Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Albany, NY

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854 FXUS61 KALY 291449 AFDALY AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Albany NY 1049 AM EDT Wed May 29 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Fair and mostly dry weather will persist this afternoon. A disturbance passing to the south will bring rain showers south of I-90, and most likely along the I-84 corridor. Cooler temperatures behind the cold frontal passage persist through Thursday night, before a warming trend Friday into the weekend.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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.UPDATE...as of 1049 AM EDT...A weak secondary cold front continues to move across southern NY and western New England. A short-wave is moving across OH toward PA. The latest CAMs trends show and isolated to pop-up shower or thunderstorm this afternoon in the mid Hudson Valley, but until the short-wave arrives the day should be mainly dry with fair weather cumulus. The 12Z KALY sounding is drier with a PWAT down to 0.86" and the profile is drier/more stable than yesterday with only 190 J/kg of MUCAPE. We retooled the PoPs and weather and tried to keep any isolated or scattered threat for the late afternoon and into tonight. West to northwest winds will increase 10-20 mph with some gusts 25-30 mph. Humidity levels will be comfortable and max temps will be seasonable with 60s to lower/mid 70s. .PREV DISCUSSION [0655 EDT]...As an initial upper shortwave is exiting eastward into New England while a second impulse digs over the Upper Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic through tonight. As this second shortwave passes to the south, a region of rain showers will spread from west to east, primarily to the south of I-90 and most likely along the I-84 corridor. Sufficient instability (MLCAPE around 500 J/kg) will allow for embedded thunderstorms, particularly in the afternoon. While storms may result in a brief heavy downpour, no severe weather is expected. North of I-90 and farther from the synoptic forcing for ascent, showers will be much more isolated or altogether absent, while skies trend clearer through the evening and overnight. Enhanced cloud cover early this morning will allow for a mild start to the day, but cooler air aloft within upper troughing with keep temperatures near to slightly below normal, reaching afternoon highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s in high terrain and upper 60s to mid 70s at lower elevations. A surface wind shift boundary will sink across the region overnight tonight, with developing cold advection in northerly flow allowing for cooler temperatures as lows fall to the upper 30s to low 40s in high terrain and mid 40s to low 50s at lower elevations.
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&& .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... The upper trough axis passes overhead on Thursday while cold advection on low-level northerly flow keeps temperatures slightly below normal, rising to afternoon highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s in high terrain and upper 60s to low 70s at lower elevations. Rain showers associated with surface troughing finally exit south and east from the Mid-Hudson Valley and northwestern Connecticut by mid-morning, as dry weather returns across the region. Surface high pressure to the west and weak surface troughing offshore to the southeast will result in potentially gusty winds as high as 20 mph along north-south oriented valleys and in areas of high terrain. The cooler airmass will additionally feature much drier air, with dewpoints falling into the mid 30s to mid 40s by Thursday evening. This combination of dry air and gusty winds may promote a brief period of marginal risk for fire spread; see additional details in the Fire Weather discussion below. Cloud coverage will increase with diurnal heating in the afternoon, before rapidly rising heights aloft result in a robust clearing trend through Thursday evening and night. As narrow but high amplitude upper ridging and associated surface high pressure approach from the west, light winds and largely clear skies will result in ideal conditions for radiational cooling, resulting in cool overnight lows in the upper 30s to upper 40s across the region. Building ridging and surface high pressure will yield continued dry weather through Friday and Friday night. Temperatures will trend upward beneath mostly sunny skies, reaching afternoon highs in the 60s to mid 70s, and falling to overnight lows in the 40s to near 50 across the region. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Upper level ridging over the weekend will be replaced by general flat/zonal upper level flow by early next week. Overall, much of the long term will feature mostly dry and summerlike weather. There remains some uncertainty on when upper-level shortwave perturbations will pass through the flow bringing chances for some showers. Currently, next Tuesday may be the more favored day during this period. Humidity levels will slowly increase through the period as well. Temperatures will trend upward through the period with highs starting out in the 70s to around 80 on Saturday rising to the upper 70s to upper 80s by Tuesday. Lows will also trend upward starting out in the upper 40s to lower 50s Saturday night to the mid-50s to lower 60s by Monday night. && .AVIATION /15Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Through 12z/Thu...An upper level trough will be in place through the upcoming TAF period. An upper level shortwave will pass by to the south later this afternoon into tonight. VFR conditions are in place across much of the TAF sites, except for MVFR stratus around KPSF. The MVFR stratus will lift later this morning with VFR conditions through this afternoon. Much of the day will be dry but an isolated shower will be possible at KPOU, so will include a VCSH starting at 18z. A period of rainfall is likely at KPOU tonight associated with the upper shortwave. Low end VFR or high end MVFR conditions are possible during this period of rain. The remainder of the TAF sites should remain dry with VFR conditions with some mid and high clouds. Westerly wind early this morning will become north to northwesterly at 5-10 kt through the TAF period. Outlook... Thursday Night: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. Friday: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. Friday Night: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. Saturday: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. Saturday Night: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. Sunday: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. Sunday Night: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. && .FIRE WEATHER... A dry airmass and deep mixing will result in surface dewpoints falling to the mid 30s to mid 40s across the region, while temperatures in the mid 60s to mid 70s will lead to minimum RH values around 35 to 40%. North to northwest winds of 10 to 15 mph with gusts as high as 20 mph in the afternoon may further support an enhanced risk for fire spread. However, winds and humidity aside, widespread recent rainfall of 0.5 to 1 inch and locally higher amounts of 2 to 3 inches in higher terrain, in addition to increasingly green fuels, may act to inhibit said risk. Therefore, with marginally supportive weather conditions for fire spread and considering antecedent rainfall, no statements for fire weather are currently anticipated. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. NY...None. MA...None. VT...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Picard NEAR TERM...Picard SHORT TERM...Picard LONG TERM...Rathbun AVIATION...Rathbun FIRE WEATHER...Picard