Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Brownsville, TX

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338 FXUS64 KBRO 221118 AAA AFDBRO Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Brownsville TX 618 AM CDT Wed May 22 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (Today through Thursday) Issued at 310 AM CDT Wed May 22 2024 500 mb high pressure centered along the upper east coast of Mexico, and extended over the BRO CWFA, will remain the dominant weather feature in play through the period. This will continue to have the effect of not only producing dry weather, but also well above normal daytime high temperatures. Compared to recent observations, NBM guidance appeared slightly too cool for high temperatures today, so increased these a couple of degrees. This yielded heat index vales at, or slightly above, HEAT ADVISORY criteria for all of Deep South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley except the island portions of Cameron, Willacy, and Kenedy counties today, and as a result, a HEAT ADVISORY is in effect for this specific area for half a dozen hours. An additional HEAT ADVISORY is likely to be needed on Thursday for the same, if not slightly smaller, area. && .LONG TERM...
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(Thursday night through Tuesday) Issued at 310 AM CDT Wed May 22 2024 Key Messages: - Extreme and Dangerous Heat through the weekend. - Record daily highs and overnight Max Minimums in jeopardy. No let up in the heat with all models trending hotter Friday- Monday. The weekend looks likely the hottest overall with potentially deadly excessive heat as mean heat index values of 115- 118 degrees and peak values potentially exceeding 120 degrees are indicated by the latest consensus model output. Record heat is also expected with this latest heat wave with daily maximums as well as nightly overnight (highest Minimum Temperatures)being threatened. The northern side of a 500mb subtropical ridge remains anchored through early next week with a building heat dome over North Mexico and South Texas. 850mb temperatures continue to climb with the latest model suite indicating Friday at 23-27C, Sat-Mon 26-31C which exceeds the 95 percentile and on some days all time daily Maxes could be exceed. The anomalous subtropical ridge and the high 850mb temps will allow ambient temperatures to soar well over 100 degrees for much of the CWA with exception of the immediate coastal sections. Along and west of I-69 highs range from 103 to 111F Sat- Monday with 88-102 from the beaches to I-69E/C. The modest and breezy southerly flow and warm Gulf of Mexico sea surface temperatures continue pumping in elevated dew points. As we know, the extreme heat combined with the elevated dewpoints will be a mix for dangerous and potentially deadly heat indices which will reach and in some locations possibly exceed 120F degrees. Expect daily heat advisories Friday-Monday with a medium to high (50-70%) probability of excessive heat warnings Saturday-Monday. No relief overnight with latest temperature guidance indicating lows only reaching 77-82 degrees and this may be conservative especially in the urban heat island locations of McAllen, Harlingen, and Brownsville. To say the least, no rain is in the forecast with subsidence provided by the high pressure ridge keeps the mid-layers very dry (below 30% RH) and maintains a strong warm cap in place. Any thunderstorms that form over and move east off the Sierra Madre of NE Mexico will have a very difficult time maintaining integrity as they run into the stable conditions east of the Rio Grande.
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&& .AVIATION...
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(12Z TAFS) Issued at 611 AM CDT Wed May 22 2024 MVFR to VFR will continue to be the rule at the aerodromes through the next 24 hours.
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&& .MARINE... Issued at 310 AM CDT Wed May 22 2024 (Today through Thursday): Buoy 42020 reported southeast winds around 16 knots gusting to around 19 knots with seas slightly under 4.5 feet with a period of 6 seconds at 150 CDT/650 UTC. An enhanced pressure gradient will exist along the Lower Texas Coast during the period courtesy of high pressure over the western Gulf of Mexico interacting with thermal low pressure over inland Mexico. Moderate to breezy winds and generally moderate sea are likely, as is Small Craft Should Exercise Caution for portions to all of the lower Texas coastal waters. (Thursday night through Tuesday): A moderate pressure gradient is forecast to persist over the Western Gulf of Mexico through the week and next weekend. Broad surface ridge centered over the Southwest Atlantic and extending over the Gulf will combine with a thermal low pressure area over NE Mexico maintaining a daily moderate to occasionally gusty southeast wind and a moderate sea. No rain is expected as an upper level ridge suppresses the chance of thunderstorms the next several days. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BROWNSVILLE 96 81 95 81 / 10 0 0 0 HARLINGEN 99 78 97 78 / 0 0 0 0 MCALLEN 101 80 100 81 / 0 0 0 0 RIO GRANDE CITY 104 79 103 79 / 10 0 0 0 SOUTH PADRE ISLAND 89 82 87 82 / 0 0 0 0 BAYVIEW/PORT ISABEL 94 79 93 80 / 0 0 0 0 && .BRO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...Heat Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 7 PM CDT this evening for TXZ248>255-351-353>355. GM...None. && $$