Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Key West, FL
Issued by NWS Key West, FL
710 FXUS62 KKEY 130902 AFDKEY Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Key West FL 502 AM EDT Thu Jun 13 2024 ...New DISCUSSION, MARINE, AVIATION... .DISCUSSION... Issued at 502 AM EDT Thu Jun 13 2024 After quite an active evening last night, most storms within the Florida Keys forecast area, aside from a cluster of stronger storms in the Straits of Florida, have weakened to stratiform rain. Impressive rainfall totals ranged from just over an inch in Key West to an astounding nearly 10 inches in portions of the Upper Keys. Winds are proving to be tricky once again this morning, with marine observation platforms along the Reef measuring sustained winds of 18 to 25 knots. The higher end of that is still within areas of rainfall, but will continue to keep an eye on it once the rainfall moves out of that area. These winds are much higher than initially forecast, so had to make last minute adjustments to the wind forecast. These over-achieving winds should come as no surprise since they have been higher than expected around this time for the past few days, as guidance has not had a good handle on this pre-dawn wind surge. Winds should come down by later this morning. The synoptic pattern will change little over the next day or so. The main features that have caused well above normal rainfall over the past few days continue to be a stalled frontal boundary draped over Northern Florida, broad troughing in the Gulf of Mexico, and a low level ridge axis extending through the Bahamas into our area. Models do suggest that the frontal boundary may dip a little farther southward today, which could put us in a similar, if not better, environment for a similar heavy rainfall event that we saw last night. The next 12 hours will likely be a repeat of the same pattern we have seen the past few days, with a lull in shower activity in the morning, followed by the re-ignition of convection later this afternoon into this evening. The Flood Watch was extended through early tomorrow morning, with an additional 2-4 inches possible, with locally higher amounts within areas of training storms. High temperatures today and tomorrow will peak in the mid to upper 80s, depending on the extent of cloud cover this morning. Dew points will be in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees, so another sticky day is on tap outside of any rainfall. By Friday night into Saturday, we will finally break out of this rainy pattern as high pressure will build across the Northeast and shift out into the western North Atlantic. This high will shove the deep tropical moisture that we are currently entrenched in to the west, and drive in a drier airmass. Rain chances will quickly drop down to just above normal, as will thunder chances. High temperatures will return to near 90 degrees, and lows are only expected to drop into the lower 80s each night as cloud coverage decreases. By Sunday night, the pressure gradient will tighten across the region, which will allow for breezy conditions to prevail through the end of the extended forecast. && .MARINE... Issued at 502 AM EDT Thu Jun 13 2024 There are no watches, warnings, or advisories in effect for the Florida Keys coastal waters. From synopsis, the pattern for the remainder of the week will feature weak high pressure over the western North Atlantic and a frontal boundary stalled over northern Florida. However, the main weather maker will be a large cyclonic system centered over Central America. Mainly moderate breezes and an extended period of unsettled weather featuring thundery squalls will persist today through Friday night. Rain and thunder chances will decrease gradually starting Saturday. Breezes will freshen by Saturday night, with moderate to fresh easterly breezes expected for late in the weekend into early next week. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 502 AM EDT Thu Jun 13 2024 VFR conditions will return at EYW and MTH for the morning hours and early afternoon. TEMPO MVFR CIGS may still occur at the terminals from nearby light showers. VCSH was listed for the entire TAF period because while there is higher confidence that redevelopment of heavy showers and thunderstorms will occur late in the afternoon, the exact time said storms will impact the terminals is very uncertain. MVFR to IFR conditions are possible in the evening hours. Prevailing near surface winds will be southerly near 10 knots with occasional gusts of 15 knots with higher gusts near showers. && .CLIMATE... On this day in Keys weather history, in 1900 the daily record rainfall of 5.04" was recorded in Key West. Rainfall records for Key West date back to 1871. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Key West 88 78 88 80 / 70 80 70 40 Marathon 88 78 88 80 / 70 80 70 40 && .KEY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...Flood Watch for FLZ076>078. GM...None. && $$ Public/Marine/Fire...NB Aviation/Nowcasts....AJP Data Acquisition.....AJP Visit us on the web at weather.gov/key Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at: www.facebook.com/nwskeywest www.twitter.com/nwskeywest