Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC

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000 FXUS62 KRAH 150524 AFDRAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 125 AM EDT SAT JUN 15 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
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HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES TO BUILD OVER THE REGION TODAY. THE HIGH MOVES OFF OF THE SOUTHEAST COAST SUNDAY. THE AIR BECOMES INCREASINGLY MOIST SUNDAY INTO MONDAY...AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT MOVES INTO THE REGION TUESDAY.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 955 PM FRIDAY... QUIET NIGHT EXPECTED. A MID LEVEL VORTICITY MAXIMA WHICH DROPPED SOUTHEASTWARD OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON HAS MOVED TO OUR SOUTHEAST... AND THE RESULTING COMBINATION OF NVA... QUICKLY DRYING AND STABILIZING MID LEVEL AIR... INCOMING CONFLUENT UPPER LEVEL FLOW (AS THE 100 KT NORTHWESTERLY UPPER JET OVER THE SRN APPALACHIANS WEAKENS AND SHIFTS EAST)... AND LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING HAS RAPIDLY CLEARED OUT SKIES THIS EVENING. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW FEW TO NO CLOUDS OVERNIGHT... AND LOOKING TO OUR NORTHWEST... THE ONLY CLOUDS OF NOTE ARE HIGH CLOUDS BLOWN OFF OF MIDWEST MCS ACTIVITY... AND THESE ARE DISSIPATING AND SHOULD HOLD TO OUR WEST OVERNIGHT BASED ON OBSERVED STEERING WINDS ALOFT. TEMPS ARE RUNNING A BIT BELOW FORECAST PACE... AND BY SEVERAL DEGREES IN THE NORMALLY COOLER OUTLYING AREAS... SO WILL NUDGE OVERNIGHT LOWS DOWNWARD BY 1-4 DEGREES... TO 55-62. OBSERVED TRENDS AND LATEST MODEL OUTPUT SHOW NO CHANGES ARE NEEDED AT THIS TIME TO THE SATURDAY FORECAST. -GIH && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 300 PM FRIDAY... THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH FURTHER OFFSHORE ON SATURDAY WITH THE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT BECOMING MORE ZONAL ON SATURDAY NIGHT. THE SURFACE HIGH WILL SHIFT SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION EARLY SATURDAY AND WILL BE LOCATED OFFSHORE BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. FAIR WEATHER IS EXPECTED DURING THE PERIOD BUT A SHALLOW LAYER OF MOISTURE IS PROGGED TO BE TRAPPED BELOW A STRENGTHENING SUBSIDENCE INVERSION AND RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FLAT CUMULUS CLOUDS DURING THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON WITH MOSTLY TO PARTLY SUNNY SKIES. THE DIURNALLY DRIVEN CLOUDS WILL ABATE DURING THE EVENING ON SATURDAY BUT SOME MID LEVEL CLOUDINESS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST LATE SATURDAY NIGHT IN A WARM ADVECTION PATTERN. HIGHS ON SATURDAY WILL RANGE IN THE 83 TO 88 RANGE WITH OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE MID 60S. -BLAES && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 250 PM FRIDAY... A BROAD UPPER TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE NATION WILL GRADUALLY AMPLIFY THIS PERIOD AS AN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS INTO THE ROCKIES. A SERIES OF S/WS IN THE DEVELOPING W-NW FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING A THREAT FOR SHOWERS AND T-STORMS TO THE REGION EARLY NEXT AND AGAIN LATE IN THE WEEK. THE MAIN WEATHER HEADLINE FOR NEXT WEEK WILL BE THE GOOD PROBABILITY OF MAX TEMPS 4-7 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL FOR THE THIRD WEEK IN JUNE. THE UPPER LEVEL JET FORECAST TO BE FARTHER SOUTH THAN NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. THIS SWD POSITION WILL ALLOW COOLER CANADIAN AIR TO SPILL INTO THE NORTHERN THIRD OF THE U.S. WITH SOME RESIDUAL AFFECTS BEING FELT IN THE CAROLINAS. SUNDAY...SURFACE HIGH OVER THE REGION EARLY IN THE DAY WILL MOVE OFFSHORE. THE RESULTANT SLY FLOW ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE HIGH WILL ADVECT WARM MOIST AIR INTO THE PIEDMONT BY AFTERNOON-EARLY EVENING. IT APPEARS THAT ANY CONVECTION THAT DEVELOPS IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF WESTERN NC WILL STAY JUST EAST OF THE PIEDMONT AS STEERING FLOW SHOULD KEEP THE CONVECTION PARALLEL TO THE RIDGES. LOW LEVEL THICKNESSES FAIRLY CLOSE TO NORMAL WHICH SUGGEST AFTERNOON TEMPS SOLIDLY IN THE MID 80S. MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...THE FIRST S/W IN THE W-NW FLOW ADVANCES TOWARD OUR REGION MONDAY...AND EXITS THE REGION TUESDAY. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL ENHANCE LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE WHILE THE SYSTEM ALOFT SUPPLIES ADDED LIFT. WITH PRECIP WATER VALUES PROJECTED TO BE 1.75-1.9 INCHES...EXPECT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WITH THIS SYSTEM...MAINLY IN THE WEST LATE MONDAY AND AREAWIDE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. IF LATER MODEL GUIDANCE REMAINS CONSISTENT...WILL NEED TO INCREASE POPS TO LIKELY OR LOW END CATEGORICAL MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SHOULD SEE A RELATIVELY TRANQUIL WEATHER PATTERN AS HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE LOWER GREAT LAKES NOSES SEWD INTO OUR REGION. DEVELOPING ELY FLOW BY THURSDAY MAY ADVECT ATLANTIC MOISTURE INTO CENTRAL NC RESULTING IN CONSIDERABLE CLOUDINESS. MODEL GUIDANCE DIFFERS LATE IN THE WEEK AS THE GFS IS MUCH MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH AN UPPER LEVEL CROSSING THE PACIFIC NW INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WHILE THE ECMWF IS SLOWER WITH THIS EWD TRANSLATION DUE TO PRESENCE OF UPPER RIDGE OVER THE ROCKIES/HIGH PLAIN. SINCE GFS HAS A HISTORY OF BEING TOO FAST IN THIS TYPE OF PATTERN...PREFER THE ECMWF SOLUTION. THIS MODEL CHOICE SUGGEST ANOTHER S/W APPROACHING CENTRAL NC BY FRIDAY. MOISTURE ADVECTION AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM MAY CAUSE A THREAT FOR LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS BY THE END OF THE WEEK. DUE TO LIKELY MODEL ADJUSTMENTS IN TIMING OR STRENGTH OF THE SYSTEM...PREFER TO KEEP POPS AT OR BELOW 20 PERCENT FOR FRIDAY. && .AVIATION /06Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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AS OF 125 AM SATURDAY... VFR CONDITIONS OCCUR DURING THE 06Z VALID TAF PERIOD...OUTSIDE OF SOME AREAS OF MAINLY MVFR FOG ESPECIALLY TOWARD KRWI AND POSSIBLY KFAY. EXPECT DIURNAL CU TO DEVELOP ONCE AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...POSSIBLY NOT AS MUCH AS OCCURRED FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN MOST PLACES BUT STILL FEW-TO-SCATTERED DURING THE AFTERNOON. VARIABLE SURFACE WINDS BECOME WEST-SOUTHWEST DURING THE MORNING...BUT WITH HIGH PRESSURE OVERHEAD 10KT OR LESS...AND A FEW TYPICAL MIXING GUSTS IN THE LOWER TEENS KNOTS DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. BEYOND THE 06Z VALID TAF PERIOD...THE AIR BECOMES INCREASINGLY MOIST IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT...WITH CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...AND ASSOCIATED LOCAL SUB-VFR CONDITIONS...INCREASING ALONG WITH THE MOISTURE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. THERE IS SOME PROBABILITY OF LOW CLOUDS LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING BASED ON THE MODEL SOUNDINGS OF THE GFS. CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY SEEM TO DIMINISH WEDNESDAY RELATIVE TO MONDAY AND TUESDAY...WITH THE BETTER POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SHOWERS AND STORMS TOWARD KFAY COMPARED TO OTHER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA TAF SITES.
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&& .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...DJF NEAR TERM...HARTFIELD SHORT TERM...BLAES LONG TERM...WSS AVIATION...DJF

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