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-- Discussion containing changed information from previous version are highlighted. --
000
FXUS62 KILM 041443
AFDILM

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...COR SYNOPSIS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
939 AM EST WED MAR 4 2015

.SYNOPSIS...
TEMPERATURES WILL RISE INTO THE 70S TODAY AWAY FROM THE IMMEDIATE
COAST AS SOUTHWEST WINDS AND AN UPPER RIDGE PREVAIL OVER THE AREA.
AREAS OF DENSE FOG WILL LINGER ALONG THE COAST TODAY AND TONIGHT. A
COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH SHARPLY COLDER
AIR INVADING THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY THEN LINGERING
INTO THE WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY WARM EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
AS OF 925 AM WEDNESDAY...LOW CLOUDS BREAKING ALLOWING SUNSHINE
AND A QUICK WARM-UP ALREADY UNDERWAY. DEEPER INLAND ALONG THE I-95
CORRIDOR A SLOWER PATH TO CLEARING BUT IMMINENT AND HERE IS WHERE
THE WARMEST MAXIMUMS ARE FORECAST TO OCCUR...UPPER 70S TO NEAR 80.

TEMPERATURES WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER ANYWHERE NEAR THE
BEACHES AS WINDS BLOW ONSHORE ACROSS 45-50 DEGREE WATER. THE
COOLEST AND FOGGIEST WEATHER SHOULD OCCUR ALONG SOUTH-FACING
BEACHES WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL BARELY REACH 60 DEGREES WITH DENSE
FOG CONTINUING THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY. FOR THIS REASON A DENSE
FOG ADVISORY WILL RUN FOR THE BEACHES THROUGH TONIGHT.

CONTINUED SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL HELP KEEP THE BOUNDARY LAYER
MIXED TONIGHT. RADIATIONAL COOLING SHOULD RESULT IN LOW STRATUS
DEVELOPING DURING THE EVENING HOURS...WITH A NEAR-SOLID OVERCAST
POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT EVEN INLAND. THIS WILL STABILIZE
TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER 60S FOR MOST AREAS AWAY FROM THE
BEACHES.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
AS OF 400 AM WEDNESDAY...BROAD POSITIVELY TILTED UPPER TROF WILL
RULE THE EASTERN 1/2 TO 2/3RDS OF THE UNITED STATES. SPLIT FLOW
WILL CONTINUE ALOFT...WITH UPPER FLOW FROM THE SW TO START THE
SHORT TERM PERIOD...WHICH STARTS AT THU DAYBREAK. THIS WILL
PROVIDE SOME GULF OF MEXICO MOISTURE AND EVEN PACIFIC MOISTURE
PROVIDED IT DOES NOT SCOUR OUT WHEN CROSSING THE SOUTHERN ROCKY
MOUNTAINS. NEVERTHELESS...THIS FLOW WILL RESULT IN SLIGHTLY HIER
THAN NORMAL MAX TEMPS THU ALONG WITH PARTLY OR VARIABLY CLOUDY
SKIES. THE NORTHERN STREAM...DROPPING ACROSS THE U.S. FROM
CANADA...WILL BE PUSHING A SFC COLD/ARCTIC FRONT SOUTHEASTWARD.
AT THE START OF THE SHORT TERM PERIOD...THIS NORTHEAST TO
SOUTHWEST ORIENTED COLD/ARCTIC FRONT...WILL BE ON THE DOORSTEPS
OF THE ILM CWA. THE MAIN SWATH OF PCPN WILL OCCUR AFTER THE CFP
STARTING LATE MORNING THU...AND CONTINUING THU NITE BEFORE ENDING
MIDDAY FRI AS THE FRONT PUSHES FURTHER OFFSHORE.

NO DRAMATIC SFC LOW DEVELOPMENT ALONG THIS FRONT...AND THUS WILL
ACTUALLY RELY ON OVERRUNNING BEHIND THE FRONT AS THE VERY SHALLOW
ARCTIC AIR MASS PUSHES UNDER THE MILD/WARM AIR ALOFT. TEMPS AFTER
FROPA WILL DROP DRAMATICALLY COME LATE THU THRU THU NIGHT BEFORE
LEVELING OFF SOMEWHAT DURING FRI. THERE COULD BE A PERIOD OR ROUND
OF MIXED WINTRY PCPN DURING THE PRE-DAWN FRI HOURS...MAINLY NORTH
OF HIGHWAYS 74-76 WITHIN THE ILM CWA. THE COLD AIR DEPTH AT THE
LOWER LEVELS WILL BE A DETERMINING FACTOR OF WHETHER IP WILL BE
INTRODUCED INTO THE PCPN...AND ALSO THE SFC TEMP ITSELF. SREF
INDICATES A CHANCE FOR SLEET ALONG WITH FREEZING RAIN FOR A
PORTION OF THE ILM CWA. WITH A GOOD 2-3 DAYS OF SFC TEMPS WELL
ABOVE FREEZING...WILL HOLD OFF WITH THE MENTIONING OF LIGHT
FREEZING RAIN OR DRIZZLE MIXING IN...LET ALONE ANY ACCRETION. IF
ANYTHING...A TRACE OF IP MAY OCCUR BEFORE MELTING COME FRIDAY
DAYBREAK.

AS FOR FRI MAX TEMPS AND SAT MORNING MINS...STAYED CLOSE TO THE
HIER SIDE OF MOS GUIDANCE IE. THE NAM MOS GUIDANCE. 850MB PROGGED
TEMPS BARELY BREAK 0 DEGREES DURING FRIDAY...AND EVEN STAY ABOVE 0
DEGREES FOR MUCH OF FRI NITE. THIS ILLUSTRATING HOW SHALLOW IN
DEPTH THIS SFC BASED ARCTIC AIRMASS IS TO BECOME. EVEN PROGGED
925 MB TEMPS...ALSO HOVER AROUND 0 DEGREES FRI NITE. THE AREA MAY
BE SUBJECT TO SOME RADIATIONAL COOLING LATE FRI NITE AS SKIES
CLEAR OUT AND THE SFC PG RELAXES...ALONG WITH SFC DEWPOINTS
RANGING FROM THE TEENS IN THE NORTH TO 20S SOUTH.

&&

.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
AS OF 430 AM WEDNESDAY...THE LONGWAVE UPPER PATTERN ACROSS THE FA WILL
INITIALLY BE GOVERNED BY THE UPPER TROF THAT HAS AMPLIFIED
SOMEWHAT ALLOWING THE ARCTIC FRONT FROM EARLY FRIDAY TO PUSH
OFFSHORE FROM THE CAROLINA COASTS AND ALSO SOUTH OF THE ILM CWA. AT
THE BEGINNING OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD...SAT INTO SUN...THE FA WILL
BE UNDER AN ARCTIC AIRMASS THAT WILL BE MODERATING QUICKLY
ALLOWING TEMPS TO RECOVER TO NEAR NORMAL STARTING FROM DAYTIME
MAXES DURING SUNDAY. SHOULD BE A PCPN-FREE WEEKEND.

THE EXTENDED MODELS FOR LATE SUNDAY INTO THE EARLY TO MID WEEK
PERIOD OF NEXT WEEK...WANT TO FLATTEN THE PERSISTENT LONGWAVE
UPPER TROF PLAGUING THE FA...AND ONCE AGAIN SPLIT THE UPPER FLOW.
MODELS WANT TO BRING BACK A MILDER AND MOIST AIRMASS TO THE REGION
USING THE PACIFIC AND GULF OF MEXICO SOURCES. MAINLY THE
LATTER...GULF OF MEXICO. MAX/MIN TEMPS TO RECOVER TO CLIMO NORMS
THIS PERIOD WITH CLOUDINESS LIKELY LIMITING ITS UPWARD ASCENT NEXT
WEEK. WILL INCLUDE MAINLY SILENT 20 POPS BUT AT LEAST TEMPS WILL BE
TOO MILD FOR ANY WINTRY WX REGIMES ACROSS THE ILM CWA.

&&

.AVIATION /14Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
AS OF 12Z...IFR/LIFR EXPECTED THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS AS AREAS
OF DENSE FOG AND LOW CIGS PERSIST ACROSS THE AREA. IMPROVEMENT TO
CLEARING BUT IFR/MVFR LINGERING INTO LATE MORNING KLBT TO KFLO AS
A WARM FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. CONDITIONS THEN EXPECTED TO
DETERIORATE AGAIN TO IFR/POSSIBLE LIFR TONIGHT AS LOW CIGS AND FOG
RETURNS.

WITH SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS AOB 12 KTS AND ALREADY REPORTS OF GUSTS
AROUND 20 KTS AT KILM...LATEST OBSERVATIONS ARE REPORTING LOW STRATUS
AND DENSE FOG ACROSS THE AREA...CREATING IFR/LIFR THIS MORNING.
EXPECT THESE RESTRICTED CONDITIONS TO PERSIST THROUGH THE MORNING
HOURS AS A WARM FRONT JUST TO THE SOUTH AND EAST LIFTS UP THROUGH
THE AREA TODAY. HAZARDOUS WIND SHEAR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH
THE MORNING HOURS AS A LOW LEVEL JET POTENTIALLY ALLOWS FOR 1000 FT
WIND SPEEDS TO INCREASE TO AROUND 30 TO 40 KTS.

INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS...BEHIND THE WARM FRONT...ANTICIPATE AN
IMPROVEMENT TO MVFR WITH GUSTY SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS AT ALL TAF
SITES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KCRE/KMYR. THESE TWO TAF SITES MAY
REMAIN IN IFR AS SEA FOG PERSISTS JUST ALONG THE COAST. INTO THE
EVENING HOURS...CONDITIONS DETERIORATE YET AGAIN TO IFR/LIFR AS LOW
CIGS AND FOG RETURNS...WITH SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS AOB 10 KTS.

EXTENDED OUTLOOK...IFR CONDITIONS ON THURSDAY AND POSSIBLY INTO
FRIDAY ALONG THE COAST. OTHERWISE EXPECT VFR.

&&

.MARINE...
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
AS OF 925 AM WEDNESDAY...THE WARM FRONT IS INLAND WITH GRADUALLY
INCREASING SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS NOW NOTED NEAR THE COAST. DENSE
SEA FOG CONTINUES AND NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ARE NEEDED TO THE
FORECAST.

SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE SURGING NORTHWARD ACROSS THE VERY CHILLY
WATER TEMPERATURES IS RESULTING IN DENSE FOG. WITH SOUTH-SOUTHWEST
WINDS CONTINUING THROUGH TONIGHT...SEE NO REASON WHY THE FOG WILL
END...AND AM INCLUDING WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG IN THE FORECAST
THROUGH TONIGHT. WIND SPEEDS SHOULD INCREASE TO AROUND 15 KNOTS BY
LATE MORNING...REMAINING THERE THROUGH TONIGHT.

STRONGER WINDS JUST 30-60 OFFSHORE WILL GENERATE A 6-7 SECOND SWELL
THAT WILL PROPAGATE WESTWARD INTO THE COASTAL WATERS...PUSHING TOTAL
SEA HEIGHTS UP TO 3-5 FEET. THIS SWELL SHOULD EXCEED ANY LOCALLY
GENERATED WIND WAVES AND REMAIN THE DOMINANT WAVE SET.

SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRI NIGHT/...
AS OF 330 AM WEDNESDAY...INCREASING SOUTHWEST TO WEST FLOW AHEAD
OF THE APPROACHING ARCTIC FRONT THU...WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE TO
STRONG SCA THRESHOLDS AT 20 TO 30 KT AFTER ITS PASSAGE DURING THU
EVENING AND NIGHT...AND CONTINUING WELL INTO DAYTIME FRI BEFORE
FINALLY DIMINISHING AS THE CENTER OF THE HIGH ELONGATES ACROSS THE
LOCAL WATERS FRI NITE. DIRECTIONS WILL VEER TO THE N TO NE AFTER
FROPA. AT THE PEAK OF THE CAA DURING THU NIGHT INTO EARLY
FRI...AND COMBINED WITH THE TIGHTENED SFC PG...WIND GUSTS SHOULD
BREACH 35+ KT AT TIMES ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE LOCALLY MILDER
SSTS...RELATIVELY SPEAKING. IE...THE OUTER WATERS OFF CAPE FEAR.
SIGNIFICANT SEAS TO BE RULED BY LOCALLY PRODUCED AND MERGING WIND
DRIVEN WAVES. WILL HAVE A LIMITED FETCH TO WORK WITH...RESULTING
IN A DECENT RANGE OF SEAS...LOWEST AT THE IMMEDIATE COAST AND UP
TO 5 TO 8 FT ACROSS THE OUTER WATERS OFF CAPE FEAR...AND OFF CAPE
ROMAINE.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
AS OF 430 AM WEDNESDAY...FINALLY...AND I MEAN FINALLY...A BRIEF
REPRIEVE TO THE WINDS AND SIGNIFICANT SEAS FORECAST FOR THE ILM
COASTAL WATERS. LOOK FOR IMPROVING CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE UPCOMING
WEEKEND AS THE CENTER OF THE ARCTIC MODERATES AS IT POSITIONS
ITSELF NEARLY OVERHEAD COME DAYTIME SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. WINDS TO
DROP BELOW 10 KT AND SIGNIFICANT SEAS TO SUBSIDE TO LESS THAN 3
FT...AS A PSEUDO GROUND SWELL FROM THE NE-E BECOMES THE DOMINATE
CONTRIBUTOR TO THE OVERALL SIGNIFICANT SEAS. PSEUDO...BECAUSE THE
DOMINANT PERIODS EXHIBITED BY THIS SWELL WILL RANGE FROM 6 TO 8
SECONDS.

&&

.ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SC...DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY FOR SCZ054-056.

NC...DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY FOR NCZ106-108-110.

MARINE...DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY FOR AMZ250-252-254-
     256.

&&

$$

NEAR TERM...MJC/TRA
SHORT TERM...DCH
LONG TERM...DCH
AVIATION...SGL