Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV

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631 FXUS61 KRLX 041749 AFDRLX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Charleston WV 149 PM EDT Thu Jul 4 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Stationary front becomes diffuse today. Showers and thunderstorms expected today and Friday. Drier weather is in store for the weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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As of 148 PM Thursday... Showers and thunderstorms are breaking out across the region early this afternoon with 1,500-2,000 J/kg of MLCAPE. 0-6 km wind shear generally remains less than 25 kts across the region. The lack of shear should keep most storms below severe levels today, but there is potential for one or two stronger storms bringing damaging wind gusts. The air is quite juicy today with PWATs ranging from 1.8-2.2 inches, and we will be closely watching for training thunderstorms, which can lead to isolated flooding. There should be a break in the thunderstorm activity overnight, but more thunderstorms are expected Friday ahead of an advancing cold front. Friday`s situation should be similar to today: low shear with moderate to high CAPE. Once again, we will be monitoring for a damaging wind threat and isolated flooding in training thunderstorms.
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&& .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 250 AM Thursday... Cold front moves northward as a warm front, allowing for above normal temperatures to move back in with southwesterly/southerly flow taking precedence. Temperatures will be in the upper 80s to around 90 for the lowlands with mid 70s to the upper 80s being reached in the mountains. There is currently a marginal risk for severe weather and excessive rainfall across the area Friday with a cold front. The marginal risk for severe being situated across the western portions of the forecast area along the Ohio River Valley, most likely due to the timing of the frontal passage. Excessive rainfall risk is shifted farther to the east and along the mountains to cover overnight stratiform rainfall with this front. There could be some strong to severe storms that achieve damaging winds in the afternoon and evening. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 125 PM Thursday... Southwest flow returns on Monday, along with a shot of heat and humidity, and some showers and storms may start to creep into the higher terrain and the southern coalfields that evening. However, the bulk of shower and storm potential looks to hold off until Tuesday or Tuesday night, when a stronger upper-level trough should push a front through the area. However, with uncertainty on just how much dry air will be behind the front, a chance for precip lingers into Wednesday as we may have some air mass convection. Monday will be quite hot, with highs mainly low to mid-90s in the lower elevations, and we`ll have to monitor the dew point forecast closely for Heat Advisory potential. Temps may get knocked down towards normal on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the expected precip and frontal passage. && .AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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As of 141 PM Thursday... A mixture of MVFR and VFR ceilings will continue the rest of today with on and off showers and thunderstorms. Visibility can drop to IFR at times in thunderstorm downpours. In addition, winds can occasionally gust 30-40 kts at times in the stronger cells. The best chance of thunderstorms will likely be before 00Z Friday, then there will probably be a break overnight. Scattered to broken low stratus is expected to develop overnight with some terminals dropping down to MVFR after 06Z. IFR fog is expected to develop in the sheltered mountain valleys, but we`re thinking that low stratus should prevent fog formation elsewhere. Another round of thunderstorms is likely Friday morning and afternoon, with occasional visibility drops to IFR likely again in downpours. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Timing of convection and associated restrictions may vary from forecast. EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION: H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS. L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. UTC 1HRLY 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 05 EDT 1HRLY 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H M H CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H AFTER 18Z FRIDAY... Brief IFR possible in showers and thunderstorms Friday.
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&& .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...FK/JMC NEAR TERM...JMC SHORT TERM...LTC LONG TERM...FK AVIATION...JMC