areas cool with help from low clouds this morning. High sun angles and thin low clouds should break inland by late morning for a mostly sunny afternoon. Coastal areas may take longer to see sunshine, but partly cloudy skies should dominate the afternoon. Mostly clear tonight with overnight lows in the low and mid 50s. Easterly winds maintain 5-10 mph. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... High pressure off of the Mid-Atlantic coast on Sat will shift southward to off of the Southeast coast by Sun night. At the same time, mid to upper ridge will build up the east coast. Will see a mix of some low clouds and higher clouds mainly associated with moisture convergence in low level onshore flow and weak coastal trough plus minor perturbation in the flow aloft riding over the ridge Sat night into Sun morning. May even see some spotty showers, but not including any pcp chances for now. By late Sunday, the high shifts a bit further off the coast with a southerly return flow developing. Temps in the mid 70s on Sat will push 80 on Sun. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As sfc high shifts farther off the Southeast coast winds will become more S to SW Mon into midweek as ridge aloft remains in place up the east coast. Will see plenty of sunshine on Mon and Tues with temps continuing to warm into midweek as greater westerly component to the flow develops. Expect temps above 80 and into the mid to upper 80s Wed and Thurs. A shortwave will move through Tues night with mainly some clouds before ridge builds back in again Wed and Thurs with further height rises and then another shortwave approaches late Thurs. May see enough moisture combining with local effects to produce a few shwrs midweek, but better chc will come late Thurs into Fri ahead of a cold front. && .AVIATION /18Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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VFR conditions are expected to persist through the TAF period with the only concern being gusty onshore winds at the coastal terminals through the daylight hours. With rather strong high pressure to our north, winds will remain steady overnight and should preclude any fog. There is a low risk for MVFR to IFR cigs to develop again late tonight, but do not have high enough confidence to include in the TAF at this time. If low cigs occur, they should burn off by late morning, leaving VFR for the remainder of the period. Extended Outlook...Predominately VFR expected through early next week outside of a low chance of morning fog or low cigs each morning.
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&& .MARINE... Through Friday night...A NE surge is currently pushing through the nearshore waters. Sub-SCA conditions are being observed at nearshore buoys and coastal reporting stations. Gusts around 20 are expected this morning and gusts up to 25 knots are possible through the evening. Remaining below SCA thresholds even as seas increase to 4-5 feet. Some improvement is expected late tonight as the gradient begins to relax, remaining choppy however. Saturday through Tuesday...Onshore flow will continue through much of the weekend with winds veering from more of a NE flow to the E and then SE by Sun, running in the 10 to 15 kt range but diminishing into Sun. The afternoon sea breeze should keep winds higher each afternoon into late day closer to the coast. Seas will start out 3 to 4 ft but will diminish to 2 to 4 ft by Sun, dropping below 3 ft by Mon as winds shift around to more of a SW to W flow with a greater offshore component to the flow. A longer period easterly swell will mix in. No headlines are expected through the period. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...None. SC...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...ILM UPDATE...ABW NEAR TERM...21 SHORT TERM...RGZ LONG TERM...RGZ AVIATION...ABW MARINE...RGZ/21

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