Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC

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000 FXUS62 KRAH 151904 AFDRAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 305 PM EDT SAT JUN 15 2013 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE REGION THROUGH TONIGHT... THEN MOVE OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST SUNDAY. SOUTHERLY FLOW BEHIND THIS HIGH WILL BRING INCREASING MOISTURE INTO THE AREA... AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL MOVE IN FROM THE WEST ON TUESDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 1055 AM SATURDAY... FORECAST IS IN GOOD SHAPE. LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS THE HIGH PRESSURE AREA CENTERED JUST TO OUR NORTHWEST... SPREADING TO THE ESE. LOOKING ALOFT... THE DEW POINT DEPRESSION ON THE 850 MB ANALYSIS REMAINS UNDER 8 DEGREES C AROUND THE REGION... TOPPED OFF BY DRY AND WARM AIR AT 700 MB WITH MORE WARMING ADVECTING IN FROM THE WEST. STILL EXPECT WE`LL SEE SCATTERED FLAT CUMULUS FORMING BENEATH THE SUBSIDENCE INVERSION ALOFT WITH FURTHER HEATING THIS AFTERNOON. HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE NOTED UPSTREAM OVER THE OHIO VALLEY (BLOWN OFF FROM MCS ACTIVITY) IS POISED TO EXPAND SOUTHEAST INTO NC THROUGH THE DAY BASED ON UPPER LEVEL FLOW ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE DEPARTING FULL-LATITUDE LONGWAVE TROUGH SITUATED JUST OFF THE EAST COAST... SO WE SHOULD SEE INCREASING HIGH THIN CLOUDS AS THE DAY WEARS ON. TEMPS ARE RUNNING A FEW DEGREES ABOVE YESTERDAY`S PACE... AND DESPITE SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL THICKNESSES THIS MORNING... THICKNESSES ARE EXPECTED TO RISE AROUND 20 METERS TODAY. BASED ON THIS AND THE FACT THAT TEMPS ARE ALREADY IN THE UPPER 70S TO AROUND 80 IN SPOTS... HAVE NUDGED UP HIGHS TO 84-89. -GIH NAM AND GFS BUFR SOUNDINGS SHOW A RELATIVELY DRY AND CAPPED AIR MASS PERSISTS OVERNIGHT. AS THE SURFACE HIGH QUICKLY MOVES SOUTHEAST...THE NAM AND GFS BOTH INCREASE WINDS JUST OFF OF THE SURFACE APPRECIABLY COMPARED TO CURRENT CONDITIONS. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN MORE MIXING OVERNIGHT AND A MORE NOTICEABLE SOUTH OR SOUTHWEST BREEZE CERTAINLY COMPARED TO THE CALM CONDITIONS OF EARLY THIS MORNING...ALTHOUGH NOT SURE ABOUT THE WINDS BEING QUITE AS HIGH AS THE 10KT THE MOS GUIDANCE SUGGESTS LATE TONIGHT. STILL...WITH A SOUTHWEST FLOW AND A LITTLE MORE MIXING...EXPECT WARMER OVERNIGHT LOWS...60 TO 65 DEGREES. -DJF && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/...
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AS OF 305 PM SATURDAY... 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 MON INTO TUESDAY...AND POSSIBLY BY THE TAIL END OF THE WORK WEEK. THE MAIN WEATHER HEADLINE FOR NEXT WEEK STILL LOOKS TO 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 NIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY...THE AIR MASS OVER CENTRAL NC WILL BECOME RATHER MOIST AS SW FLOW THROUGH THE LOWEST 10K FT ADVECT MOISTURE CURRENTLY RESIDING OVER THE NORTHWEST GULF. MEANWHILE A LINE OF CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH A SWD DRIFTING SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL LIKELY CROSS NORTHERN VA LATE SUN. THIS LINE OF CONVECTION MAY SEND AN OUTFLOW INTO NORTHERN NC SUNDAY SUNDAY EVENING. IF THIS OCCURS...AVAILABLE MOISTURE AND LOW LEVEL INSTABILITY WOULD SUSTAIN ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION ACROSS OUR FAR NORTHERN COUNTIES INTO THE NIGHT. PLAN TO MAINTAIN SLIGHT CHANCE POP FOR NOW. EXPECT WARMER MIN TEMPS DUE TO MORE CLOUDS AND A LIGHT SLY WIND. MIN TEMPS IN THE UPPER 60S TO NEAR 70. RESIDUAL OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AND THE APPROACH OF A MID LEVEL TROUGH INTERACTING WITH A MOISTURE-LADEN AIR MASS WILL TRIGGER SCATTERED CONVECTION...ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. WHILE INSTABILITY PARAMETERS SUPPORTIVE OF A FEW STRONG STORMS...BULK SHEAR VALUES OF 20KTS OR LESS FAVOR MULTI-CELLULAR/PULSE TYPE CONVECTION. MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...PRESENCE OF A MID LEVEL TROUGH TRUDGING SLOWLY EAST ACROSS THE REGION COUPLED WITH THE MOIST AIR MASS AND ADEQUATE INSTABILITY WILL SUPPORT THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND T-STORMS MONDAY NIGHT AND MORE SO TUESDAY. AN INCREASING MID LEVEL WIND FIELD WILL INCREASE THE BULK SHEAR TO 30-35KTS ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THIS ADDED ENERGY MAY CAUSE CONVECTION TO FORM INTO BROKEN LINE SEGMENTS LATE IN THE DAY. SINCE AIR MASS WILL BE VERY MOIST (LITTLE OPPORTUNITY FOR DRY AIR ENTRAINMENT)...SEVERE POTENTIAL LOOKS LIMITED THOUGH WILL NEED TO MONITOR ELEVATED CORES FOR WET MICROBURST POTENTIAL. AS MID LEVEL TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE BOUNDARY DRIFT SWD TUESDAY NIGHT...EXPECT CONVECTION TO DIMINISH FROM THE NORTH.
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&& .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
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AS OF 305 PM SATURDAY... 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 PERIODS OF CLOUDINESS. ANY CONVECTION THAT OCCURS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO THE FAR SOUTHERN AND WESTERN SECTIONS OF TH FORECAST AREA WHERE BETTER MOISTURE WILL RESIDE. CONSIDERABLE CLOUDINESS. MODEST MID-UPPER LEVEL RIDGING MAY OCCUR ACROSS THE SE U.S. FRI INTO SATURDAY AHEAD OF THE NEXT S/W. THIS PATTERN WILL SUPPORT MORE OF A SUMMERLIKE PATTERN WITH WARM AND SLIGHTLY HUMID CONDITIONS BY THE END OF THE WEEK. TEMPERATURE WISE....TEMPS MONDAY SHOULD BE FAIRLY CLOSE TO NORMAL WITH MAX TEMPS IN THE MID-UPPER 80S. MAX TEMPS TUESDAY-THURSDAY WILL LIKELY AVERAGE 4-5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL...MAINLY DUE TO WIDESPREAD SHOWERS TUESDAY AND LOW LEVEL N-NE FLOW ADVECTING COOLER AIR INTO THE REGION WED-THU. MODIFYING AIR MASS WILL SEND TEMPS TO NEAR NORMAL LEVELS BY SATURDAY.
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&& .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 150 PM SATURDAY... HIGH CONFIDENCE OF VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE AND WARM AND STABLE AIR ALOFT WILL RESULT IN MINIMAL CLOUD COVER DURING THIS PERIOD... WITH ANY CLOUDS BASED ABOVE 5KFT AGL. RELATIVELY LOW HUMIDITIES NEAR THE GROUND WILL LIMIT ANY FOG DEVELOPMENT TONIGHT... RESULTING IN CONTINUED VFR VSBYS. LOOKING BEYOND 18Z SUNDAY... CLOUDS WILL INCREASE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT... AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT SLOWLY APPROACHING FROM THE WEST... BUT CIGS SHOULD REMAIN VFR THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. BUT INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BRING A RISK OF MVFR OR IFR FOG LATE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY MORNING. MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS AND SHOWERS/STORMS ARE EXPECTED AS THE FRONT GETS CLOSER MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN BEHIND THE FRONT LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND DOMINATE THROUGH THURSDAY... ALTHOUGH BRIEF SUB-VFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. -GIH && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...HARTFIELD NEAR TERM...HARTFIELD/DJF SHORT TERM...WSS LONG TERM...WSS AVIATION...HARTFIELD

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