Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Blacksburg, VA

Current Version | Previous Version | Text Only | 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. --
000 FXUS61 KRNK 130755 AFDRNK AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 355 AM EDT MON MAY 13 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
-- Changed Discussion --
HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE MID MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY WILL DRIFT SLOWLY EAST REACHING THE THE APPALACHIANS BY TUESDAY MORNING. WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY...THE HIGH WILL SHIFT TO OFF THE ATLANTIC COAST...AND A WARM FRONT WILL HEAD NORTH THROUGH THE TENNESSEE AND OHIO VALLEYS. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION ON FRIDAY...AND STALL NEAR THE MASON- DIXON LINE OVER THE WEEKEND.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
-- Changed Discussion --
AS OF 245 AM EDT MONDAY... MOUNTAIN STRATO-CU ALONG WITH LIGHT BREEZES CONTINUE TO KEEP TEMPS UP A BIT THIS MORNING WITH ONLY THE VALLEYS SUPPORTIVE OF FROST/FREEZE HEADLINES ATTM. HOWEVER SINCE ALREADY UP PLAN TO KEEP WARNINGS/ADVISORIES ONGOING SINCE COULD STILL SEE SPOTS DIP CLOSER TO FREEZING DESPITE RATHER HIGH DEWPOINTS IN SPOTS. OTRW ANOTHER CHILLY DAY FOR MID MAY IN STORE TODAY WITH THE DEEP 5H TROF PIVOTING ACROSS AND STRONG SHORTWAVE ENERGY NOW OVER THE WESTERN LAKES DROPPING SE THRU THE REGION BY EARLY THIS EVENING. THIS FEATURE COMBO WITH COLD AIR ALOFT AND SURFACE HEATING ENOUGH TO CREATE STEEP LAPSE RATES THIS AFTERNOON WITH PERHAPS JUST ENOUGH MOISTURE TO PRODUCE A FEW -SHRA BANDS OR SPRINKLES ACROSS THE NW THIRD. THUS HAVE INCLUDED SOME LOW POPS FROM LATE MORNING ON GNRLY ALONG THE I- 64 CORRIDOR AND ALONG THE SE WVA WESTERN SLOPES WHERE UPSLOPE AIDED. COULD SEE SOME SPRINKLES DEVELOP OUT EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE BUT THINKING MAINLY PC TO MOSTLY CLOUDY PERIODS ELSW EXCEPT MORE SUN INTO NW NC GIVEN DOWNSLOPE. CHILLY 85H TEMPS AND MORE CLOUDS SHOULD KEEP HIGH TEMPS UNDER MOS AND WELL BELOW NORMAL AGAIN WITH HIGHER ELEVATIONS LIKELY STUCK IN THE 40S WITH 50S ELSW MOUNTAINS...WHILE THE EAST PUNCHES INTO THE LOW/MID 60S. WAVE PASSES THIS EVENING WITH THE UPPER TROF HEADING EAST AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE WEST LATE. THINK WILL AGAIN SEE SOME LIGNERING CLOUDS SE AND OVER THE WEST BEFORE THINGS CLEAR FOR A WHILE WITH LOSS OF HEATING UNDER WEAK SUBSIDENCE. COLDEST AIR ALOFT WILL ALSO BE SHIFTING OFF TO THE NE WITH 85H WARMING TAKING SHAPE LATE ESPCLY WESTERN HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THIS COMBINED WITH SOME INCREASE IN WARM ADVECTION MID/HIGH CLOUDS LATE MAKES FOR UNCERTAINTY IN REGARDS TO THE NEXT ROUND OF POSSBILE FROST/FREEZE CONDITIONS. LATEST COOP MOS REMAINS VERY COLD BUT LOOKS TOO LOW GIVEN BEST RAD CONDITIONS LIKELY OVER THE NORTH AND NE SECTIONS WITH MORE OF A VALLEY FROST SCENARIO ELSW OUT WEST. APPEARS SOME OF THE RIDGES MAY STRUGGLE TO GO MUCH BELOW 40 SO BUMPED UP LOWS IN A FEW SPOTS. STILL COLD ENOUGH TO GO WITH ANOTHER FREEZE WATCH OVER THE FAR NW AS EXPECT WILL NEED ADVISORY HEADLINES ELSW NORTH OF HIGHWAY 460 AND IN SPOTS OVER THE SW. HOWEVER WILL HOLD OFF WITH ANY NEW ADVISORIES AND GIVE THE DAYSHIFT ANOTHER LOOK TO AVOID CONFUSION SINCE 2ND PERIOD AND ALREADY HAVE THE HEADLINES GOING FOR THIS MORNING.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
-- Changed Discussion --
AS OF 315 AM EDT MONDAY... HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE REGION TUESDAY WILL MOVE EAST INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN BY TUESDAY NIGHT. AFTER A COLD START...HIGH TEMPERATURES TUESDAY WILL RANGE FROM THE UPPER 50S IN THE MOUNTAINS TO AROUND 70 IN THE SOUTHEAST. WARM FRONT CROSSES THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH SOME ISENTROPIC LIFT. ENOUGH MOISTURE...LIFT AND WARM AIR ADVECTION FOR TO INCLUDE A LIGHT POPS IN THE NORTHERN AREAS...SUPPORTED BY ECMWF AND GFS. IN CONTRAST THE NAM...KEEP POPS AND QPF TO OUR NORTH. BY LATE WEDNESDAY 850 MB TEMPERATURES RECOVER INTO THE +14 TO +18 RANGE. HIGHS WEDNESDAY WILL BE MUCH WARMER THAN TUESDAY...WITH READINGS FROM THE LOWER 70S IN THE MOUNTAINS TO THE LOWER 80S IN THE PIEDMONT. WHILE AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN...THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTION REMAIN TO OUR NORTH INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. LOWS WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL VARY FROM LOWER 50S IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS TO THE LOWER 60S IN THE SOUTHEAST.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... AS OF 110 PM EDT SUNDAY... ZONAL PATTERN ALOFT AND BROAD SOUTHWEST TO WEST SURFACE AND LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL KEEP STATIONARY FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO MISSOURI THROUGH THIS PART OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. WITH THE MAIN FOCUS FOR PRECIPITATION TO THE NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA...NOT MUCH TO TRIGGER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. MODELS STILL BRING SHORT WAVE COMING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN STREAM INTO THE REGION ON FRIDAY. HAVE THIS DAY WITH A SLIGHTLY HIGHER PROBABILITY OF PRECIPITATION. OTHERWISE JUST EXPECT TYPICAL OROGRAPHICALLY INDUCED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR NORMAL TO ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. NO REASON TO STRAY FAR FROM CURRENT GUIDANCE. && .AVIATION /08Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AS OF 102 AM EDT MONDAY... STILL EXPECTING OVERALL VFR TO PREVAIL THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. HOWEVER A WEAK IMPULSE APPROACHING FROM THE NW EARLY MONDAY MORNING WILL ACT TO INCREASE STRATO-CU COVERAGE OVER THE MOUNTAINS BY DAYBREAK WITH PERHAPS A BAND OF MOUNTAIN WAVE CLOUDS ABOVE THIS LAYER DURING THE MORNING. AS THIS WEAK IMPULSE CROSSES DURING MONDAY...STEEP LAPSE RATES ALONG WITH HEATING SHOULD PRODUCE A MORE WIDESPREAD AREA OF SCTD-BKN 4-6K FT STRATO-CU ESPCLY MOUNTAINS FROM MIDDAY INTO EARLY THIS EVENING. COULD EVEN SEE A FEW -SHRA OR SPRINKLES MAINLY NW BUT WONT INCLUDE MENTION. CONTINUED DEEP NW FLOW ALONG WITH MIXING WILL PUSH GUSTS INTO THE 20-25 KT RANGE WEST MONDAY AFTERNOON BEFORE SPEEDS DIMINISH MONDAY NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY ALLOWING VFR CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL FOR MID WEEK. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS AND WIDESPREAD SUB VFR CONDITIONS IS NOT EXPECTED UNTIL THE END OF THE WEEK...THURSDAY/FRIDAY TIME FRAME AS FIRST A WARM FRONT LIFTS THROUGH THE REGION...AND THEN A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST BY FRIDAY. && .CLIMATE... LOW TEMPERATURES MONDAY AND TUESDAY MORNING WILL FLIRT WITH RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES AT ALL CLIMATE LOCATIONS WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR BREAKING ANY RECORDS BEING TUESDAY MORNING. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE CURRENT RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES FOR MAY 13 AND MAY 14 ALONG WITH THE YEAR OF THAT RECORD. MAY 13 MAY 14 ROA...35...1917 ROA...37...1996 LYH...35...1969 LYH...33...1997 RNK...26...1969 RNK...31...1996 DAN...38...1960 DAN...38...2007 BLF...33...1996 BLF...33...1996 && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
-- Changed Discussion --
VA...FROST ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR VAZ007-009-010- 012>015-018-023-024. FREEZE WATCH FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING FOR VAZ019-020-024. FREEZE WARNING UNTIL 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR VAZ011-019-020. NC...FROST ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR NCZ001-002. FREEZE WARNING UNTIL 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR NCZ018. WV...FREEZE WATCH FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING FOR WVZ045. FREEZE WARNING UNTIL 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR WVZ042>045.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& $$ SYNOPSIS...JH NEAR TERM...JH SHORT TERM...KK LONG TERM...AMS AVIATION...DS/JH/KM CLIMATE...CF

USA.gov is the U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services.