Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA

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052 FXUS61 KBOX 190527 AFDBOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA 127 AM EDT Thu Sep 19 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Rain chances increase from south to north tonight into tomorrow, with the best chances across the Cape and Islands decreasing significantly to the north and west. Rain chances continue through the first half of the weekend, highest over the Cape and island. Gusty northeast winds will keep temperatures near or below normal for much of the region tomorrow into the weekend. Next chance of rain comes around mid week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... An area of low pressure makes its way north and eventually stalls somewhere south of Cape Cod and the Islands. Guidance remains in disagreement on how far south the low stalls, making the QPF forecast somewhat uncertain for being 12 to 24 hours out. The HREF ensemble has a large spread between the 25th and 75 percentiles due to the unknowns on how far south the low stalls. The 25th percentile QPF from the HREF through 8 am Friday shows 1.75 inches for the Cape and Islands and 0.5 inches for the I-95 corridor from Boston to Providence. The 75th percentile shows 3-3.5 inches for the Cape and Islands, with 1.0-1.5 inches from Boston to Providence. Further west, rain amounts drop off very quickly due to dry air on the NW side of the low. There may not even be measurable QPF north and west of Worcester. Overall, any rain that falls will be beneficial and likely not cause flooding impacts, given the antecedent dry conditions. Regardless of the rain, tonight and tomorrow will feature overcast skies with a blustery northeast wind. Temperatures tonight stay warmer in the upper 50s to low 60s with an abundance of cloud cover and increasing winds. With the onshore flow tomorrow, high temps in eastern MA and RI will struggle to top 70F, while in western MA and CT, temps will reach the mid-70s. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH 6 PM FRIDAY/... Uncertainty continues to remain high into Friday night as guidance struggles with where the low stalls south of the region. Rain should continue through Friday night with the best chances over the Cape and Islands, but how far inland rain continues remains a big question mark. Low clouds and gusty NE winds will keep far from ideal radiational cooling conditions from occurring and hedged toward slightly warmer overnight lows in the low to mid-60s. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... * Rain chances linger through Friday. Things will improve through the weekend but some rain likely lingers into Saturday, especially in eastern MA. * Temperatures will trend below normal with the lowest on Sunday before steadily increasing next week. * Minor coastal flooding possible along the east coast of MA during Friday and Saturday afternoon`s high tides. Details... Friday the rainy and windy pattern remains rooted overhead thanks to a mid level trough and a coastal low at the surface spinning south of Long Island and Nantucket. This low will be the main player with our rain chances Friday into Saturday wrapping moisture around itself and into southern New England, especially eastern MA and RI. For this reason these are the locations with the best chance of seeing widespread rain during the period. Even so, areas further inland (north and west) will see less rain than those further south and east (the Cape and Islands) thanks to the proximity to the source of lift and moisture. This low will be relatively slow to exit but eventually a high pressure ridge pushes in from the north and the low exits east allowing for drier conditions, improving through the weekend. Another factor that will have an impact during the Friday and Saturday period will be the gusty winds thanks to an increased pressure gradient and the placement of a 35-45 kt low level jet overhead. This leads to wind gusts of 15-25 mph inland, 25-30 mph over the Cape and Islands both Friday and Saturday afternoons. This also makes for rough seas and, given existing higher astronomical tides, some very minor coastal flooding is possible during the Friday and Saturday afternoon high tides. Beyond Saturday high pressure continues to build in through at least Monday allowing for the return of quiet and dry weather. Flow becomes more southerly by Tue into Wed allowing for moderating high temperatures, back toward 70. This precedes the next shortwave but confidence on if/when this arrives remains low at this point. && .AVIATION /06Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
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Forecast Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Through 12Z... High Confidence in Trends Conditions deteriorating to MVFR/IFR/LIFR over the coastal terminal with -SHRA overspreading the south coast through sunrise. Steady winds out of the northeast from 5 to 10 knots. VFR at BDL/BAF/ORH. Today..High Confidence in trends Steady northeast winds will support LIFR/IFR conditions for most of the day. Some improvements to MVFR ceilings possibly by mid-afternoon. Interior terminals remain VFR with low chances for any precipitation. Tomorrow Night... Moderate Confidence Rain continues over the eastern terminals with IFR/MVFR ceilings near 1000 feet. Some MVFR vsbys possible in SHRA. Some uncertainty in westward extent of lower ceilings, especially at ORH which will be close to the transition from MVFR to VFR ceilings. VFR continues at BAF/BDL. Friday... More MVFR/IFR ceilings and showers at the eastern terminals. Northeast winds increase to 15 to 20 knots at coastal terminals and 10 to 15 knots across the interior. Cape/Islands terminals could see gusts from 25 to 30 knots. KBOS TAF...High Confidence in Trends IFR/LIFR conditions may improve to MVFR after 16Z. KBDL TAF...High confidence in TAF. Outlook /Friday Night through Monday/... Friday: MVFR/IFR conditions possible. Windy with local gusts up to 30 kt. Chance SHRA. Friday Night: Mainly VFR, with areas IFR possible. Breezy. Chance SHRA. Saturday: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Windy with local gusts up to 30 kt. Chance SHRA. Saturday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Breezy. Chance SHRA. Sunday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Windy with local gusts up to 30 kt. Slight chance SHRA. Sunday Night through Monday: VFR. Breezy.
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&& .MARINE...
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Forecaster Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Medium - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Marine Today through Tomorrow night Worsening marine conditions starting tonight, with northeast winds increasing to 20-30 knots by tomorrow morning and seas increasing to 5-8 feet by tomorrow afternoon. Moderate to heavy rain moves from south to north tonight and lasts through Thursday night. Seas continue to rise into Thursday night and Friday to 7-10 feet. Rip Currents/High Surf With gusty NE winds, increasing surf and long- period swells, we decided to issue a Rip Current Statement for tomorrow. Much of the south and east-facing beaches will have a high risk of rip currents. The rip current statement will likely be extended or upgraded to a high surf advisory on Friday as seas rise up to 10 feet in outer waters. Outlook /Friday Night through Monday/... Friday: Moderate risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 30 kt. Rough seas up to 10 ft. Rain showers likely. Friday Night: Moderate risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 25 kt. Rough seas up to 10 ft. Chance of rain showers. Saturday: Moderate risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 30 kt. Rough seas up to 10 ft. Chance of rain showers. Saturday Night: Moderate risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 30 kt. Rough seas up to 11 ft. Chance of rain showers. Sunday: Strong winds with gusts up to 30 kt. Rough seas up to 11 ft. Slight chance of rain showers. Sunday Night: Moderate risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 30 kt. Rough seas up to 11 ft. Monday: Low risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 25 kt. Rough seas up to 11 ft.
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&& .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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CT...None. MA...High Risk for Rip Currents from 8 AM EDT this morning through this evening for MAZ007-019-020-022>024. RI...High Risk for Rip Currents from 8 AM EDT this morning through this evening for RIZ006>008. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 8 AM EDT Friday for ANZ231-251. Small Craft Advisory from 5 AM early this morning to 8 AM EDT Friday for ANZ232>235-237. Small Craft Advisory from 8 AM this morning to 8 AM EDT Friday for ANZ250. Small Craft Advisory until 8 AM EDT Friday for ANZ254>256.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...BW/KP NEAR TERM...BW/KP SHORT TERM...KP LONG TERM...BW AVIATION...BW/KP MARINE...BW/KP