Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC

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000 FXUS62 KRAH 161331 AFDRAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 931 AM EDT SUN JUN 16 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
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HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER OUR REGION TODAY. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST MONDAY AND MOVE ACROSS OUR REGION LATE TUESDAY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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AS OF 930 AM SUNDAY... THE UPPER RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO FLATTEN TODAY AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES TO MOVE OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST...AND THE GRADIENT TIGHTENS BETWEEN THE RETREATING HIGH AND SURFACE TROUGHINESS SHARPENING OVER THE WESTERN PART OF THE STATE. THE 12Z KGSO SOUNDING...AS WELL AS THE SOUNDING FROM KMHX...SHOWED A DECENT CAP REMAINING AROUND 700MB...WHILE THE KRNK SOUNDING INDICATED JUST SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES JUST ABOVE 700MB ALBEIT WITH A WEAK CAP IN PLACE. THE RAP SOUNDINGS FORECAST THIS CAP ESSENTIALLY REMAINING FOR THE REST OF THE DAY...VERY GRADUALLY DIMINISHING ESPECIALLY TOWARD THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT AS THE RIDGE FLATTENS...UPPER LEVELS COOL...AND THE OVERALL MOISTURE OF THE AIR MASS INCREASES. THE RAP FORECASTS 850MB SUBSIDENCE THROUGHOUT THE DAY...WITH ANY MODEST UVV WITH APPROACHING MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVES HOLDING OFF UNTIL 00Z AND AFTER. THE LATEST HRRR WRF IS DRY AS WELL...ALONG WITH QPF FROM THE RAP. WILL CONTINUE WITH A DRY FORECAST TODAY...AND EXPECT PERIODS OF MOSTLY MID- AND SOME HIGH-LEVEL CLOUDS TO RESULT IN A PARTLY-TO-MOSTLY SUNNY LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. ALREADY THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW WIND GUSTS IN THE TEENS KNOTS AND...BASED ON THE LATEST RAP SOUNDINGS AND THE WINDS ALOFT ON THE KRAX 88D VAD WIND PROFILE...INCREASED THE GUSTS A TRIFLE ESPECIALLY OUTSIDE OF SOUTHEAST AREAS TO MORE AROUND 20KT. WHILE THE MAV MOS HAS SIMPLY BEEN TOO WARM OF LATE...THE MET MOS IS CLOSER TODAY TO THE MAV AND TO THE ONGOING FORECAST. LOWERED A DEGREE TOWARD KRWI BASED ON THE LATEST TRENDS AND MOS...AND AS A RESULT OF SLIGHTLY COOLER 1000-850MB THICKNESSES COMPARED TO THE REST OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. STILL...HIGHS 85 TO 90. CLOUDINESS...AGAIN MAINLY MID AND UPPER...WILL BECOME PREVALENT TONIGHT AS THE APPROACHING FRONT TRANSLATES INTO THE LEE TROUGH. RAIN CHANCES ARE SMALL AND WILL BE MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER WHICH WILL BE SKIRTED BY THE REMNANT OF A WEAKENING VORT MAX INDUCED BY DEEP CONVECTION OVER THE OHIO VALLEY EARLY THIS MORNING. MINS WILL BE MILD AND SEASONABLE...UPPER 60S.
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&& .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 315 AM SUNDAY... MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...TRANSITION TO A BROAD LONGWAVE TROF WILL BE UNDERWAY AND THE LINGERING LOW LEVEL TROFFING ALONG THE ATLANTIC SEABOARD WILL PROMOTE AN INCREASINGLY MOIST AIRMASS. THICKNESSES ARE RELATIVELY HIGH AND SIMILAR TO SUNDAY...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR UPPER 80S. MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES WILL HAMPER INSOLATION A BIT...MOSTLY MID 80S WEST TO UPPER 80S EAST. CHANCES OF SHOWERS WILL INCREASE MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY NIGHT IN INCREASINGLY DISTURBED FLOW...BUT ITS DIFFICULT TO PICK OUT A PARTICULAR FEATURE DURING THIS TIME FRAME TO FOCUS ACTIVITY...WILL CONTINUE CHANCE CATEGORY POPS FAVORING THE WEST AND NORTH. TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT: WITHIN A BROAD TROUGH ALOFT EAST OF THE ROCKIES...A LOW AMPLITUDE SOUTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE TROUGH...AND PERHAPS A PRECEDING MCV FROM CONVECTION INITIATED AHEAD OF THIS WAVE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT...WILL MIGRATE THROUGH THE BASE OF THE TROUGH/ACROSS THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS AND MIDDLE ATLANTIC REGION TUE. THESE FEATURES WILL BE FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY AN ELONGATED BUT STRONGER NORTHERN STREAM WAVE IN NW FLOW FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST TO THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS TUE NIGHT. IN THE LOW LEVELS...A PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH OVER VA/NC TUE WILL BE OVERTAKEN BY A COLD FRONT ATTENDING THE AFOREMENTIONED NORTHERN STREAM S/W TROUGH...AND THIS MERGED BOUNDARY WILL SETTLE SOUTHWARD ACROSS CENTRAL NC TUE NIGHT. WITH A CONDITIONALLY UNSTABLE AND UNCAPPED ENVIRONMENT PER BUFR SOUNDINGS...AND WITH FORECAST PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES APPROACHING TWO INCHES...THE WEAK (~20 METER/12 HR) HEIGHT FALLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SERIES OF DISTURBANCES ALOFT AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG THE PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH/FRONT WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUMEROUS TO WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND STORMS TUE. THE SLOW SOUTHWARD PASSAGE OF THE SURFACE FRONT WILL END THE THREAT OF CONVECTION FROM NORTH TO SOUTH TUE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...WITH JUST A LINGERING CHANCE OF A FEW SHOWERS ALONG THE FAR SOUTHERN TIER BY WED MORNING. WHILE WSW MEAN FLOW ALIGNED PARALLEL TO THE UNDERLYING SURFACE FRONT SUGGESTS DOWNPOURS/ LOCALIZED FLOODING IN TRAINING STORMS ALONG THE BOUNDARY MAY PROVIDE THE GREATEST IMPACT...INCREASING MID LEVEL FLOW/BULK SHEAR TO AROUND 30 KTS MAY ALSO SUPPORT MULTI-CELL STORM ORGANIZATION WITH PRECIPITATION-LOADED STRONG WET MICROBURST WIND GUSTS. IN ADDITION...FORECAST MAXIMUM SRH AROUND 100 M2/S2 COULD BE NEARLY DOUBLED LOCALLY INVOF OUTFLOW/BACKED SURFACE FLOW...WHICH COULD SUPPORT BRIEF SUPERCELLULAR STRUCTURES...THOUGH SUCH A SCENARIO WILL BE DEPENDENT ON MESO AND STORM SCALE INFLUENCES WITH LIMITED PREDICTABILITY BEYOND A FEW HOURS. AS SUCH...WILL INCLUDE ONLY A GENERIC ONE SENTENCE MENTION OF A STRONG TO SEVERE STORM IN THE HWO FOR NOW FOR TUE. MOSTLY CLOUDY AND STORMY CONDITIONS WILL SUPPORT HIGHS FROM THE UPPER 70S NW...TO LOWER TO MIDDLE 80S OVER THE SOUTH...WITH LOWS MOSTLY IN THE UPPER 60S...TO AROUND 70 DEGREES SOUTH. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AS OF 255 AM SUNDAY... WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY: BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES - IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER-MIDDLE 80S - IN WEAK POST-FRONTAL HIGH PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED GENERALLY EAST TO ENE LOW LEVEL FLOW...WILL THEN PREVAIL THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. HOWEVER...THE SURFACE FRONT WILL LIKELY LINGER OVER SC THROUGH THU GIVEN CONTINUED FRONT- PARALLEL FLOW ALOFT IN THE BASE OF BROAD EASTERN CONUS TROUGH. WILL ACCORDINGLY MAINTAIN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A SHOWER OR STORM OVER THE FAR SOUTHERN SANDHILLS AND COASTAL PLAIN...IN CLOSEST PROXIMITY TO THIS FRONT AND HIGHER BL MOISTURE...AND ALSO TOWARD THE YADKIN RIVER WHERE A FEW WEAKENING SHOWERS/STORMS MAY DRIFT AFTER INITIATION AND PROPAGATION FROM THE EASTERN SLOPES. A WARMER SOUTHEASTERLY...TO SOUTHERLY RETURN FLOW BY SATURDAY...WILL RESULT IN RISING TEMPERATURES TO AROUND THE 30-YEAR AVERAGE...AND HUMIDITY LEVELS...BY THE WEEKEND. A RISK OF A FEW LATE AFTERNOON PULSE SHOWERS OR STORMS WILL CONSEQUENTLY INCREASE TO NEAR CLIMATOLOGICAL PROBABILITIES...AROUND 20 PERCENT OR SO...BY SAT. && .AVIATION /14Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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AS OF 930 AM SUNDAY... VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BE INCREASING AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING FRONT...WITH 10-12KTS SUSTAINED TODAY WITH GUSTS TO 20-22KTS FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. MID LEVEL FLOW WILL BECOME MORE WESTERLY AND ALTOCUMULUS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ON THE INCREASE TONIGHT. A DISTURBANCE MOVING INTO THE NORTHWEST WILL GRAZE ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE AREA...PRODUCING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS MAINLY IN THE GSO/INT VICINITY AFTER 06Z. IN THE LONGER RANGE...THE APPROACHING FRONT WILL STALL ACROSS THE AREA LATER MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...WITH MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS AND INCREASING COVERAGE OF SHOWERS/STORMS. VFR CONDITIONS WILL RETURN BEHIND THE FRONT LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND DOMINATE THROUGH FRIDAY.
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&& .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...KMC NEAR TERM...DJF/MLM SHORT TERM...MLM/MWS LONG TERM...MWS AVIATION...DJF/MLM

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