Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV

Current Version |  Previous Version |  Graphics & Text |  Print | Product List |  Glossary On
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
-- Remove Highlighting --
-- Discussion containing changed information from previous version are highlighted. --
660 FXUS61 KRLX 052337 AFDRLX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Charleston WV 737 PM EDT Sun May 5 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Weak cold front stalls across the area tonight. An upper level way bring showers and storms Monday. Active weather through the work week, with daily chances for showers and storms. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/...
-- Changed Discussion --
As of 745 PM Sunday... Cleaned up near-term POPs a bit for current conditions, but overall stuck with the idea of POPs winding down overall, and the current activity shifting east into the evening. Did introduce some patchy fog for the valleys, but it will be most likely in any areas that got rain this afternoon/evening. As of 120 PM Sunday... A weak cold front will move into the region this afternoon and evening, before stalling over the area later tonight. This will provide some afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Drier air aloft is evident on the soundings, with precipitable water values considerably less than Saturday. This lessens the chance of flash flooding, although it can not completely be ruled out due to some areas receiving significant rainfall in the last two days. The drier air aloft does provide a bit of a downburst wind threat for any stronger storms, mainly over central Ohio and northern West Virginia. An upper level short wave will then provide showers and thunderstorms for Monday. Precipitable water values recover into the 1.5 to 1.75 range over eastern Kentucky, western West Virginia, and southeast Ohio. Clouds however should limit daytime heating, leading to limited CAPE values. With a frontal boundary nearly stationary across the area however, am concerned that it could serve as a focusing mechanism and lead to some training storms and localized flash flooding.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... As of 1217 PM Sunday... Severe weather will be possible across parts of the area Tuesday. SPC currently has portions of southeast Ohio, northeast Kentucky and western West Virginia outlooked in a slight risk of severe weather. Models suggest that all severe hazards will be possible, but the greatest threat may be damaging wind gusts. DCAPE values may exceed 1,000 J/kg, MUCAPE values look to exceed 2,000 J/kg, 0-6 km mean wind looks to be around 25 kts, and the effective bulk wind difference should be 25-30 kts. All of these parameters point toward a possible damaging wind threat with thunderstorms on Tuesday. PWATs are expected to be from 1.50-1.75", so flooding downpours will also be possible in thunderstorms. Another severe weather threat will exist Wednesday. The main severe risks on Wednesday appear to be damaging wind gusts and large hail. Forecast soundings show a large layer of mid-level dry air Wednesday afternoon, which would be conducive to hail development and damaging wind potential. SPC currently has portions of northeast Kentucky, southeast Ohio and extreme western West Virginia outlooked in a 15% risk for severe weather Wednesday (day 4). The intensity of any thunderstorms Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons will depend on how well the atmosphere destabilizes after prior morning convection. In addition, the ground is becoming more saturated due to recent convective activity over the past couple of days. Any thunderstorms that move over saturated ground may lead to flooding. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 1218 PM Sunday... A cold front will pass through the region Friday morning, and the severe weather threat should diminish heading into next weekend as cooler, more stable air funnels in behind the front. However, showers will remain possible through the weekend with lingering energy aloft. With the ground becoming increasingly saturated due to recent convective activity, we may still have to keep an eye on the threat of flooding heading into the end of the week. Confidence is low at this time, so stay tuned for more details over the coming days as the picture becomes clearer. Temperatures will be much cooler Friday through next weekend, with highs only expected to be in the 50s (mountains) and 60s to lower 70s (lowlands). && .AVIATION /00Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
-- Changed Discussion --
As of 730 PM Sunday... Lingering showers will shift east and continue to weaken through the evening, and most of the area should be dry overnight. While there will be some mid-level clouds moving in tonight, areas that got some rain may be at risk of fog formation if they can radiate enough before those clouds move overhead. Thus, some prevailing IFR visibility is forecast for CRW, HTS, and PKB, with IFR fog in a TEMPO group for CKB due to less certainty. But overall, the fog forecast is not high confidence for tonight. If fog doesn`t form, an MVFR stratus deck will be possible. Otherwise, no other aviation concerns expected overnight. Rain and potentially some embedded thunderstorms moving back across the area tomorrow could bring some MVFR vsby and ceilings. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium overall, low for fog tonight. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Timing and location of fog tonight will likely vary from the forecast. EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION: H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS. L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. DATE MON UTC 1HRLY 23 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 EDT 1HRLY 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H L L L L L HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H L L L L L BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H M L L L L L EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H H L L L L L L PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H L L L L L CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H L L L L L AFTER 00Z TUESDAY... IFR conditions possible at times in showers and thunderstorms into mid next week. Fog and/or low stratus are possible Monday night.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...FK/RPY/JMC NEAR TERM...FK/RPY SHORT TERM...JMC LONG TERM...JMC AVIATION...FK