Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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458 FXUS62 KILM 240754 AFDILM Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 354 AM EDT Mon Jun 24 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Hot and humid weather will continue. Strong thunderstorms today will be caused by a front as it sinks into the area, the boundary then to lift back to the north Tuesday. Another boundary and upper disturbance will bring good rain chances Thursday.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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Breezy onshore flow this morning will become westerly this afternoon ahead of a cold front. Transitional flow from onshore to offshore will expand hot temperatures observed yesterday toward the coast, but should help dew points inland. Inland areas reached the upper 90s to near 100 yesterday and low level thicknesses indicate that this is possible again today, even near the coast. Dew points in the upper 70s this morning will mix into the low 70s along the coast and upper 60s inland. Heat indices will be in excess of 100 degrees today. Sensitive groups and those performing strenuous outdoor activity should take extra precaution. A cold front currently analyzed over central Tennessee will push through the western Carolinas this morning with the help of an upper level trough. The front will reach the central Carolinas and struggle to push farther east during the day. The surface trough ahead of the front and the development of showers and storms should carry activity through the afternoon via a surface cold pool, steepening mid level lapse rates, and abundant surface heating. Significantly drier air aloft associated with the trough will ride over the hot and humid boundary layer as the convective forcing pushes eastward. While some mixing of the dry air may prove to be challenging inland, the majority of the area will have enough BL heat and humidity to generate deep instability. Dry air mixing into strong updrafts along with modest shear could lead to the development of isolated severe weather in strong wind gusts. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely to develop with the best chance of storms along and east of I-95 during the early afternoon. The stalled cold front will keep most of the area east of I-95 in a humid air mass overnight. Temperatures in the mid to low 70s will offer very little relief.
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&& .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
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The main story through the period will be the above normal temperatures as precipitation will be somewhat hard to come by especially Tuesday. This is because of a weak boundary that slides off to our south. It won`t do much to temper the heat but slightly lower dewpoints will be responsible for keeping showers/storms isolated at best (better chances S vs. N) and also likely preclude a heat advisory. The wet looking GFS is an outlier and also seemingly contradicting its still relatively dry forecast soundings. The weakening boundary lifts back to our north on Wednesday. Surface dewpoints will recover to the point where HI values could require an advisory. THe mid and upper levels however remain quite dry with PW values barely exceeding 1.0" keeping POPs capped in the 20-30 range.
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&& .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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Showers and thunderstorms become widespread on Thursday as the next weak shortwave moves through. This mid level feature will benefit from low level ascent offered by a cold front with either a surface trough or weakly closed low. With such widespread activity it seems plausible that guidance may be a few degrees too warm and so a few were shaved off, yet another day of above normal expected (no advisory though). With the boundary still in the vicinity on Friday the weather should remain unsettled, just not to the extent of Thursday. Mid level ridging should turn the heat back up over the weekend while suppressing thunderstorm coverage to typical values of about 30.
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&& .AVIATION /06Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Showers and onshore flow will keep MVFR potential near the coast overnight, although this appears to remain periodic. IFR is possible along the Grand Strand prior to sunrise. Hot temperatures developing during the day should help develop a broken eastward-moving line of thunderstorms Monday afternoon, potentially affecting KFLO and KLBT as early as 17-18z, then moving down to the coast a couple hours later. High-res model blends show the highest risk for convective impacts occurring at the KILM airport between 19z-22z where low visibility in heavy rain has a moderate potential to occur. Extended Outlook... VFR should prevail outside of periodic MVFR/IFR during diurnal showers/thunderstorms plus spotty morning low clouds/fog. && .MARINE...
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Through Tonight... Remaining breezy this morning ahead of a cold front with showers and thunderstorms coming to an end just after sunrise. Winds turn SW this afternoon and weaken slightly, enough to see an end to SCA conditions. The cold front will produce showers and thunderstorms this afternoon over land and this line of storms will impact the nearshore waters by late afternoon into this evening. Strong wind gusts will be possible with this line of storms which is expected to persist over the warm waters overnight. Variable winds in the presence of showers and thunderstorms should become easterly on Tuesday. Tuesday through Friday... Post-frontal onshore flow Tuesday will shorten wave periods a bit as seas adjust to the long period of southerly winds leading up to the wind shift. Veering already slated for Tuesday night already as boundary lifts back to the north and these winds will stay quite light as the main area of high pressure offshore is shunted eastward. Another boundary sinks into the area Thursday into Friday. The still very light winds could acquire some variability but in the absence of any swell energy seas will remain close to the normal 2-3 ft range, occasionally higher due to periods of onshore flow.
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&& .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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NC...High Risk for Rip Currents through this evening for NCZ110. SC...High Risk for Rip Currents through this evening for SCZ054. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 11 AM EDT this morning for AMZ250- 252-254-256.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...ILM NEAR TERM...21 SHORT TERM...MBB LONG TERM...MBB AVIATION...21 MARINE...ILM