Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV

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353 FXUS61 KRLX 041631 AFDRLX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Charleston WV 1231 PM EDT Sat May 4 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Upper level waves bring showers and storms at times through much of the weekend. Active weather continues into next week, with daily chances for showers and storms. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 1025 AM Saturday... Numerous showers with a couple of rumbles of thunder are over the area this morning. Just some minor tweaks to the forecast to better represent the location of these showers. As of 640 AM Saturday... Current forecast is generally on track as precipitation continues to journey across the area this morning. No significant changes have been made to the near term forecast at this time. As of 315 AM Saturday... Scattered showers, and perhaps a thunderstorm or two, will continue to traverse the area early this morning, then activity is expected to continue throughout the day as a shortwave passes over the area. Coverage of showers and storms should peak during the afternoon and evening hours when instability will be the greatest. While storm activity may lessen again overnight, chances for showers are expected to linger through the end of the near term period. Precipitation amounts for today and tonight should be under an inch for much of the area, though pockets of higher amounts will be possible due to locally heavy rain in showers and storms today. Widespread flooding is not expected; however, some localized issues aren`t out of the question in poor drainage areas or if higher amounts fall over locations that experienced heavy rain yesterday. Between cloud cover and precipitation, daytime temperatures are expected to max out in the 70s for the lowlands and mid 50s to low 70s along the mountains. Lows for tonight should then be in the 50s to mid 60s. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/...
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As of 1229 PM Saturday... Shower and thunderstorm chances will continue Monday with a stalled surface front over northern WV and a 500-mb shortwave approaching from the southwest. The severe weather threat still looks low Monday with weak 0-6 km shear of 15-25 kts. The threat of flooding also looks low Monday, but any storms that train over the same areas could potentially lead to localized flooding. Flash flood guidance should be high enough and storms should be isolated enough so that flooding won`t be a widespread concern.
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&& .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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As of 1229 PM Saturday... The unsettled weather pattern will continue through the rest of the week with daily thunderstorm chances. However, the time to watch for severe weather and flooding potential appear to be Wednesday and possibly also on Thursday. Our region will be located in the warm sector of a strengthening mid-latitude cyclone both days. Models are showing modest 0-6 km shear of 30-40 kts. Instability looks a little more favorable Wednesday than Thursday with MLCAPE values reaching 1,000-1,500 J/kg Wednesday afternoon. In addition, models are also showing PWAT values of 1.50-1.75" Wednesday into Thursday, so the threat of flooding will have to be monitored. SPC currently has portions of southeast Ohio and northeast Kentucky outlooked in a 15% threat of severe weather Wednesday, and WPC also has a marginal risk of excessive rainfall along and west of the Ohio River Wednesday. Stay tuned for new details over the coming days. Expect high temperatures reaching the 70s-80s in the lowlands and the 70s in the mountains each day through Thursday. Showers will remain possible Friday, but a cold front will likely pass through the region Friday afternoon from west to east, bringing drier air behind it. The pattern looks more tranquil and cooler heading into next weekend with highs back into the 60s.
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&& .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
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As of 640 AM Saturday... Showers continue to move across the area this morning, with periodic VIS restrictions occurring in rain and fog. A disturbance passing over the area during the day will sustain shower and scattered thunderstorm activity into tonight, while visibilities continue to be impaired within any heavier showers or storms. Ceilings are expected to deteriorate to MVFR at most sites today, though some improvement may be possible this afternoon. Flight conditions worsen again overnight as fog or low stratus develop and scattered showers continue. Light flow remains under 12kts out of the south to southeast today, with 15-20kt gusts possible along the mountains this afternoon and evening. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Timing of precipitation and associated restrictions may vary from the forecast. Extent/duration of restrictions due to fog or low stratus may vary tonight. 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. UTC 1HRLY 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 EDT 1HRLY 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 CRW CONSISTENCY L H L M M M M M M L L M HTS CONSISTENCY M M M M H H H H H H H H BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H M H L L H M M EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H M M M L M M CKB CONSISTENCY L H H H H H H M H H H H AFTER 18Z SUNDAY... IFR conditions possible in showers, stratus, and/or fog Sunday afternoon through early next week.
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&& .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...JLB/JMC NEAR TERM...RPY/JLB SHORT TERM...JMC LONG TERM...JMC AVIATION...JLB