Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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222 FXUS62 KILM 142305 AFDILM Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 705 PM EDT Fri Jun 14 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front will push through the Carolinas on Saturday with showers and thunderstorms possible as it slides through. Behind the front, high pressure will build in from the north and maintain control through much of next week. Seasonably warm temperatures are expected with rain chances returning late in the week as a coastal trough develops. && .UPDATE...
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Only minor adjustments made to ongoing forecast. 0z aviation discussion below.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... Tropical Disturbance 90L, centered a little over 200 miles east of Cape Fear, is undergoing substantial shear and is not expected to develop as a tropical cyclone. This system will move farther offshore tonight with a local lull developing in surface winds. Despite the hot airmass, forecast lows are expected to fall into the lower 70s for most areas with a few upper 60s in normally colder spots. A cold front currently dropping southward across Ohio should approach the eastern Carolinas Saturday afternoon. Light northwesterly 850 mb winds will bring the air currently being strongly heated across the high terrain of the VA/NC mountains over the NC/SC Coastal Plain Saturday. Our 850 mb temps could sneak a little higher than today as a result, and coupled with strong June sunshine ahead of the front I`m expecting the hottest temperature of the year so far in Florence. Forecast highs are 93-97 tomorrow inland from the beaches. This heat will help generate CAPE near 2000 J/kg. Enhanced convergence where the front and seabreeze collide Saturday afternoon should result in scattered thunderstorms. Forecast PoPs range from 10 percent inland to 30-40 percent along the coast. Wind profiles are not alarming for significant storm organization, however dry mid level air could still promote strong, gusty winds in the biggest storms. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... A cold front should be progressing through the region or nearing the southern border at the start of the period with isolated to perhaps scattered shower and thunderstorm activity along it. With the loss of daytime heating, overall intensity should be on the decrease, but surface convergence provided by the front should be able to keep at least some showers and perhaps a thunderstorm going through the evening. Initially easterly winds behind the front should back to northeasterly late in the night, with drier air filtering into the Cape Fear area. Lows should dip into the mid-upper 60s there, with lows around 70F elsewhere. On Sunday, the front stalls and weakens to our south while high pressure initially over New England shifts offshore. This will set up a persistent east-northeast flow while mid-level ridging builds overhead. Dry and seasonable conditions will ensue with highs in the upper 80s to low 90s. An isolated shower or two cannot be ruled out near the west/southwestern borders of Georgetown, Williamsburg, Florence, and Darlington counties, closest to the weak front. On Sunday night, the mid-level anticyclone and surface ridging will be nearly overhead, with weak or calm winds and a deep subsidence inversion in place leading to a clear night with lows in the mid-upper 60s amidst lower dewpoints. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Mid-level ridging and surface high pressure will dominate through the first half of the week with mostly sunny and seasonable weather in place. Highs in the upper 80s to low 90s away from the immediate coast are expected with lows in the mid-upper 60s each night, around 70 at the beaches. Surface troughing along the coast should begin developing on Wednesday and remain in place for Thursday and Friday. Without much of an increase in moisture, only slight-chance PoPs are introduced for the latter half of the week as convergence provided by the troughing should help to touch off some light showers. && .AVIATION /00Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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VFR. Main window for brief flight restrictions will be between 18z and 23z Saturday afternoon as widely scattered thunderstorms develop along converging sea breeze and cold front across coastal counties. A thunderstorm or two may impact coastal terminals Saturday, but confidence not high enough to put a long duration VCTS in the TAFs. Clear skies with few to scattered 4-6 kft cumulus Saturday afternoon. Light winds turn southwesterly overnight. Northerly winds develop behind the front inland Saturday, with a south-southeasterly sea breeze impacting coastal terminals after 17z. Extended Outlook...VFR.
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&& .MARINE... Through Saturday... Tropical Disturbance 90L is centered a little over 200 miles east of Cape Fear and will continue to move northeast and away from the area tonight. Northeast winds from the disturbance should diminish in speed and veer more southerly by this evening as synoptic winds realign in advance of a cold front that will approach the area Saturday afternoon. Scattered thunderstorms will develop along the intersection of Saturday`s seabreeze front and the incoming cold front, producing locally strong outflow winds. Coverage is expected to be 30-40 percent, but even areas that don`t directly experience storms may still see gusty winds. Sea heights are currently 2-4 feet in two distinct wave groups: southeasterly at 7 seconds period and northeasterly at 6 seconds period. The northeasterly wave group should diminish quickly tonight, but the southeasterly group will persist through Saturday with overall sea heights falling to 2-3 feet. Saturday night through Wednesday... Behind a weak cold front, winds will back from easterly to ENE by early Sunday and gradually veer to easterly by late in the day. A generally easterly flow will remain in place through the period with high pressure to our north holding steady. A combination of southeasterly and easterly swells will keep wave heights around 2-3 ft with some 4 ft seas possible in the outer waters around 20 nmi offshore. && .TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING... Other - Rip Currents: A moderate risk of rip currents is expected for east- and southeast-facing beaches tomorrow due to a southeasterly 2-3 ft swell and mainly for east-facing beaches on Sunday as an easterly swell takes over. Lingering swells and onshore winds should keep a moderate risk of rip currents going for mainly the east-facing beaches into early next week. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...None. SC...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...ILM UPDATE...VAO NEAR TERM...TRA SHORT TERM...ABW LONG TERM...ABW AVIATION...VAO MARINE...TRA/ABW TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING...