Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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000 FXUS62 KILM 172359 AFDILM AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 759 PM EDT FRI MAY 17 2013 .SYNOPSIS... WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS ANCHORED OFFSHORE. WEAK LOW PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BRING A FEW AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. DRIER WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/... AS OF 330 PM FRIDAY...CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN MEASURED AS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AS CUMULUS CLOUDS ARE JUST NOW BEGINNING TO DEVELOP. THE LATEST GUIDANCE INCLUDING THE HIGH RESOLUTION RAP AND GLOBAL GFS SHOW SOME ACTIVITY TO THE NORTH LATER THIS AFTERNOON. I HAVE TWEAKED THE POPS TO REPRESENT THIS TREND OF WHICH THE FORCING INCLUDES THE SEA BREEZE FRONT...POSSIBLY A RESIDUAL OUTFLOW FROM ACTIVITY YESTERDAY AND A BACKDOOR FRONT. FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...I HAVE REMOVED POPS AFTER 0300 UTC. ENOUGH DEBRIS CLOUDINESS SHOULD REMAIN TO PREVENT ANY SIGNIFICANT FOG DEVELOPMENT. FOR THE OVERNIGHT LOWS...NUMERICAL GUIDANCE IS IN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT WITH MIDDLE 60S ACROSS THE BOARD. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 330 PM FRIDAY...DIURNAL CONVECTION SHOULD BECOME A BIT MORE ACTIVE OVER THE WEEKEND AS WEAK LOW PRESSURE ALOFT BRINGS SEVERAL DEGREES OF H5 COOLING AND MID-LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES. SATURDAY A WEAK E-W SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL LURK ACROSS OR JUST NORTH OF OUR VERY NORTHERN TIER OF FORECAST ZONES. THIS FEATURE HOWEVER WILL LIFT NORTH AND WEAKEN BY LATE SATURDAY. THE SEA BREEZE FRONT WILL PLAY A ROLE IN AFTERNOON CONVECTION INLAND FROM THE COAST...AND SUBSEQUENT OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES COULD SUSTAIN ACTIVITY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY INTO THE EVENING HOURS. HIGHEST POP VALUES WILL BE FAVORED DURING AND AFTER MAXIMUM DIURNAL HEATING...AND MOSTLY INLAND SINCE THE RIDGE OFFSHORE WILL KEEP HIGHEST PWATS OVER THE INTERIOR. TEMPERATURES OVER THE WEEKEND WILL BE VERY NEAR TO SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE CLIMATE STANDARDS FOR MIDDLE MAY. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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AS OF 330 PM FRIDAY...TEMPS FAIRLY CLOSE TO CLIMO ON MONDAY DESPITE BERMUDA HIGH AND UPPER RIDGE OTHERWISE SUPPORTIVE OF WARMER TEMPS. MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE MAY LEAD TO MORE WIDESPREAD CONVECTION THAN NORMALLY EXPECTED IN SUCH A SETUP AND THERE MAY BE SOME LEFTOVER CONVECTIVE DEBRIS CLOUDINESS TO HINDER INSOLATION. THE WEAK SHORT WAVE MAY MOVE OFF THE COAST (ALTHOUGH NOT ACCORD TO GFS) LEADING TO A DECREASE IN CONVECTIVE COVERAGE AND FAVORING THE TREND TOWARDS WARMTH THROUGH WEDNESDAY AT LEAST. LATTER HALF OF THE PERIOD SEES THE MID LVL RIDGE BEING SUPPRESSED FROM THE N BY TROUGHINESS DEVELOPING OVER ERN CANADA. NOT SURE HOW MUCH SUCCESS IT`LL HAVE THOUGH ESPECIALLY IN MAKING IT THIS FAR SOUTH AT LEAST WITH THE RAPIDITY SHOWN BY THE GFS. EC AND CANADIAN ARE SLOWER SHOWING THAT COLD FRONT ASSOC WITH THE TROUGH NOT CLOSE ENOUGH UNTIL FRIDAY TO START RAMPING UP POPS AND TEMPERING THE WARMTH.
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&& .AVIATION /00Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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AS OF 00Z...CURRENTLY VFR AT ALL TERMS THIS EVENING WITH S-SW WINDS AOB 10 KTS. MID TO HIGH CLOUDS WILL LINGER TONIGHT AS AN UPPER DISTURBANCE APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. THESE CLOUDS ALONG WITH ENHANCED NEAR SFC WINDS SUGGEST WIDESPREAD FOG IS UNLIKELY...BUT PATCHY FOG IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE BEFORE 12Z. HAVE INCLUDED MVFR VSBYS INLAND...KLBT/KFLO...ALONG WITH FOG-PRONE KCRE. EXPECT INCREASING LOW/MID-LEVEL CLOUDS ON SATURDAY WITH S-SW WINDS 8-12 KTS. ISOLATED SHOWERS/TSTMS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE AFTN HOURS...BUT CHANCES ARE TOO LOW TO MENTION IN TAFS ATTM. EXTENDED OUTLOOK...AFTN SHOWERS/TSTMS POSSIBLE THROUGH MONDAY. OTHERWISE VFR.
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&& .MARINE...
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NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 330 PM FRIDAY...PERSISTENCE WILL BE THE THEME FOR THE COASTAL WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT AS A SOUTHWEST FLOW OF 10-15 KT PREVAILS. WAVEWATCH SEAS WILL CONTINUE IN A 2-4 FOOT RANGE. THE BACKDOOR FRONT SHOULD STAY WELL TO THE NORTH PRECLUDING ANY WIND SHIFT. SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 330 PM FRIDAY...SUMMER-LIKE BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE REGIME WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE WATERS...BRINGING MODERATE SW WINDS OVER THE WEEKEND. THE WINDS WILL BE A BIT STRONGER SUNDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE OFFSHORE STRENGTHENS...AND INTERACTS WITH LOWER PRESSURE INLAND. SEAS OF 2-4 FEET SATURDAY MAY INCREASE TO 3-5 FEET BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS WINDS INCREASE TO 15-20 KT AND PERSIST INTO EARLY MONDAY. SEAS WILL BE A MIX OF MODERATE SSW WIND-WAVES AND SE WAVES 1-2 FEET EVERY 8-10 SECONDS. LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... AS OF 330 PM FRIDAY...LITTLE MEANINGFUL VARIABILITY FROM DAY TO DAY FOR THE EXTENDED. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS BORNE OF BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE EXPECTED FOR THE DURATION WITH SPEEDS TENDING TO REMAIN IN THE 10 TO 15KT RANGE. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT LATER IN THE PERIOD THE HIGH BECOMES SUPPRESSED AND DEFORMED BY THE APPROACH OF A COLD FRONT FROM THE NORTH. THIS WOULD LEAD TO A DROP IN WIND SPEEDS. CURRENT THINKING THOUGH IS THAT THIS BOUNDARY WILL BE QUITE A BIT SLOWER THAN DEPICTED IN MODEL GUIDANCE AND SO THIS WILL NOT CURRENTLY BE INCORPORATED INTO THE FORECAST.
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&& .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. NC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...SHK NEAR TERM...DCH/SHK SHORT TERM...MJC LONG TERM...MBB AVIATION...BJR

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