Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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000 FXUS62 KILM 200313 AFDILM AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1113 PM EDT WED JUN 19 2013 .SYNOPSIS... AS THE COLD FRONT SAGS FARTHER SOUTH THROUGH THIS EVENING...THE RISK OF RAIN WILL SLOWLY END FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. THIS FRONT WILL LINGER SOUTH OF COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA AS HIGH PRESSURE NOSES IN FROM THE NORTH...PUSHING SOME DRIER AIR ACROSS THE REGION LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. THE LINGERING FRONT WILL NUDGE BACK TO THE NORTH FRIDAY INTO THIS WEEKEND...ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASING CLOUDS AND CHANCE FOR CONVECTION MAINLY ACROSS THE COASTAL CAROLINAS. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/...
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AS OF 1045 PM WEDNESDAY...CURRENT PCPN AND LATEST HRRR INDICATE POPS WILL CONTINUE TO DROP ACROSS THE REGION LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...AND TRANSITION TO A MORE STRATIFORM TYPE PCPN. IN FACT...LATEST 88D AND SFC OBS INDICATE LOW LEVEL -SHRA OR -RA AND DRIZZLE WITHIN THE LOW LEVEL NE-E FLOW BEGINNING TO DOMINATE PCPN ACROSS THE IMMEDIATE COAST AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE ILM CWA INTO THE PRE-DAWN THU HOURS. WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE LATEST HRRR MODEL TO ILLUSTRATE THE CURRENT AND PROGGED LOCATION OF THE FRONT...AND THE SENSIBLE WX PARAMETERS IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT. LOOKING AT THE LATEST SAT IMAGERY...DO NOT SEE THE CLEARING BEHIND THE FRONT THAT MODELS TRY TO INFILTRATE ACROSS THE FA OVERNITE. HOWEVER...THE CLOUDS WEST OF I-95 ARE OF THE HIGH LEVEL VARIETY. AS A RESULT...HAVE BACKED DOWN WITH THE OPAQUE CLOUDINESS ESPECIALLY INLAND. HOWEVER...IT CAN EASILY FILL BACK IN WITH LOW LEVEL STRATUS. HAVE ONLY INCLUDED PATCHY FOG AT THIS POINT...ANYTHING WORSE WILL HAVE TO BE MONITORED SINCE FOG NOT A COMMON OCCURRENCE OUTSIDE OF PCPN DURING THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. WILL KEEP MIN TEMPS IN THE 65 TO 70 DEGREE RANGE...WHERE LOWER READINGS TO OCCUR WELL INLAND.
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&& .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 300 PM WEDNESDAY...LATEST MODEL RUNS HEDGING TOWARD A CLOUDIER AND WETTER FORECAST FOR THE COASTAL AREAS AS FRONT LINGERS NEAR OR JUST SOUTH OF AREA THROUGH THE PERIOD AND THEN MOVES BACK NORTH AND WEST. ALTHOUGH HIGH PRESSURE TRIES TO BUILD DOWN FROM THE NORTH...IT LOOKS LIKE THE RIDGE TO THE SOUTH WILL END UP PUSHING THE DIFFUSE BOUNDARY AND ASSOCIATED MOISTURE BACK NORTH. THE HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NORTH WILL CONTINUE TO NOSE DOWN INTO THE INLAND PORTIONS OF THE CAROLINAS BUT THERE WILL BE A TIGHT GRADIENT BETWEEN THE TWO AIR MASSES...SLIGHTLY COOLER AND MUCH DRIER TO THE NORTHWEST AND MUCH WETTER TO THE SOUTHEAST. THE BIG QUESTION IS WHERE WILL THIS DIVIDING LINE END UP. PREVIOUS MODEL RUNS KEPT OUR AREA IN THE DRIER AIR BUT LATEST RUNS ARE TRENDING TO A WETTER FORECAST...MAINLY ALONG THE COAST. PCP WATER VALUES WILL BE AS LOW AS ONE INCH BASICALLY WEST OF I95 AND UP TO 1.75 INCHES OR GREATER OVER NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA COAST. LOOKS LIKE OUR BEST CHC FOR DRIER NICER WEATHER WILL BE ON THURS BEFORE BOUNDARY MAKES ITS PUSH NORTH. FOR NOW WILL KEEP ANY CHC OF PCP JUST ALONG THE COAST AND PRIMARILY OVER COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA...BUT MAY END UP BEING A GOOD DEAL OF CLOUDS OVER MUCH OF THE AREA EXCEPT INLAND COUNTIES...MAINLY WEST OF I95 WHERE DRIER AND SUNNIER WEATHER SHOULD BE. BASICALLY ANY SHIFT IN THIS BOUNDARY WILL CHANGE FORECAST QUITE A BIT AND THEREFORE MUCH UNCERTAINTY EXISTS FOR FORECAST ACROSS THE COASTAL COUNTIES. PCP ALONG THE COAST...CLOUDS AND NORTHEAST FLOW WILL KEEP TEMPS BELOW NORMAL. TEMPS SHOULD REMAIN CLOSER TO 80 ALONG THE COAST TO MID 80S INLAND. OVERNIGHT LOWS SHOULD BE IN THE MID 60S. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... AS OF 300 PM WEDNESDAY...SOME UNCERTAINTY REMAINS IN THE EXTENDED...BUT GUIDANCE IN DECENT AGREEMENT FOR THE MOST PART IN A DEVELOPING TYPICAL SUMMERTIME PATTERN...WITH RIDGING AT 500MB AND A BERMUDA HIGH SITTING OFFSHORE. DURING NEXT WEEK...HIGH PRESSURE OFFSHORE WILL COMBINE WITH BUILDING 1000-500MB THICKNESSES TO CREATE A WARMING TREND...WITH TEMPS RISING TO ABOVE NORMAL..AND WIDESPREAD 90S ARE LIKELY EARLY NEXT WEEK. AT THE SAME TIME...THIS PATTERN TYPICALLY SUPPORTS SCATTERED AFTN CONVECTION...AND NEXT WEEK SHOULD BE NO DIFFERENT. WITHOUT ANY MEANINGFUL CAP...AND PWATS RISING TO NEAR TWO INCHES...HAVE CHC/SCHC CONVECTION EACH AFTN...WANING NOCTURNALLY. THE BIGGEST QUESTION MARK IN THE EXTENDED THEN IS THE FIRST PORTION OF THE PERIOD. COLD FRONT OFFSHORE WILL BE WEAKENING...AND AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS WELL EAST...SYNOPTIC RETURN FLOW WILL PUSH THIS BOUNDARY BACK TOWARDS THE COAST DURING SATURDAY...LIFTING NORTH OF THE AREA ON SUNDAY. QUESTION MARKS REMAIN AS TO HOW STRONG THIS BOUNDARY WILL BE...HOW MUCH MOISTURE WILL STILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH IT...AND WHETHER A LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP ALONG IT. ATTM WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ECMWF WHICH HAS BEEN THE MOST CONSISTENT...BUT MAY BE A BIT DRY...AND WILL NOT INCLUDE ANY MENTION OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPMENT...BUT WILL SUPPORT CHC POP SAT INTO SUN AS THE TROUGH PUSHES ONSHORE. TEMPS WILL BE HINDERED DURING THE WKND BY CLOUDS AND PRECIP...AND EXPECT LOW/MID 80S SAT BEFORE WARMING AS SOME COLUMN DRYING OCCURS ON SUNDAY. && .AVIATION /03Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... AS OF 00Z...A COLD FRONT REMAINS JUST SOUTH OF OUR CWA THIS EVENING...WITH SHOWERS/T-STORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT MOVING OFFSHORE. WILL KEEP VCSH FOR KMYR/KCRE THRU THE EVENING HOURS... ALTHOUGH THE DRIER AIR BEHIND THE FRONT LIKELY WILL LIMIT ANY PCPN IN THE FCST AREA. GUIDANCE AND FCST SOUNDINGS SUPPORT MVFR/IFR CIGS DEVELOPING AT ALL TERMS AFTER 06Z...SLIGHTLY FAVORING THE INLAND SITES. BEST CHANCES FOR IFR APPEAR TO BE FROM 09-12Z ATTM. MVFR CIGS COULD LINGER THRU THE MORNING HOURS...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE COAST... BEFORE DRYING OUT IN THE AFTN AS HIGH PRESSURE INCHES DOWN FROM THE NORTH. E/NE WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN TO 10-15 KTS DURING THE DAY AS THE SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS OVER THE CAROLINAS. EXTENDED OUTLOOK...SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS FRIDAY THRU SUNDAY AS A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY LINGERS NEAR THE COAST. VFR ON MONDAY. && .MARINE...
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NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 1045 PM WEDNESDAY...AS MENTIONED BY THE PRIOR FORECASTER... ONLY A FEW MODELS ARE HANDLING THE CURRENT LOCATION OF THE COLD FRONT AND ITS SOUTHWARD MOVEMENT. WILL STALL IT SOUTH AND WELL EAST AND OFFSHORE FROM THE ILM COASTAL WATERS BY DAYBREAK THU...PER LATEST HRRR GUIDANCE. LOOK FOR THE SFC PG TO TIGHTEN ACROSS THE AREA WATERS AS THE HIGH FLEXES SOUTHWARD OVERNIGHT INTO THURSDAY. HAVE STAYED CLOSER TO THE HRRR OUTPUT WITH A SOLID 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KT. THE LATEST RUN OF LOCALLY PRODUCED SWAN HAS FINALLY COME CLOSER TO CURRENT SEA CONDITIONS...AND WILL THEREFORE USE ITS OUTPUT FOR THE OVERNIGHT INTO THURSDAY PERIOD. THE WIND DRIVEN 4 TO 6 SECOND PERIOD WAVES WILL DOMINATE THE SIGNIFICANT SEAS OVERNIGHT INTO THU. SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 300 PM WEDNESDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN BEHIND FRONT WHICH WILL SLOWLY SAG SOUTH INITIALLY AND THEN BACK NORTH BY FRIDAY. THE PINCHED GRADIENT BETWEEN THE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING SOUTH AND STALLED FRONT OFF THE COAST WILL PRODUCE PERSISTENT NORTHEAST WINDS AROUND 15 KT THURSDAY. THIS IN TURN WILL PRODUCE SEAS IN THE 3 TO 5 FT RANGE MOST WATERS...BUT LOWER JUST SOUTH OF CAPE FEAR WHICH REMAINS BLOCKED FROM NORTHEAST WINDS. GRADIENT WILL RELAX A BIT LATE THURS INTO FRI WITH WINDS SUBSIDING TO 10 TO 15 KTS THURS NIGHT AND CLOSER TO 10 KTS BY FRI. THIS WILL ALLOW SEAS TO DROP DOWN TO 2 TO 4 FT. WINDS VEER AROUND AS BOUNDARY LIFTS NORTH BECOMING MORE EAST TO SOUTHEAST THROUGH FRIDAY ON EAST SIDE OF BOUNDARY. WINDS WILL REMAIN NORTHEAST 10 KTS OR LESS ON WEST SIDE OF LINGERING FRONT AND MORE SOUTHERLY UP TO 15 KTS ON EAST SIDE OF BOUNDARY WHICH MAY INTERSECT RIGHT THROUGH OUR LOCAL WATERS ON FRIDAY. LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... AS OF 300 PM WEDNESDAY...LIGHT NE WINDS SATURDAY WILL GRADUALLY TURN TO THE SE AS COASTAL TROUGH/REMNANT FRONT PUSHES WEST ONSHORE DURING THE DAY. THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING ACROSS THE WESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN...WHICH WILL THEN CONTROL THE SYNOPTIC ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED...CREATING SW WINDS AROUND 10 KTS OVER THE WATERS. WITH THE GRADIENT REMAINING RELATIVELY WEAK...WIND WAVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE SPECTRUM WILL BE ONLY MINIMAL...AND THE COMBINATION OF WIND WAVES (NE ON SATURDAY...SE SUN/MON) AND A GROWING SE SWELL WILL CREATE 2-4 FT SEAS THROUGH THE PERIOD.
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&& .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. NC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...RGZ NEAR TERM...DCH SHORT TERM...RGZ LONG TERM...JDW AVIATION...BJR

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