Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boston, MA

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186 FXUS61 KBOX 140745 AFDBOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA 345 AM EDT Fri Jun 14 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Warm and muggy Friday with dewpoints in the middle 60s. Scattered severe thunderstorms possible north and west of interstate 95 with the passage of a cold front this afternoon and evening. Canadian high pressure will provide a comfortable Father`s Day weekend along with dry conditions. Turning unseasonably hot next week as an anomolous mid-level ridge develops across the eastern third of the country. Prolonged period of heat and humidly could linger well into the end of next week.
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&& .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/...
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Key Points * Warm and muggy start to the day * Scattered severe thunderstorms NW of I-95 Friday will be a warm and humid day with temperatures quickly rising into the mid to upper 80s and dew points reaching the mid to upper 60s. This will help set the stage for scattered severe thunderstorms as a potent shortwave trough and cold front drops SE across the region in the afternoon. As the cold front moves through, a very narrow corridor of instability will be set up across western MA and CT. There continues to be some disagreement among the hi-res HREF guidance on how much instability will be available mainly due to timing differences on convective development. HREF mean shows near 1000 J/kg of SBCAPE with the 90th percentile showing around 2000 J/kg. With deep layer shear approaching 30-40 knots, the environment will be supportive of organized clusters of severe thunderstorms. Initiation remains a bit uncertain with some members of the HREF initiating storms shortly after 12pm, while others holding off as late as 4pm. Tend to favor a later start time as the better forcing and height falls from the shortwave don`t arrive until the late afternoon. Storms likely initiate off the high terrain in Western MA/CT and southern VT then move ESE through the afternoon. Storms should quickly weaken as the approach eastern MA and RI as they run into a more stable environment with less instability and shear. The severe threat at this time looks highest north and west of the I-95 corridor as highlighted by the SPC slight risk. Severe threats: The primary severe threat will be strong to damaging winds with steep low level lapse rates, DCAPE values near 700 J/kg, and linear storm mode promoting straight line winds. The hail threat has increased since yesterday due to models steepening mid level lapse rates to 6-7 C/km. The freezing level still remains above 10kft which should help to melt most hail before reaching the surface. The tornado threat remains very low at this time with 0-3km SRH around 100 m/s and the Sig Tor parameter well less then 1.0. Storm mode also appears to favor linear clusters with upscale growth. Not completely out of the question that a discreet supercell could form at initiation before merging with other cells into line segments or clusters. Heavy Rain Threat: Although the storms will be progressive with little to no training expected, PWATS will be increasing into the 1.5-1.6 inches. CAPE profiles have become more fat and supportive of hail over the last 24 hours due to steepening mid level lapse rates. Warm cloud depths have also decreased to 8000ft. Despite these less favorable changes in the environmental parameters, the HREF 3hr PMM does still highlights a small area in western MA and CT with 10% probs for greater then 3 inches of rain in 3 hours. This could lead to areas of street and poor drainage flooding along with isolated instances of flash flooding.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH 6 PM SATURDAY/...
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Tonight Thunderstorms quickly weaken into showers as they move east into less favorable environment and lose support from daytime heating. The shortwave axis crosses through the region overnight which will prolong the rain for eastern MA before tapering off by morning. Overnight lows stay on the warm side in the low 60s with overcast skies and rain. Tomorrow Shortwave moves offshore with rising heights and high pressure beginning to build in for the weekend. There may be some lingering light showers in the morning in eastern MA, otherwise mainly dry conditions with clearing skies in the afternoon. Winds turn northerly advecting in cooler air for Saturday with highs only in the mid to upper 70s. Humidity will also be noticeably lower with dewpoints dropping into the 50s and even the 40s across the western interior.
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&& .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... Highlights: * A few showers possible Saturday morning, otherwise a dry and comfortable Father`s Day weekend. * Seasonably warm on Monday, becoming hot and humid Tuesday through the end of next week with heat indicies potentially reaching between 95F and 104F. * Early summer heat could challenge daily record high temperatures. Father`s Day Weekend... Few showers linger Saturday morning, mainly across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island as a mid-level trough moves east and away from the region. By no means a washout for Saturday, PWATs fall dramatically as Canadian high pressure moves into the area. This yields a comfortable air mass, dewpoints fall from the 50s into the 40s! As for highs, low to mid 70s near the coast and upper 70s to low 80s inland. Overnight into Sunday morning will be cooler, given the dry atmosphere and weaker wind fields, should have effective radiational cooling for many locations, thus have deviated away from the NBM and favored the cooler MAV and MET blend. Areas like KORE could experience morning lows in the low 40s! Elsewhere, low temperatures are expected to drop to the upper 40s and low 50s along the coast, the exception would be Boston, where lows are generally in the mid 50s. Comfortable conditions follow on Father`s Day, with mainly sunny conditions thanks to high pressure, low humidity values and highs in the mid 70s to 80 degrees. Next Week... As advertised, we continue to expect well above normal temperatures heading into next week. Starting Monday, mid-level high pressure should be located over the southeast, leading to increasing mid- level heights across the northeast. Could be a rouge shower Monday afternoon with shortwave energy passing to our north, albeit a low chance at this point. Highs warm into the low and middle 80s. Tuesday into Thursday, the mid-level high expands into the northeast with continued signals this will be an anomolous event. NAEFS ensemble situation table indicates the 500mb heights and surface temperatures could exceed forecast model climatological reference points, in addition to PWATs nearing 97th to 99th percentile! So, hot and humid conditions are expected with peak intensity around Wednesday and Thursday. Given this is still a week away, there is still time to iron out off the wrinkles/details. Additionally, there are high probabilites, greater than 60 percent, that highs could exceed 90 degrees across northern Connecticut, the majority of Massachusetts (away from the southeastern portion of the state, Cape Cod, and the Island), and northern Rhode Island starting Tuesday, with the peak Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. It is not out of the question a few spots could reach 100F from Wednesday to Friday. There are low probabilities on DESI, around 20 to 40 percent, for areas such as the northern Connecticut River Valley and Merrimack Valley. Likely will challenge daily record highs, see the climate section for those details. This period appear more dry than not, but with a juiced up atmosphere and a few bouts of shortwave energy passing through, can`t rule out pop-up showers during this period as well. && .AVIATION /07Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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Forecast Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Today: Moderate Confidence VFR with gusty SW winds to start today. Still some uncertainty with how thunderstorms evolve today with some guidance showing weak thunderstorms developing by 16 to 17z and moving east. Higher confidence in thunderstorms to develop around 19 to 20z over the Berkshires and begin moving east through the evening. The highest confidence in thunderstorms is at the BDL, BAF, and ORH between 20-23z. Further east, still some uncertainty on how well thunderstorms will hold together for BED, BOS, and PVD between 22-02z. FMH, HYA, and ACK should only see rain showers but not out of the question for embedded thunder after 00z. Tonight: Moderate Confidence Showers begin to taper off after 00z in the west and 06z in the east. MVFR/IFR possible across eastern terminals. Tomorrow: VFR with northerly winds at 10-15 knots. KBOS TAF...Moderate confidence in TAF. VFR with gusty SW winds to start today. Low chance for a shower or weak thunderstorm between 17z-20z, otherwise the main event thunderstorms shouldn`t arrive until 21 to 22z and could last to 01 to 02z. Light rain showers continue behind the thunderstorms through about 06z before tapering off. KBDL TAF...High confidence in TAF. VFR with gusty SW winds to start today. Strong thunderstorms are likely starting 20/21z through about 23z/00z. Outlook /Saturday Night through Tuesday/... Saturday Night through Sunday Night: VFR. Monday through Tuesday: VFR. Breezy.
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&& .MARINE...
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Forecaster Confidence Levels: Low - less than 30 percent. Medium - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Today: Increasing SW winds gusting up to 25 knots. A cold front will sweep across the waters this evening. Thunderstorms will form along this cold front inland this afternoon and weaken as they approach the waters. A couple storms could still reach the waters and bring strong wind gusts and lightning near the coastal waters this evening. Seas 2-4 feet. Tonight: Steady light to moderate rain with embedded thunder possible. Winds shift WNW and decrease to 5-10 knots overnight. Seas 2-3 feet. Tomorrow: Rain tapers off in the morning with clearing conditions in the afternoon. Winds turn north and gust 15 to 20mph. Seas 2-4 feet. Outlook /Saturday Night through Tuesday/... Saturday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Areas of seas approaching 5 ft. Sunday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching 5 ft. Sunday Night through Tuesday: Winds less than 25 kt.
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&& .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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CT...None. MA...None. RI...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 8 AM this morning to 8 PM EDT this evening for ANZ230>237-251. Small Craft Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 11 PM EDT this evening for ANZ250-254.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...Frank/KP NEAR TERM...KP SHORT TERM...KP LONG TERM...TD AVIATION...Frank/KP MARINE...Frank/KP