Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA

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187 FXUS61 KBOX 151322 AFDBOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA 922 AM EDT Sun Sep 15 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Strong area of high pressure over the northeast will continue the dry and quiet weather through Tuesday. A subtropical low pressure system develops off the coast of the Carolinas which could bring our next chance of precipitation sometime Wednesday into Thursday, although there remains uncertainty with the overall track of the system. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/...
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920 AM update... Stratus and fog in portions of central and eastern MA is burning off which will lead to abundant sunshine today as deep layer ridging remains in control. Another warm day with highs upper 70s and low 80s, though cooler in eastern coastal towns of Massachusetts. Easterly flow keeps towns from Cape Ann to Cape Cod in the lower to mid-70s. In addition, dewpoints this afternoon are between 5 and 8 degrees cooler, so less in the way of humidity as well.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH 6 PM MONDAY/... Update: 2:50AM Highlights: * Patchy areas of dense fog possible overnight and followed by another dry and mild afternoon for Monday. Tonight... With high pressure, clear skies, and light winds if not calm, do expect a rinse and repeat forecast tonight. The forecast challenge will continue to be how widespread any fog becomes. One of the main difference between the last two nights and upcoming night are lower dewpoint temperatures. With that said, feel most confident if any fog were to develop it would do so in prone locations; ie locations that typically radiate under clear skies and river basins. Looking at the forecast soundings in BUFKIT, NAM and NAM3km highlights this well. Lows tonight drop into the upper 40s to low 50s. Boston will retain some of the daytime heat, urban heat island, with a low in the upper 50s. Monday... Any morning fog disperses shortly after sunrise. With high pressure still in place, looking at another mostly sunny day. HRRR shows the potential for smoke aloft, which could lead to a milky color in the sky. HREF does show high clouds moving in from north to south late in the day as well, this is likely tied to the developing system off the coast of the Carolinas. Winds become south, this on shore wind along the south coast will limit how warm we get across coastal Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts. Expect highs there to be in the mid 70s. Away from the coast, temperatures reach the upper 70s to low 80s. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... Update: 2:50AM Highlights: * Continuation of dry weather, mild days and cooler nights Mon night into Tue. * Unsettled Tue night into Thurs as low pressure near the mid- Atlantic region could bring our next chance for showers, along with enhanced onshore breezes. Details are still uncertain at this time. * Generally dry late this week into the weekend, although coastal areas may see more clouds than sun and onshore breezes. Temps seasonable in the interior but could be cooler than normal near the coasts. Details: Monday Night and Tuesday: High and dry in this portion of the forecast, with an expansive ridge of high pressure still in place. Later on Tue, the ridge axis is progged to either shift northward and/or weaken, with a modest increase in easterly onshore flow. All in all though, expect a continuation of sensible wx conditions that have been something of a broken record over the last several days: mild daytime highs with cool nighttime lows, along with patchy radiation fog in the typically favored spots. Lows Mon night in the 50s, with upper 50s/near 60 for the urban areas and coastlines. Highs should reach into the upper 70s to lower to mid 80s. Tuesday Night through Thursday: More unsettled weather then looks to take hold in this portion of the forecast, but there is still pretty substantial uncertainty in the details. An area of disturbed weather off the Carolina coast is forecast to move NW into the Carolinas and/or the mid-Atlantic region at some point early next week (as soon as Mon but potentially into Tue/Tue night). NHC is monitoring this area of disturbed weather for possible subtropical development; refer to the latest NHC forecasts regarding this area of disturbed weather. As its circulation moves NW through the mid Atlantic states, a portion of its moisture on its eastern periphery advances northward into the entrenched surface ridge that has been in place over the Northeast around the middle of the upcoming workweek. However the global model ensembles continue to show pretty strong diversity in outcomes both in timing and on potential rain amounts. Looking at the individual members comprising each ensemble system, the non-GFS based models are generally soonest to bring this rain northward (either Tue night and/or Wed); while the GEFS-based solutions are slower (Wed night and/or Thurs), and a few of the GEFS members are shutouts with QPF shunted to the waters. 01z/15th NBM PoPs were generally maintained in this period, but reduced them into the slight to low chance range Tue night, and kept them around the 30-40% range on Wed and into Thurs, with a decrease thereafter. Challenging forecast and still too low confidence to go much higher or lower than those ranges. Overall this is the next best chance at widespread rains, although the exact details are far from set in stone. The other potential impact will be over the waters and beaches, with an enhanced easterly fetch bringing some enhancement to onshore flow, and wave heights could become elevated enough to pose a risk for rip currents on southeast-facing beach exposures into the midweek period. Temps were left more or less unchanged from NBM guidance, but these too will need adjustments, potentially toward a narrower diurnal range (e.g. cooler highs and milder lows) than the forecast currently shows. Friday into Next Weekend: Strong reinforcing ridge of high pressure over northeast Canada reasserts itself over the Northeast states in this period; with low pressure from the midweek period shifting well ESE of Georges Bank. This could bring a period of enhanced east to northeast flow along with cooler temps on that east to northeast flow. Thinking the interior portions of Southern New England should be high and dry with seasonable temps, whereas eastern/coastal areas may see cooler than normal temps, an enhanced onshore breeze and more in the way of cloud cover and perhaps some light showers at times. && .AVIATION /13Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Forecast Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. 12z TAF Update: Today: Overall high confidence, though moderate on timing dispersion of early-morning stratus and fog. Stratus and fog are around with ceilings in the IFR-VLIFR range and visbys pretty variable. Expect improvement by 13-14z for all airports with VFR thereafter. East winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming southeast later in the day. Tonight...High confidence in trends, moderate in timing. Mainly VFR, but patchy late night IFR fog/stratus may develop in the CT valley. Light to calm winds. Monday... High confidence. VFR. South winds 5 to 10 knots. KBOS TAF...High confidence. Should be VFR directly at the airport, but opted for a tempo thru 14z for lower conditions nearby, especially given observed fog and 200 ft cigs at OWD could lead to loss of side-by-side ops. Otherwise, VFR prevails. NE to E winds this morning to early afternoon, and then winds become SE late afternoon. KBDL TAF...High confidence. VFR. Calm winds through 12z to 14z and then becoming light from the E. Better chance for fog tonight into Monday morning. Outlook /Monday Night through Thursday/... Monday Night through Tuesday: VFR. Tuesday Night: VFR. Slight chance RA. Wednesday through Wednesday Night: VFR. Chance RA. Thursday: VFR. Slight chance RA. && .MARINE... Forecaster Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Medium - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Today through Monday...High confidence. Surface high pressure continues tranquil conditions for the waters surrounding southern New England. Visibilities may be reduced overnight in areas of coastal fog. Seas and winds remain well below advisory criteria. Outlook /Monday Night through Thursday/... Monday Night through Tuesday: Winds less than 25 kt. Tuesday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching 5 ft. Slight chance of rain. Wednesday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching 5 ft. Chance of rain. Wednesday Night through Thursday: Winds less than 25 kt. Areas of seas approaching 5 ft. Chance of rain. && .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. MA...None. RI...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Loconto/Dooley NEAR TERM...KJC/Loconto/Dooley SHORT TERM...Dooley LONG TERM...Loconto AVIATION...Loconto/Dooley MARINE...Loconto/Dooley