756
FXUS61 KALY 200741
AFDALY

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Albany NY
341 AM EDT Mon May 20 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
Warming trend begins today with mainly dry weather
across the region. Tomorrow and Wednesday will feature temperatures
well into the 80s to around 90 for may valley areas with a chance
for a few afternoon showers or thunderstorms especially for western
areas. A cold front brings increasing chances for showers and
thunderstorms Wednesday night and Thursday, with cooler and drier
weather expected Friday into the weekend.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/...
As of 3:40 AM EDT...A ridge of high pressure currently extends
over our region from the northeast, with upper ridging aloft.
Light southeasterly flow has lead to some patchy low stratus
developing across portions of the Hudson Valley and eastern
Catskills, with more widespread low stratus to our east across
central New England. For the rest of our area, skies are mainly
clear which has allowed temperatures to radiatively cool into
the upper 40s to low 50s with some patchy fog. We will continue
to see patchy stratus and patchy fog through sunrise this
morning with overnight lows mainly in the upper 40s to mid 50s.

Today, the upper ridge continues to amplify as it undergoes
anticyclonic wave breaking. The surface high remains off to our
east and a warm front tracks through our region from the west.
There isn`t enough moisture for much if any precip with this
warm front, although a spot shower can`t totally be ruled out
over the high terrain of the Catskills or ADKs this afternoon.
However, most of the region should see partly cloudy skies.
Warming airmass and deep mixing to around 800 mb per BUFKIT
forecast soundings suggests highs today reach into the low to
mid 80s for the valley areas, especially north and west of
Albany where there will be less influence from the southeasterly
onshore flow.

&&

.SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
Tonight, the surface high will be located just to our south,
with continued upper ridging overhead. Light southerly flow may
result in some additional low stratus again tonight, especially
across the Mid Hudson Valley and/or southwestern New England.
Otherwise, partly to mostly clear skies are expected for most
of the night with some patchy fog in some of the typical areas.
With a slightly warmer airmass in place, overnight lows will
only drop into the 50s for most areas.

By 12z Tuesday, the ridge aloft will have folded over on itself,
resulting in more zonal flow aloft for our area. A convectively
induced shortwave and associated remnant MCS activity will be
tracking to our north near the international border. A few
showers or thunderstorms could form across the ADKs along
the outflow from this area of storms. Additionally, a separate
weak upper impulse approaching from the west during the
afternoon and evening could provide enough forcing for a few
showers or thunderstorms across the western Mohawk Valley.
Tuesday will be the warmest day so far this year for most areas,
with temperatures climbing well into the 80s to around 90 for
many valley areas. With upper 50s to low 60s dew points, we
could see 1500 to 2000 J/kg of SBCAPE west and north of Albany.
However, the best vertical wind shear should remain north of our
area, so at this time the probability for severe weather looks
low Tuesday afternoon and evening. If we see more in the way of
clouds from the convection to our north, then temperatures could
end up a couple degrees cooler than currently forecast for
northern areas.

Tuesday night, any showers or thunderstorms should diminish
within a few hours of sunset as instability wanes with the loss
of daytime heating. There will be a few more clouds around with
the upper impulse nearby, and the warmer airmass will result in
lows mainly in the 50s to 60s. While our area will generally see
tranquil weather Tuesday night, a surface low will be
intensifying over the upper midwest as an associated upper
trough becomes negatively tilted and closes off aloft. These
features will track from the western Great Lakes into southern
Canada Wednesday and Wednesday night. The system`s cold front
looks to approach our area late Wednesday night, although there
are still some timing differences in the guidance.

So, with the cold front off to our west Wednesday, it will be
another hot day, with most areas a degree or two warmer than on
Tuesday. Feels-like temperatures/heat indices look to max out
around 90F, so it looks like we should fall short of heat
advisory criteria (95F). With the warm temps and upper 50s to
low 60s dew points, instability once again builds potentially in
excess of 1500 J/kg. A pre-frontal trough may provide enough
forcing for some showers or thunderstorms to develop during the
afternoon, especially west of I-87. However, shear still looks
relatively weak with the best upper dynamics remaining off to
our west, so probability for any strong to severe storms looks
low once again. Wednesday night will be warm as well, with
overnight lows mainly in the low to mid 60s. If the actual cold
front does approach our western areas towards the end of the
period, then some additional showers or thunderstorms would be
possible, but the exact timing of the front is still uncertain.

&&

.LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
A cold front associated with a low pressure system over Ontario and
Quebec looks to cross the region on Thursday. Guidance is beginning
to come into better agreement on the timing of the front with the
front located across western New York early in the day and cross
eastern areas by the afternoon hours. While the main upper-level
energy will be displaced well to the north and west, some shortwave
energy crossing our region will allow for some showers and
thunderstorms along and ahead of the front. With the latest timing
of the front, there may be enough of an overlap of instability (500-
1000 J/kg MLCAPE) and shear (30-40 kt 0-6km) for some stronger
storms. Will monitor trends in the coming days.

Cooler and less humid air returns behind the front for Friday into
Saturday as high pressure returns. An upper-level shortwave will
pass by to our north on Friday with any shower activity also staying
to the north. Highs Friday and Saturday return to the 60s and 70s.

There are some timing differences with the next upper-level
disturbance but chances for showers return either for the second
half of the weekend or early next week.

&&

.AVIATION /07Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
Through 06z/Tue...High pressure will bring dry weather and VFR
conditions for much of the upcoming TAF period. The exception will
be whether any fog develops at any of the TAF sites for the
remainder of the overnight. Some mid-level clouds are also around
keeping dewpoint depressions a bit elevated. Will continue with a
TEMPO group at KGFL/KPSF/KPOU for possible vsby reductions to
IFR/MVFR. Fog is less likely at KALB due to a light southeasterly
wind in place as well as some patchy mid-level clouds.

Wind will be south to southeasterly for much of the upcoming TAF
period at 5 kt or less.

Outlook...

Tuesday Night: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX.
Wednesday: Low Operational Impact. Slight Chance of SHRA...TSRA.
Wednesday Night: Moderate Operational Impact. Chance of SHRA...TSRA.
Thursday: Moderate Operational Impact. Chance of SHRA...TSRA.
Thursday Night: Low Operational Impact. Slight Chance of SHRA.
Friday: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX.
Friday Night: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX.
Saturday: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX.

&&

.CLIMATE...
Record High Temperature for May 20:

Albany: 91 in 1962
Glens Falls: 90 in 1975
Poughkeepsie: 91 in 1975

Record High Temperature for May 21:

Albany: 92 in 1941
Glens Falls: 93 in 1921
Poughkeepsie: 95 in 1996

Record High Temperature for May 22:

Albany: 97 in 1911
Glens Falls: 98 in 1911
Poughkeepsie: 98 in 1941

&&

.ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CT...None.
NY...None.
MA...None.
VT...None.

&&

$$

SYNOPSIS...Main
NEAR TERM...Main
SHORT TERM...Main
LONG TERM...Rathbun
AVIATION...Rathbun
CLIMATE...Speciale