Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV

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475 FXUS61 KRLX 100641 AFDRLX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Charleston WV 241 AM EDT Fri May 10 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Cooler weather for today into the weekend. The chance for rain continues at times courtesy of crossing weather systems.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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As of 215 AM Friday... A few stray showers are noted south and southeast of the Charleston area, and a few hit-or-miss showers may continue tonight across the mountains, but most activity has ended. Models have hinted that some of the light shower activity noted over north-central and NW Ohio could sneak into our northern zones before sunrise, and this is reflected in the return of some chance POPs, but overall no real impacts are expected. Otherwise, more showers and perhaps a few t-storms are possible from late morning through most of the afternoon hours. However, the lower temps and instability expected today will likely relegate the bulk of that activity to the higher terrain, where the NW`ly winds will produce an upslope component for a bit of added lift. Upper-level ridging and surface high pressure working into the region tonight will allow for a sharp drop-off in rain chances and some clearing skies. If the forecast for clearing skies pans out, night owls might be able to catch some aurora activity tonight if they head away from city lights to somewhere with a clear view of the northern sky. Head to the Space Weather Prediction Center`s website for more info on the G4 Geomagnetic Storm Watch: swpc.noaa.gov. Back to terrestrial weather - Highs today are likely to be in the 60s at lower elevations, and 50s in the mountains, a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler than Thursday. Lows tonight will range from the mid 30s in the highest terrain to mid-40s in the Huntington Tri-State area. With the clearing skies, sheltered valleys that can decouple may get cooler, and we may need to add some patchy fog to the forecast, depending on wind speeds.
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&& .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... As of 225 PM Thursday... Precipitation ends from west to east Friday night as transient ridging builds into the region ahead of a northern stream disturbance approaching during the day Saturday. With relatively cool air left in the wake of the Friday system along with relatively early arrival of associated cloudiness, won`t realize very much surface heating. Still, should be able to generate some conditional instability, perhaps 500J/kg in the presence of rather stout deep layer shear of 40 to 50KTs by Saturday afternoon. With rather cool air aloft, graupel showers are likely, with some stronger cores also possible yield strong to perhaps marginally severe wind gusts. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 225 PM Thursday... Ridging building into the region yields mainly dry conditions from late Sunday afternoon through Monday. Deep southwesterly flow associated with the next southern stream system will begin to advect moisture back into the region Monday afternoon into Monday evening. Upper level forcing arriving late Monday afternoon into early Tuesday morning will yield an uptick in precipitation coverage. Given the low amplitude of this feature and varied model timing, confidence is not especially high. Transient ridging builds back into the region briefly Wednesday before another system arrives Thursday. Severe risk through this period appears low given a relatively weak flow regime. && .AVIATION /06Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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As of 200 SM Friday... Shower activity has largely ended across the area, and the main concern for the rest of the night into Friday morning will be the lowering ceilings, with widespread MVFR and locally IFR ceilings expected. Gradual improvement expected through the day tomorrow, and skies should clear late in the TAF period for most locations as high pressure builds into the region. A few more thunderstorms are expected across the area late morning into the afternoon, primarily affecting the higher terrain, with terminal impacts most likely at EKN and BKW. Any thunderstorms could produce localized strong turbulence. It will remain breezy from the west and northwest through most of the period, though winds are likely to drop off after 00z Sat. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Timing of ceiling and visibility restrictions may vary from forecast. Winds will fluctuate. 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 FRI 05/10/24 UTC 1HRLY 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 EDT 1HRLY 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H BKW CONSISTENCY H M H M H H H H H H M H EKN CONSISTENCY H M M M M M M M H M H H PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H M M M H H H CKB CONSISTENCY M M M M M H M M H H H M AFTER 06Z SATURDAY... IFR conditions possible Friday night into Saturday morning w/ valley fog.
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&& .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...FK/JP NEAR TERM...FK SHORT TERM...JP LONG TERM...JP AVIATION...FK