Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY

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585 FXUS61 KBUF 131742 AFDBUF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Buffalo NY 142 PM EDT Thu Jun 13 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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A cold front will slowly sag through the region tonight while likely generating some showers and possible thunderstorms into Friday morning. A fresh Canadian airmass and expansive high pressure in its wake will guarantee fair but cool weather to start the weekend...and this will be followed up by simply gorgeous weather on Sunday. Mid summer heat and humidity will then build across our region for much of next week with apparent temperatures in most areas soaring to between 95 and 100.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
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Delightful weather will be in place for the remainder of the afternoon...as sun filled skies will be accompanied by widespread temperatures in the low to mid 80s. A cold front over the Upper Great Lakes this evening will slowly settle to the south during the course of the night...crossing our forecast area between midnight and early Friday morning. The front will generate some showers and possible thunderstorms in the process. While the timing of the cold frontal passage will not be conducive to support strong convection...we can expect basin average rainfall amounts that will range from a tenth to a quarter inch. Any organized convection will have the potential to produce localized amounts of a half to up to one inch. Some leftover showers will be possible Friday morning...mainly south of Buffalo and Rochester...as the aforementioned cold front will continue its slow push into Pennsylvania. Clearing skies from north to south will then take place during the midday and afternoon. This should leave pleasant conditions for most areas for the latter portion of the day. It will be cooler with max temperatures in the 70s. Expansive high pressure over the Upper Great Lakes Friday evening will slowly drift southeast during the course of the overnight. This will guarantee fair dry weather with temperatures falling into the 50s.
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&& .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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A strong area of high pressure at all levels will build back across the Great Lakes in the wake of the trough on Saturday. The center of the surface high should move directly overhead by Saturday night, then shift east and migrate off the East Coast by the end of the day Sunday. This will result in dry, tranquil weather across the forecast area through the weekend with pleasant temperatures. Highs Saturday will be on the cooler side mainly in the upper 60s to low 70s as the region remains within the post-frontal airmass. With the onset of warm air advection on the backside of the high Sunday, temps should top out in the upper 70s to low 80s with low humidity. Nighttime lows Saturday night will be cool, dipping into the 50s across the lower terrain and mid/upper 40s across the interior of the Southern Tier and North Country. While the weekend will feature superb weather for outdoor activities...It will also present the perfect opportunity for anyone who has yet to put in their AC units to finally do so BEFORE the heat and humidity surges next week. More on that in the long term section below.
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&& .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... ...Headline Worthy Summer Heat Expected This Period... The longwave pattern across the CONUS next week will be dominated by broad troughing west of the Rockies and an expansive ridge across the east. This ridge is expected to become abnormally strong, with overhead 500mb heights potentially climbing to near 600dm (2-3SD above normal compared to climatology) by the middle of the week. The resultant Bermuda High will anchor itself over the western Atlantic, with deep anticyclonic flow around the high causing a warmer airmass to surge across the eastern CONUS. 850H temps over the forecast area within this airmass are expected to quickly reach or exceed +20C by Monday and stay within this range through the remainder of the 7 day forecast, and potentially beyond. In terms of sensible weather, what this will translate to at the surface will be a prolonged stretch of oppressive summer heat and humidity. Daytime temperatures Monday will feature widespread upper 80s and lower 90s, though remaining a bit cooler across the North Country with low/mid 80s where a slightly cooler airmass will linger. By Tuesday and Wednesday, widespread high temperatures in the low to mid 90s are expected, hottest in the interior valleys and coolest just northeast of both lakes (including the Buffalo area) as a persistent southwest flow advects cooler marine air off the lakes. This heat comes as dewpoints climb into the low 70s, which will cause overall heat indicies in the afternoon to climb into the mid 90s to lower 100s. It will not only be the impressive level of oppressive midday and afternoon heat to contend with, but the cumulative impacts of only having the mercury settle to near 70 for the overnights (Monday night and beyond), thereby extremely limiting any relief. While the added heat and humidity will also force a degree of daytime instability next week and lead to some extent of diurnal shower and storm development outside of the stable lake shadows. There remains uncertainty in the position and orientation of the upper ridge, as well as shortwave ripples expected to crest over it, and the degree of the subsidence capping likely to be in place on any given day. Thus PoP values remain low (15-20%) as confidence is low in coverage and intensity of any potential convection that develops or moves into the region next week. && .AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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VFR conditions will be in place through this evening. The only potential issue will be gusty sfc winds today. Winds of 15 to 25 knots will be fairly common though until about sunset...with some gusts to 30 knots for the IAG Frontier (KIAG and KBUF). A slow moving cold front will press through the region later tonight and early Friday. While VFR flight rules are forecast to persist... the front will support at least scattered shower and thunderstorm activity. The exception will be across the Southern Tier where MVFR to IFR cigs will be likely between about daybreak and midday Friday. Outlook... Friday night through Tuesday...VFR.
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&& .MARINE... A cold front will move across the lower Great Lakes late tonight and early Friday. Southwest winds will increase ahead of the front today, with winds remaining elevated through Friday. This will bring choppy conditions to both lakes. High pressure will then build back across the waters with light winds and generally favorable boating conditions during the weekend. && .BUF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NY...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...RSH NEAR TERM...RSH SHORT TERM...PP LONG TERM...PP/RSH AVIATION...RSH MARINE...AR/RSH/TMA