Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Mt. Holly, NJ

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109 FXUS61 KPHI 231849 AFDPHI Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 249 PM EDT Thu May 23 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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A cold front move across the area this evening. The front will stall to our south on Friday before lifting back north on Friday night as a warm front. Another cold front moves through on Sunday with a stronger system impacting the area on Monday into Tuesday. A secondary cold front looks to cross the area on Wednesday into Thursday.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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A closed low centered just north of the Great Lakes will shift eastward through Friday. Surface low pressure tied to this feature will pull a weak cold front across much of our area through tonight. A surface trough remains across our area and this will either shift east into this evening or be absorbed by the incoming weak cold front. The flow aloft does become more cyclonic late tonight into Friday morning as the southern portion of the closed low amplifies a bit more southward. In the wake of a convectively enhanced shortwave that brought quite a bit of convection early this morning to eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey has slowed the boundary layer heating some. A north to northwest wind occurred behind this feature with a little drying as well. The air mass is in the process of recovering and there is enough instability for some thunderstorms to redevelop. The instability should increase some into this evening as some clearing takes place. There is another convectively enhanced or generated shortwave/MCV moving across southern West Virginia and this feature will move east-northeastward. The chance for additional convection across the northern areas has decreased as these areas will see more drying sooner with less instability and weaker forcing. Farther south has the greater chance for some scattered showers and thunderstorms through this evening, especially if an area of enhanced forcing arrives from the aforementioned MCV. There is enough shear and instability in place which could result in isolated severe thunderstorms with locally damaging wind gusts the main threat. The coverage overall looks to be isolated to scattered especially from about the Philadelphia metro on south and east. The convection should tend to wane overnight, however a trailing shortwave may result in some showers or thunderstorms early Friday morning for Delmarva, southern New Jersey and perhaps into parts of southeast Pennsylvania. The wind will be light to calm tonight and if clouds clear enough for a time, patchy fog will be possible. As we go through Friday, a weak cold front should be stalling across parts of Delmarva. The placement of this front along with a trailing piece of energy may continue to support some showers or thunder across our southern areas to start the morning. The cloud cover will clearing from the northwest, with some mid to high level clouds lingering the longest for our Delmarva to southeastern New Jersey areas. As the low-level flow turns more westerly in the wake of the front, drier air will arrive and dew points are forecast to drop into the 50s for much of the area. The dew points look to remain in the 60s however across Delmarva to southeastern New Jersey. It will be a warm day with much of the area getting into the 80s, although with lighter flow expected a sea breeze should develop resulting in cooling closer to the coast.
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&& .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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Tranquil weather will continue into Friday night with clear skies and light winds initially. We should be able to radiate pretty well leading to some patchy fog development over Delmarva and southern New Jersey. However, clouds will increase from south to north later in the night as the stalled front begins to lift back north across the area. This should limit the amount of cooling late, so expecting lows in the mid 50s to lower 60s. For Saturday, the warm front will lift completely north of the area as the main low pressure system tracks across the Great Lakes. Saturday morning likely stays dry however, as we progress through the afternoon, the chance for showers and thunderstorms increase from west to east. For locations along the shore, precip should hold off entirely until Saturday evening, although it will be a mix of sun and clouds most of the day. This system will be a rather quick mover so while Saturday night does appear to be wet especially north and west, all precipitation should end by Sunday morning. The region should dry out on Sunday as the front now looks to stall to our north and west, resulting in sunny skies in the afternoon with some fair weather clouds. Slight chance of a shower in the higher elevations which remains closer to the stalled boundary. Aided by warm air advection, highs on Saturday and Sunday should reach into the low to mid 80s with cooler temps along the coast. Saturday night lows will be in the mid 50s to low 60s.
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&& .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/...
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Beyond Sunday, the weather pattern becomes unsettled as a stronger low pressure system develops back over the central CONUS. Strong PVA will move over the region Monday with stronger cold front crossing the area Monday night into Tuesday. This will lead to widespread shower activity across the region. WPC has included a Marginal risk for Excessive Rainfall and CIPS analog guidance is highlighting the potential for severe weather across the Delmarva (10-15% chance) on Monday and across the entire area on Tuesday (10% chance). Will continue to monitor and focus attention on this time period of Monday afternoon through Tuesday. After the cold front passes, unsettled weather continues to be the theme thanks to several waves/impulses aloft passing through the week. Temps for the workweek should be fairly seasonable with highs in the 70s through Wednesday, before falling back into the 60s by Thursday.
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&& .AVIATION /19Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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The following discussion is for KPHL, KPNE, KTTN, KABE, KRDG, KILG, KMIV, KACY and surrounding areas... Rest of this afternoon...VFR overall, however a few showers or thunderstorms will be around especially from around the KPHL area south and eastward. Locally and brief sub-VFR conditions will occur with any shower/thunderstorm. West to southwest winds mostly 5-10 knots. Low confidence. Tonight...VFR overall, however a few showers and thunderstorms will be around this evening which can result in local and brief sub-VFR conditions. Localized fog cannot be ruled out overnight. Winds becoming light and variable to calm overall. Low confidence. Friday...VFR overall. A few showers or a thunderstorm possible early in the morning. Light and variable winds becoming northwest around 5 knots, then becoming west. A sea breeze may result in winds becoming south or southeast at KACY and KILG in the afternoon. Moderate confidence. Outlook... Saturday through Saturday night...VFR during the day, likely becoming sub-VFR at night. Showers and thunderstorms late in the day into the evening. Sunday...VFR. No significant weather expected. Sunday night through Tuesday...Sub-VFR conditions probable with a chance of showers and thunderstorms especially on Monday into Monday night.
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&& .MARINE...
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The conditions are expected to remain below Small Craft Advisory criteria through Friday, however a few gusty thunderstorms will be possible this evening mainly across the southern coastal waters including Delaware Bay. Outlook... Friday night through Tuesday...No marine headlines expected. Winds will occasionally gust up to 15-20 kt with seas around 2-4 feet. A chance for showers is expected on Saturday night with a chance for showers and thunderstorms Monday into Tuesday. Marine fog is also possible on Saturday morning. Rip Currents... S to SW winds will average 5 to 10 mph today along with breaking waves around 2 feet. There is a LOW risk for the development of dangerous rip currents at NJ and DE beaches for today. However, some showers and thunderstorms will be around. On Friday, winds will once again be out of the S to SW at 5 to 10 mph with breaking waves of 1 to 2 feet. There is a LOW risk for the development of dangerous rip currents at NJ and DE beaches. Although there is a slight chance for showers, thunderstorms are not expected.
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&& .TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING... Astronomical tides will be elevated this week with a Full Moon occurring today, May 23. Spotty minor coastal flooding will be possible, especially for the back bays, around the times of the evening high tide cycle, which will be the higher of the two tide cycles, going into the end of this week. && .PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...None. NJ...None. DE...None. MD...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Deal/DeSilva NEAR TERM...Gorse SHORT TERM...Deal/DeSilva LONG TERM...Deal/DeSilva AVIATION...DeSilva/Gorse MARINE...DeSilva/Gorse TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING...WFO PHI