Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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000 FXUS62 KILM 170108 AFDILM AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 908 PM EDT THU MAY 16 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
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WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS ANCHORED OFFSHORE. A MID LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BRING A CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT. DRIER WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
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&& .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING/...
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AS OF 9 PM THURSDAY...A MILD EVENING AND OVERNIGHT PERIOD UNDERWAY AS SOUTHERLY FLOW AROUND HIGH PRESSURE OFFSHORE PREVAILS. AIDING THE MILD REGIME ARE MIDDLE AND HIGH CLOUDS AHEAD OF AN IMPULSE EVIDENT IN VAPOR ANIMATIONS MOVING E OVER THE CENTRAL CAROLINAS. CONVECTION WAS CONFINED MAINLY IN THE APPALACHIANS THIS EVENING. PARTIAL BUT NOT FULL CLEARING IS EXPECTED OVERNIGHT AS A SERIES OF UPSTREAM DISTURBANCES ALOFT PRODUCE VARYING DEGREES OF HIGH CLOUDINESS. THIS COUPLED WITH SW LOW-LEVEL WIND FLOW OVERNIGHT SHOULD ALLOW A SLOW DROPPING TEMPERATURE TREND WITH LOWS IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER 60S ALONG THE COAST BY DAYBREAK FRIDAY AND LOW TO MIDDLE 60S INLAND. LATEST LAV GUIDANCE HAS MINS A FEW DEGREES WARMER THAN FORECAST AND A FEW TWEAKS UPWARD ARE PLANNED FOR THE OVERNIGHT UPDATE TO MIN TEMPS. NO OTHER CHANGES PLANNED.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 AM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 3 PM THURSDAY...A BERMUDA RIDGE WILL KEEP IT WARM ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS PERIOD. A PIEDMONT TROUGH WILL REMAIN IN PLACE. A BACKDOOR COLD FRONT WILL DRIFT SOUTH AND SHOULD BE NEAR THE ONSLOW-PENDER COUNTY LINE FRI NIGHT. THIS FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BECOME INCREASINGLY ILL-DEFINED AS IT STALLS OUT COMPLETELY. THE FRONT SHOULD TEND TO LIFT BACK TO THE N AS THE FLOW BECOMES PROGRESSIVELY SW...AND S BELOW 5 KFT ON SAT. A WEAK MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE WILL APPROACH THE AREA LATE SAT AND SAT NIGHT. A SHARP SEABREEZE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SLOWLY INLAND ON FRI...RETARDED SOMEWHAT BY THE RATHER DEEP...BUT WEAK...WESTERLY FLOW. THE SEABREEZE SHOULD MAKE MUCH BETTER PROGRESS INLAND ON SAT GIVEN THE PREVAILING FLOW. IN TERMS OF HOW THIS WILL AFFECT OUR SENSIBLE WEATHER. IT WILL REMAIN WARM THROUGH THE PERIOD. FRI SHOULD BE WARMER THAN SAT GIVEN THERE SHOULD BE AT LEAST A LITTLE LESS CLOUD COVER AND CONVECTION SHOULD BE ISOLATED. EITHER WAY...BOTH DAYS WILL BE WELL UP IN THE 80S. A FEW 90 DEGREE READINGS ARE POSSIBLE FRI...ESPECIALLY ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE PEE DEE. THE BEACHES AND NEARBY LOCATIONS WILL BE WARMEST ON FRI...PERHAPS REACHING 80 DEGREES. NIGHTTIME TEMPS WILL ALSO BE ABOVE NORMAL...MID AND UPPER 60S THROUGHOUT. GIVEN SUBSIDENT FLOW WILL LINGER AND DRY AIR WILL BE TOUGH TO DISPLACE FRI...WILL INCLUDE ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS WITH A SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCE FRI EVE ACROSS PENDER AND BLADEN COUNTIES WHICH WILL BE IN CLOSEST PROXIMITY TO THE BACKDOOR FRONT. A MORE SOUTHERLY FLOW ON SAT AND THE APPROACH OF A WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGH SHOULD ALLOW FOR MORE IN THE WAY OF CONVECTION. CAPE VALUES BECOME SIGNIFICANT...IN EXCESS OF 1500 TO 2000 J/KG...INDICATIVE OF GOOD INSTABILITY. HOWEVER...MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE BELOW 7 DEG C/KM WHICH SHOULD HINDER MORE ROBUST UPDRAFTS. STILL...WOULD EXPECT CONVECTION TO DEVELOP ALONG THE INLAND PENETRATING SEABREEZE AND THE PIEDMONT TROUGH. COVERAGE AND STRENGTH OF THE CONVECTION SHOULD BE ENHANCED BY THE WEAK MID-LEVEL SUPPORT...ESPECIALLY ALONG AND W OF INTERSTATE 95. WILL CARRY UP TO LOW-END LIKELY POPS ACROSS THE WESTERN FRINGES OF OUR FORECAST AREA SAT AFTERNOON AND EVE...WITH POPS DECREASING TO SLIGHT CHANCE CLOSER TO THE COAST. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 300 PM THURSDAY...SUMMERTIME PATTERN CONTINUES WITH BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE ANCHORED OFFSHORE PUMPING WARM AND MORE HUMID AIR INTO THE REGION. WHILE THIS TYPICALLY SUPPORTS TEMPS ABOVE CLIMO WITH DIURNAL CONVECTION...THE BEST CHANCES FOR TSTMS WILL BE SUN/MON. UPPER IMPULSE ROTATING SLOWLY AROUND BUILDING 5H RIDGE WILL TRACK NEARLY OVERHEAD SUN AND MON. THIS OCCURS IN AN ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZED BY PWATS APPROACHING 1.8 INCHES...OR NEARLY 2 SD`S ABOVE NORMAL FOR MID-MAY. THE COMBINATION OF THE UPPER FORCING...SIGNIFICANT INSTABILITY OF 1000-2000 J/KG...SEA BREEZE BOUNDARY AND PIEDMONT TROUGH...AND DEWPOINTS RISING INTO THE MID 60S...SUPPORTS WIDESPREAD CONVECTION BOTH SUN AND MON AFTN. ML LAPSE RATES WILL BE ONLY MARGINAL HOWEVER...5-6 C/KM...SO WHILE CONVECTION SHOULD BE PRETTY WIDESPREAD...SEVERE CONVECTION APPEARS UNLIKELY. BY TUESDAY...UPPER VORT SWINGS OFFSHORE LEAVING SOME SUBSIDENCE BEHIND IT IN CONJUNCTION WITH BUILDING 1000-500MB THICKNESSES. WHILE COLUMN REMAINS QUITE MOIST...OVERALL CONVECTIVE COVERAGE WILL BE DECREASED ON TUESDAY...AND EVEN MORESO WED/THU WITH DRIER AIR WORKING INTO THE REGION AND SUBSIDENCE INCREASING DUE TO THE BUILDING MID LEVEL RIDGE. TEMPS DURING THE PERIOD WILL BE AROUND...TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE CLIMO EACH DAY. EXPECT HIGHS IN THE LOW/MID 80S WITH LOWS IN THE LOW/MID 60S. A SLIGHT WARM UP MAY OCCUR DURING THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION /01Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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AS OF 01Z...VFR AT ALL TERMS THIS EVENING WITH SCT/BKN CIRRUS AND SOUTHWEST WINDS AOB 10 KTS. MID/HIGH CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE MOVING OVER THE CWA TONIGHT AS THE WINDS DIMINISH TO 5 KTS OR LESS. LOW-LEVEL WIND PROFILES DO NOT SUPPORT FOG FORMATION...BUT CANNOT RULE OUT TEMPO MVFR VSBYS AT KLBT/KFLO WHERE THE WINDS MAY BECOME CALM/LIGHT JUST BEFORE DAYBREAK. EXPECT VFR ON THURSDAY WITH SOME SCT CU DURING THE DAY AND SOUTHWEST WINDS AOB 10 KTS. ALONG THE COAST...WINDS WILL BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY BY MID-AFTERNOON AS THE SEA BREEZE PUSHES THROUGH THESE TERMS. EXTENDED OUTLOOK...CHANCE OF AFTN SHOWERS/TSTMS SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY...OTHERWISE VFR.
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&& .MARINE...
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NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 9 PM THURSDAY...SW WINDS WILL DECREASE A BIT OVERNIGHT AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PASSING OVER NEW ENGLAND LIFTS FARTHER TO THE NE. THIS WILL LEAVE A SW RETURN FLOW AROUND 10 TO 15 KTS HEADING INTO THE MORNING. SEAS MAINLY IN THE 2 TO 4 FT RANGE IN A MIX OF SSW WIND-CHOP AND WEAK LONGER PERIOD SE WAVES. NO TSTMS OR FOG CONCERNS OVER THE 0-20NM WATERS THROUGH DAYBREAK FRIDAY. SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 3 PM THURSDAY...WINDS WILL REMAIN FROM THE SSW TO SW THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE PROXIMITY OF THE BERMUDA RIDGE SHOULD KEEP WINDS 15 KT OR LESS. SEAS WILL RANGE FROM 2 TO 4 FT. THE BACKDOOR COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO STALL JUST N OF THE WATERS FRI NIGHT...BEFORE MOVING BACK TO THE N. LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... AS OF 300 PM THURSDAY...RETURN FLOW AROUND OFFSHORE BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE CREATES PERSISTENT S/SW WINDS OVER THE WATERS. WHILE MINOR DIURNAL FLUCTUATIONS IN DIRECTION/SPEED ARE LIKELY DURING THE PERIOD...WINDS WILL BE PREDOMINANTLY 10-15 KTS EACH DAY DURING THE EXTENDED. EVEN THOUGH E/SE SWELL WILL SLOWLY GROW IN AMPLITUDE WITH AN INCREASING PERIOD DURING THE EXTENDED...TO 2-3FT/10SEC...WAVES WILL STILL BE PRIMARILY WIND-WAVE DOMINATED. SEAS OF 2-4 FT CAN BE EXPECTED EACH DAY...WITH A S/SW WIND WAVE OVERLAYING THE E/SE SWELL.
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&& .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. NC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && $$ NEAR TERM...8 SHORT TERM...RJD LONG TERM...JDW AVIATION...BJR

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