Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC

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
-- Highlight Changed Discussion --
-- Discussion containing changed information from previous version are highlighted. --
077 FXUS62 KRAH 040734 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 330 AM EDT Tue Jun 4 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A series of mid level disturbances will move east across the area through mid week, as a weak surface trough and unseasonably moist air mass holds over the region. A cold front will approach from the west Thursday and move across the area Thursday night and Friday, bringing drier and less humid conditions for the weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 945 PM Monday... No meaningful chances where made to the overnight forecast with the evening update as the inherited forecast remains on track. Regional radar shows a weakening trend with convection over central NC. A weak mid-level ridge axis will pivot across the Mid-Atlantic tonight with only 10-20m height rises but will usher in drier mid- level air from the Ohio Valley and northern Mid-Atlantic. These features should act to limit overnight scattered overnight showers and result in most locations remaining dry. Isolated light showers can not be ruled out however as a continued highly moist, unstable, and weakly capped regime remains in place overnight. Hi-Res guidance understandably struggles in these weakly forced regimes, but best chances (5-15%) would be where low-level instability of 100-150 J/kg will exist from upstate SC through the northeast Piedmont and northern Coastal Plain of NC through the overnight hours. Lows overnight will settle into the mid 60s by early Tues morning. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT/... As of 230 PM Monday... Tuesday should be a relatively average June day with a Bermuda high in place and southerly return flow beneath weak ridging aloft. A weak backdoor cold front is forecast to settle down the Mid-Atlantic coast but models have trended further north with its final push and it doesnt quite reach Halifax and Edgecombe Counties, perhaps stopping over southeast VA per NAM 925mb fields. Aloft, there is a weak circulation over TN today but it should drift more northeastward tonight and doesnt appear to have much impact on convective development tomorrow. CAMs tend to slightly favor the northeast CWA, again perhaps in closer proximity to the weak convergence associated with the weak backdoor boundary. PW will increase to around 1.6, which is around the daily 90th percentile, and thus will support a little better coverage or storms, which will be slow moving given very weak tropospheric flow under the ridge. Will trend 30-50 POPs toward the northeast CWA during the afternoon, with otherwise partly to mostly cloudy skies once possible morning stratus in the Piedmont burns off. Highs will be in the mid to upper 60s, falling only into the mid and upper 60s overnight with a continued slight chance of a shower. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
-- Changed Discussion --
As of 330 AM Tuesday... By Thursday morning, an upper low will be over southwestern Ontario with a surface low a bit farther to the northeast. The surface cold front should extend southeast across the Great Lakes into Pennsylvania, then arc back to the southwest along the I-85/95 corridor. While some minimal changes were made to the area of likely shower coverage on Thursday, likely pops generally remain to the southeast of US-1. MUCAPE should be on the order of 1000-2000 J/kg, while effective bulk shear remains at or below 30 kt. Thursday also appears to be the warmest day out of the next seven, with west- southwesterly flow providing warm advection allowing highs to max out between the mid 80s and lower 90s. Although slight chance pops will continue from US-1 to the east Thursday evening, have continued the inherited dry forecast for Friday as the GEFS has finally come in line with other models showing all precipitation to the east of the region. Friday appears to be the day that noticeably drier air will arrive, with dewpoints dropping into the 50s (and upper 40s in the Triad). The dry forecast continues through Saturday into Sunday. Unfortunately, different runs of the GFS/ECMWF and their respective ensembles continue to flip-flop as to when the next front will approach the southeastern United States, so this part of the forecast has below normal confidence. For now, have slight chance pops Sunday night and chance pops everywhere Monday. The Thursday/Friday front won`t bring much change in high temperatures, with highs remaining in the 80s through the weekend. However, there will be some relief each night, with overnight lows in the lower 60s instead of the upper 60s.
-- End Changed Discussion --
&& .AVIATION /06Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 210 AM Tuesday... Areas of IFR stratus and/or fog will be possible again mainly over the NC Piedmont and nrn Coastal Plain this morning, including most likely at RWI, INT, and GSO. Isolated to scattered showers/storms are likely to redevelop with daytime heating by early to mid- afternoon, with the relative highest probability of occurrence along an outflow boundary (lifting mechanism) supporting an ongoing cluster of showers between RWI and RDU (centered around LHZ). Outlook: A humid air mass in place through Thu will support a risk of late night-early morning stratus and fog, especially where widely scattered showers/storms occur the previous afternoon-evening. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Hartfield NEAR TERM...Swiggett SHORT TERM...BLS LONG TERM...Green AVIATION...MWS