Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wakefield, VA

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171 FXUS61 KAKQ 211949 AFDAKQ AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 349 PM EDT Fri Jun 21 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure off the Mid Atlantic coast slowly shifts south through the end of the week, leading to an extended period of hot weather this weekend and again next week. There is a small chance for rain Sunday evening into Monday, and again on Thursday, but many places will stay dry. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/... As of 215 PM EDT Friday... Key Message: - Dry and very warm this afternoon, mild tonight. High pressure remains in control over the region this afternoon with dry/very warm conditions prevailing. Temperatures as of 2 PM range from the upper 80s to lower 90s across the region, and will rise into the low to mid 90s for daytime highs (80s at the coast). Skies are generally mostly sunny with just some scattered cumulus. Overnight lows inch up a few degrees compared to last night and look to be in the upper 60s or lower 70s (warmest in the urban corridors and near the coast). && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...
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As of 330 PM EDT Friday... Key Messages: - Hot temperatures expected Saturday and Sunday with maximum temperatures both days in the mid/upper 90s to around 100 F. - Heat indices of 100 to 105 F are expected on Saturday, and heat indices of 105+ F are expected on Sunday. The hottest temps are still expected this weekend. Tomorrow, high pressure will shift further offshore to our SE, allowing winds at the surface to become SSW. While the ridge gradually begins to break down, 850 mb temps of 20-23C will be common across the area. This yields highs in the upper 90s to around 100 F inland (especially across the Richmond metro) and mid 90s closer to the coast. Similar to this afternoon, dewpoints will mix out tomorrow afternoon, generally dropping into the mid to upper 60s. This should help to keep heat index values somewhat in check, but heat index values of ~103 to 105 F will still be common (especially inland and urban areas). In addition, wet bulb globe temperatures (WBGT) will be in the upper 80s tomorrow which would suggest the potential for significant heat issues. As a result, even though we may fall just short of official Heat Advisory criteria decided to err on the side of caution and issued a Heat Advisory for much of central VA/Richmond Metro down into the Hampton Roads metro. Left out southwestern portions of the area and North Carolina where we likely see slightly cooler air temperatures and more mixing. Also left out the Eastern Shore, where an afternoon sea-breeze should help to keep temperatures in check. Interior portions of the MD Eastern Shore will still have heat index values of 100 to 102 F. It should also be noted that overnight lows in the mid-upper 70s will not provide much relief, potentially compounding the heat issues for those who do not have access to air conditioning. The core of the heat is expected to shift SE some for Sunday, though hot temps will remain over the entire forecast area with 850 temps remaining in the 20-23C range. High temperatures will be similar to Saturday, if not a degree or two higher in spots (especially east). Highs range from around 100 F across the Richmond metro, to the mid to upper 90s elsewhere. Dewpoints on Sunday will be higher compared to Sunday due to strengthening southwesterly sfc flow. The flow aloft also shifts more W/WSW and 700 mb RH fields show a noticeable increase in moisture across the area. This is likely to prevent the degree of afternoon mixing seen today (Friday) and Saturday. In this realm, dew points only drop into the upper 60s- low 70s in the afternoon, producing heat indices well into heat advisory range (105-110 F) for much of the area. While a few locations could near 110 F, not enough confidence at this point for any excessive heat watches. WBGT`s in the upper 80s to around 90 also suggest the potential for significant heat stress for those outdoors and especially those participating in strenuous activities. Additional Heat Advisories will likely be needed for much of, if not all of the forecast area Sunday. There will again not be much relief from the heat Sunday night with lows in the mid to upper 70s. The other part of the forecast Sunday is any potential for later afternoon/evening convection. Those higher dew points support higher sfc-based instability and upper-level height falls from an approaching shortwave could set off isolated storms, especially later in the day. With the hot temps, steep low-level lapse rates and high DCAPE could support a damaging wind threat if any storm can develop. SPC has introduced a marginal risk for our northern tier of counties. Shear is weak so not expecting much in the way of organized svr wx. With uncertainty in coverage very high, PoPs are only 20-30% (highest across the north) Sunday afternoon. Will want to keep an eye on the various CAMs as they come into range over the next 24-36 hrs. A weak cold front slowly pushes through the area Sunday night suggesting perhaps some higher coverage of showers or storms. Have chance PoPs for most of the area overnight (highest coverage still expected N). Still, this does not look to be a widespread beneficial rainfall to alleviate the developing drought over the area, with only ~0.10" of QPF in the forecast for portions of the area through Sunday night.
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&& .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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As of 330 PM EDT Friday... Key Messages: - Another hot day Monday with higher humidity. Scattered storms also possible across the southeast. - The heat builds again midweek, with temperatures again increasing well into the 90s to near 100. - Flash drought conditions developing. It remains hot Monday, but air temps will not be as high as Sat/Sun. However, the humidity levels will be even higher as dew points stay in the low-mid 70s for most of the area. Heat indices of 100-105 F are expected for most of the area, though SE VA and NE NC could see heat indices in excess of 105 F. The one caveat is potential afternoon convection developing along the "cold" front in these same areas which could mute the upper end temp potential. As of now, going with highs in the mid 90s areawide (upper 80s to lower 90s Eastern Shore). Regarding convection, guidance continues to hone in on southeastern VA and northeast NC for the best storm chances. With less coverage W of I-95 with the frontal boundary E/SE of these areas. Model instability fields show high MLCAPE (1500-2000 J/kg, highest NE NC) ahead of the boundary. Weak shear will again prevent much in the way of storm organization, though the high CAPE and DCAPE again suggests damaging downburst winds and frequent lightning as potential threats. The cold front does very little to provide any heat relief as temps Tuesday remain in the low-mid 90s. Even hotter Wednesday and we again could be talking about temps nearing 100 F. This ultimately makes sense given the downslope NW flow and still warm 850 mb temps around 21-24C per both the 12z/21 GFS and ECMWF. It will be drier, due to the downslope flow, with dew points perhaps dropping back in the mid 60s as compared to the low-mid 70s seen on Monday. By Thursday, another cold front approaches from the NW and will continue chance PoPs for the area, favoring the higher coverage across the S and SE. While this front looks to have a little more moisture to work with, the chances for widespread rainfall remain low. Temps may try to drop closer to average for the later part of the week, with highs in the upper 80s to around 90 F. On that note, it continues to not look promising for widespread rainfall, as many places will see little to no rain through the period. The latest NBM probabilities are not optimistic either with the probability for at least 0.50" of total rainfall through the midweek period 10-20% across the W/NW and 30-50% across the E/SE. This will only exacerbate the recent dry conditions and set us up for what can be considered a "flash drought". More information on this can be found on CPC`s Probabilistic Hazards Outlook page at www.ncep.cpc.noaa.gov or drought.gov.
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&& .AVIATION /20Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 215 PM EDT Friday... Primarily VFR conditions are expected through the 18z TAF period. Afternoon FEW to SCT cumulus this afternoon (~4 to 5k ft) will diminish with the loss of daytime heating later this evening. There is some potential for MVFR CIGs to work into far SE portions of the area late tonight into early Saturday morning, but confidence remains low. S/SSE winds around 5-10 kt this afternoon, becoming southerly ~5 kt tonight. Outlook: Dry and VFR conditions are expected to prevail through Sunday afternoon as high pressure remains centered off the coast. There is a low chance for some isolated to widely scattered storms Sun evening and again Mon afternoon into Mon evening. && .MARINE...
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As of 330 PM EDT Friday... Updated Marine section coming shortly... Key Messages: - Sub-SCA marine conditions expected through Saturday morning. - An elevated southerly wind is forecast to develop late Saturday through Sunday night. The best chance for SCA conditions is later Sunday afternoon into Sunday night. - Moderate rip current risk at all areas beaches continues Friday. At least a moderate risk continues through the weekend. High pressure remains centered off the Mid-Atlantic coast early this morning. The wind is primarily S 5-10kt and locally S 10-15kt in the middle Ches. Bay. Seas range from 3-4ft S to 2-3ft N. High pressure remains centered off the coast today into tonight. The wind will mainly be S to SE 5-10kt this morning into early aftn. A SSE wind is expected to increase to ~15kt with gusts up to 20kt for the Ches. Bay and ocean N of Cape Henry later this aftn and evening, and 10- 15kt elsewhere. By later this evening and into tonight the wind is expected to become SW and diminish to 8-12kt. Seas are expected to be ~3ft today into tonight, with 1-2ft waves in the Ches. Bay, which will briefly build to 2-3ft with the late aftn/evening diurnal increase in wind. High pressure settles off the Southeast coast Saturday into Sunday. A SSW wind will generally be 5-10kt Saturday morning into early aftn, with a late aftn/early evening diurnal shift to SSE and increase to ~15kt for the Ches. Bay and ocean N of Cape Henry (10- 15kt elsewhere). Seas build to 3-4ft N (mainly 2-3ft S) with waves in the Ches. Bay building to 2-3ft with the diurnal shift and increase in wind. A weakening cold front slowly approaches from the NW later Saturday night through Sunday night. A SW wind potentially increases to 15-20kt for the Ches. Bay and northern ocean later Saturday night into early Sunday, with marginal SCA conditions possible in the Ches. Bay. The pressure gradient tightens over the ocean Sunday aftn/evening with a ~20kt SSW wind possible, which could result in seas building to 4-6ft N of Cape Charles later Sunday aftn into Sunday night. Additionally, a SW wind potentially increases to 15-20kt for the Ches. Bay Sunday night with marginal SCA conditions possible. The pressure gradient slackens Monday into Tuesday as the weakening cold front settles into the area and washes out. High pressure rebuilds offshore by the middle of next week with sub-SCA southerly flow returning. Seas will mainly be 2-3ft Monday into the middle of next week with 1-2ft waves in the Ches. Bay. Rip currents: A moderate rip risk will continue today for all beaches with some SE swell ~3ft with ~8s periods. An elevated rip risk likely continues through the weekend. Confidence of moderate is higher for the northern beaches Saturday and Sunday, but southerly flow and a longshore current may preclude a high risk.
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&& .CLIMATE...
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Record high temperatures for Saturday, June 22: - RIC: 101 (1933) - ORF: 99 (1981) - SBY: 98 (1988) - ECG: 98 (1942) Record high minimum temperatures for Sunday, June 23: - RIC: 76 (2010) - ORF: 79 (2015) - SBY: 75 (1925) - ECG: 78 (2015) Record high temperatures for Sunday, June 23: - RIC: 101 (1988) - ORF: 99 (2015) - SBY: 99 (1988) - ECG: 99 (2011)
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&& .AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...Heat Advisory from 11 AM to 8 PM EDT Saturday for VAZ048-061- 062-064-068-069-075>078-080>086-088>090-092-093-095>098- 509>525. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AJB/SW NEAR TERM...AJB SHORT TERM...AJB/SW LONG TERM...AJB/SW AVIATION...AJB MARINE...AJZ/AM CLIMATE...AKQ