Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Jackson, KY

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837 FXUS63 KJKL 200915 AFDJKL AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Jackson KY 515 AM EDT Mon May 20 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Dry weather is expected area wide through Wednesday morning. - There is a potential for showers and thunderstorms at times from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday. - Very warm temperatures will persist through Wednesday. An increase in clouds and the possibility of rain will bring somewhat lower temperature after that, especially Thursday and Friday. && .SHORT TERM...
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(Today through Tuesday) Issued at 313 AM EDT MON MAY 20 2024 Southwest/northeast oriented ridging at all levels will slowly pass east over the region during the period, resulting in dry weather with mainly clear skies through this evening. Strong, nearly full sun (within about a month of summer solstice) will result in very warm afternoon temperatures on Monday, well into the 80s. Our atmosphere aloft will continue to be very dry, creating good radiating conditions despite a potential modest increase in high clouds after midnight tonight. With light low levels winds, valleys will readily decouple from the flow this evening, leading to typical ridge/valley minimum temperature differences, as well as valley fog. The temperatures differences will be greatest tonight with weak warm air advection keeping ridges warmer. A shortwave begins to move into the upper ridge over the area Tuesday, resulting in a modest increase in moisture and instability. This has resulted in a modest increase in PoPs, but still below the 15 threshold needed to warrant a mention of any precipitation the forecast. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday night through Sunday) Issued at 512 AM EDT MON MAY 20 2024 The 20/00z model suite is in good agreement at the beginning of the forecast period (Tuesday evening) showing a 500H ridge axis extending from an ~592 dam high over Central Mexico northeastward across the Gulf Coast states, over the Carolinas, and then off the Mid-Atlantic Coast. The corresponding surface high pressure ridging axis, though still influencing the weather over eastern Kentucky, will be solidly off the Atlantic Coast. To our northwest, a weak 500H low will be transiting the Upper Midwest while a trailing shortwave trough ejects off the Central Rockies. At the surface, low pressure will be passing over the Great Lakes while its attendant cold front trails back to the southwest through the Mid-Mississippi Valley and on into the Central/Southern Plains. The ridging will continue to make a slow southeastward retreat on Wednesday and Thursday while the low pressure to our northwest lifts toward/into Quebec. The system`s associated cold front will sag south of the Ohio River and eventually stall over the Commonwealth on Thursday. A southern stream upper level disturbance will then ride over the frontal boundary and through the Ohio Valley on Friday and Friday night. The unsettled pattern continues right into the weekend as another shortwave trough tracks from the Central Rockies into the Great Lakes, attended by another surface low. This system will briefly lifts the boundary back north as a warm front on Saturday before cyclonic flow on the back side of the system pushes the boundary back southeast as cold front early next week. Sensible weather will feature warm and dry weather through Wednesday morning, before shower and thunderstorm chances slowly creep southward later Wednesday and Wednesday night. At this point, shear and instability appear modest but may be sufficient to support a few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms on Wednesday afternoon and possibly again on Thursday, if the front makes particularly slow southward progress. Temperatures will run well above normal through Wednesday night with high temperatures climbing well into the middle and even upper 80s while nighttime lows range mainly in the 60s. A few of the coldest sheltered northeastern valleys could still dip into the upper 50s early Tuesday morning. While it won`t be raining all of the time, daily shower and thunderstorm chances are forecast through the remainder of the time period with the afternoon and evening hours being favored for the most widespread activity. Forecast maximum temperatures retreat to the mid 70s to around 80 on Thursday and Friday before warming back int the middle 80s by Sunday. Daily minimum temperatures should generally range in the lower and middle 60s for most locations from Thursday night on through the upcoming weekend.
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&& .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Monday night) ISSUED AT 111 AM EDT MON MAY 20 2024 Continuity was maintained with the 06z TAFs with no changes from the 00z TAFs. Other than fog, especially in the valleys during the 05Z to 13Z timeframe, VFR conditions are anticipated. Guidance suggests KLOZ and KSME should have a few hours of MVFR reductions, with valley fog lifting into KSJS for a few hours near 12Z with reductions possibly into the IFR range. Winds will average less than 10KT through the period. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ SHORT TERM...CMC LONG TERM...GEERTSON AVIATION...CMC