Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Jackson, KY

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020 FXUS63 KJKL 171725 AFDJKL AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Jackson KY 125 PM EDT Mon Jun 17 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Hot weather persists through the week. Afternoon heat indices may peak around 100 at some locations through Tuesday. - There is also a possibility of thunderstorms today, Saturday, and Sunday. The greatest probability is in the afternoon and evening hours each day. && .UPDATE... Issued at 1122 AM EDT MON JUN 17 2024 Just a few minor tweaks made to the forecast which has largely been on track this morning. Made some adjustments to local temps and sky cover to reflect current trends. Also, updated morning text and radio products. Grids have been saved and sent. UPDATE Issued at 728 AM EDT MON JUN 17 2024 Made some minor updates to Sky grids to reflect a little bit greater coverage of clouds this morning, especially in the west and south. Otherwise, hourly forecasts were blended to match up with the latest hourly observations for continuity purposes. && .SHORT TERM...(Today through Tuesday) Issued at 334 AM EDT MON JUN 17 2024 The latest upper level map features high pressure centered over the southeastern CONUS, while an anomalously strong double- barreled low is spiraling over central Canada. A positively- tilted trough extends southwest through the West Coast, with an embedded low churning across the Pacific Northwest. At the surface, high pressure is occupying most of the Eastern Seaboard. A cold front extends from the Upper Midwest back through the central Plains, while a warm front aligns from the Great Lakes through the Ohio Valley. Eastern Kentucky is now firmly in the warm sector, with dew points 10 to 20 degrees higher at most locations compared to last night at this time. The models are in good agreement through the short term, with the southeastern CONUS upper level high gradually moving north and strengthening with time. At the surface, high pressure will become more centered over the northern Atlantic by late Tuesday, with surface ridging expanding back west across the Appalachians by that time. This will result in plenty of heat and humidity, as well as afternoon and early evening convection for today across eastern Kentucky. Highs today will be similar to yesterday, generally lower 90s, with a few spots getting into the lower-end of the mid 90s. These temperatures, combined with dew points in the lower 70s, will result in peak heat indices of around 100 degrees. Afternoon/early evening convection will peak in coverage across our southeastern terrain; however, given the weak shear, outflow boundary migration will allow for the threat of isolated to scattered convection over most of the forecast area at some point through the day. This convection will die off by late this evening, with fog likely a bit more prevalent, given the better convective coverage and balmy conditions in place. Lows will range from the mid to upper 60s in the typically cooler valley locations, to the lower 70s elsewhere. On Tuesday, an influx of high clouds may keep highs just a shade cooler compared to today; however, peak heat indices will be near 100 degrees once again, as dew points will still be near or just over 70 degrees at most locations. Higher 500 mb heights should keep a lid on most convection, although a stray shower or storm can not be completely ruled out at peak heating. Given the limited areal coverage, will keep the PoPs at below 20 percent. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday night through Sunday) Issued at 310 AM EDT MON JUN 17 2024 Models are in good agreement for the pattern that will impact our area during the long term period. Strong upper level high pressure is expected to be centered over the Mid Atlantic states Tuesday evening. Depending on the model, this high drifts northeast to southern New England or just south on Wednesday, but maintains strong ridging west-southwestward over the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. Late in the week the upper level high/ridge shifts back southward and weakens by the time it reaches somewhere between our vicinity and the Southeast US coast. Resulting subsidence and warm temps aloft will help to keep convection capped at least until late in the long term period. During this time, large surface high pressure centered offshore will ridge westward over VA early in the period, and then also drift south. Our low level flow will emanate from this high, not having trajectories over the warm gulf, and this will keep dew points from being too excessive. In fact, dew points are actually expected to go down a bit for Wednesday through Friday. The limited low-level moisture will also help to reduce the potential for thunderstorms. As we move into the weekend, our low-level flow will have trajectories coming from further south and this will bring dew points back up. Models also hint at an upper trough moving across the northern half of the country into the Great Lakes region late in the weekend or early next week, which will likely push a cold front east across the country and toward the Ohio Valley either Sunday or Monday of next week. For now, will carry gradually increasing chance generally 30 to 50) PoPs from Sunday morning through Sunday overnight to reflect the uncertainty with the timing of the frontal arrival and resulting showers and thunderstorms. && .AVIATION...
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(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday afternoon) ISSUED AT 125 PM EDT MON JUN 17 2024 VFR conditions are prevailing across all TAF sites and will prevail through most of the TAF period. Surface high pressure is in place; however, showers and thunderstorms are forecast to develop over the next few hours and increase in coverage. Opted to add VCTS to all terminals through 01Z/Tuesday. As showers decrease, decreasing CIGS are expected and could lead to areas of valley fog which could impact all terminals minus KJKL. Otherwise, light and variable winds will persist through the TAF period.
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&& .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ UPDATE...VORST SHORT TERM...GEOGERIAN LONG TERM...CMC/HAL AVIATION...VORST