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Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wakefield, VA
Issued by NWS Wakefield, VA
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121 FXUS61 KAKQ 251822 AFDAKQ AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 222 PM EDT Tue Jun 25 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure slides offshore tonight into Wednesday. A cold front approaches the area later Wednesday afternoon and crosses the region Wednesday night into Thursday, bringing the next chance for showers and thunderstorms. High pressure builds north of the region for the latter portion of the week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 220 PM EDT Tuesday... Key Message: - Quiet weather prevails tonight with increasing humidity. Afternoon wx analysis shows W to NW flow aloft over the local area, with sfc high pressure just off the coast of NC. A cold front and associated upper shortwave are well to our NW (over the Great Lakes). Temps have risen into the upper 80s-lower 90s with rather comfortable dew points in the 50s-60F. The surface high settles off the Southeast coast tonight. Mostly clear and warm with low temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s with a light SSW wind. There will be a noticeable increase in humidity overnight, with dew pts rising to near 70F by sunrise. && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 220 PM EDT Tuesday... Key Messages: - Heat builds again Wednesday and heat indices likely exceed 100F again. - Scattered showers and thunderstorms develop late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night, with a few storms potentially being strong or severe with damaging wind gusts to primary threat. - A few thunderstorms are possible across SE VA/NE NC Thursday afternoon-evening. Wednesday will be the hottest day of the period before the cold front (and trough aloft) cross the local area Wednesday night into Thursday. The low-level flow increases out of the SW on Wednesday, allowing 850mb temperatures to surge to 20-22C ahead of the cold front. This supports high temperatures in the mid 90s to near 100F. Similar to today, dew points should mix out during the day and drop into the mid to upper 60s (perhaps even a degree or two lower) during peak heating. So while temps will be near 100F, heat indices will generally range from 100-104F. Mostly sunny through mid- afternoon and then becoming partly sunny with a SW wind of 10-15 mph. Forecast soundings show that the boundary layer remains capped much of the day prior to some height falls arriving later Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night. There is somewhat better agreement in the 12z/25 CAMs that widely scattered tstms initially develop in the higher elevations of W/NW VA by 3-4 PM before trying to push SE into NW portions of the FA. However, these initial tstms will likely weaken as they push toward the RIC metro as the atmosphere will likely remain capped through at least Wed evening across the SE half to two-thirds of the area. The highest tstm chances will be from 5 PM-1 AM mainly north of I-64 as the actual front nears the area before the convection gradually weakens early Thu AM. Areas south of a Farmville-Richmond-Williamsburg line will likely see little to no rain through Thu AM...with localized totals in excess of 1" possible from Louisa County to the MD Eastern Shore. In addition, any storm will be capable of producing damaging wind gusts given very strong sfc heating, a deep well mixed boundary layer, and some mid-level drying. In fact, forecast soundings from most models show DCAPE values of 1200-1500 J/kg Wed aftn/evening. Lows Wed night in the upper 60s to mid 70s. The cold front slowly pushes south across southern VA and NE NC Thursday as high pressure and a drier airmass build into the northern tier of the area. Showers/tstms are expected to redevelop along the boundary Thursday afternoon with the highest chc across extreme SE VA and NE NC. High temperatures return to seasonally hot levels ranging from the upper 80s to around 90F. Any tstms dissipate or move to our south by late Thu evening. High pressure builds across New England Thursday night into Friday following the FROPA. Lows Thu night fall into the mid 60s-lower 70s. Dry but still seasonally hot on Fri with highs in the upper 80s-lower 90s. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 220 PM EDT Tuesday... Key Messages: - Heat rebuilds across the region Saturday and Sunday and potentially more humid. - Flash drought conditions continue across most of the area. The heat builds back over the local area this weekend as high pressure pushes well off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Another upper trough and cold front approach the area from the NW late this weekend, and the cold front is progged to cross the area Sunday night. Forecast high temperatures are mainly in the mid 90s on both Saturday and Sunday, with aftn dewpoints in the lower to mid 70s (mid 70s mainly toward the coast) during peak heating on both days. This is supported by the deterministic guidance and MOS guidance, but is below the mid/upper 70s shown by the NBM (which is likely too high especially given how dry it has been). Resultant heat indices are in the upper 90s to lower 100s Saturday, and then potentially 105-109F for much of the CWA Sunday. Isolated to widely scattered tstms are possible on Sat (mainly W of I-95), with a better chc of showers/tstms later Sunday afternoon into Sunday night as the cold front drops through the region. Not as hot Monday with highs in the mid 80s to near 90F. && .AVIATION /19Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 140 PM EDT Tuesday... VFR conditions are expected to prevail for the next 24 hours. Winds will generally be S to SW at ~10 kt except for local sea breezes near the coast this afternoon. Skies remain clear outside of high clouds through most of the period, with SCT cumulus (5000-6000 ft AGL) developing by early Wed aftn. VFR conditions are expected to prevail through Saturday. A weakening cold front will approach from the NW later Wednesday aftn and then will drop into the area Wednesday night bringing a 20-50% chc of showers/tstms (highest at SBY). This front will be slow to push through southern VA and NC NE Thursday with a 30-50% chc of aftn/early evening showers/tstms. High pressure and dry conditions return Friday into Saturday. && .MARINE... As of 1255 PM EDT Tuesday... Key Messages: - SCAs conditions expected across the middle Ches Bay tonight, north of New Point Comfort. High pressure slides off the coast and out to sea late this afternoon into Wed. Light winds will turn to the SE or S at 10-15 kt by this evening. A brief period of SCA conditions will occur this evening into early Wed morning (7 pm this evening to 4 am Wed morning), over the middle two Ches Bay zones (630-631) with S winds 15-20 kt and gusts up to 25 kt. Seas build to 3-4ft N tonight into Wed, and waves in the Bay ~2ft with increasing southerly flow. 4-5 ft seas will be possible for a brief period north of Parramore Island late Wed aftn and evening. Another weakening cold front pushes through the region during Thu. The wind shifts to NE then E or SE late week and is expected to be at or below 15kt. Low rip current risk is forecast for all beaches today. A low rip risk is expected again on Wed given southerly flow and short wave periods at or below 5 secs. && .AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM EDT Wednesday for ANZ630-631. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AJZ/ERI NEAR TERM...ERI SHORT TERM...AJZ/ERI LONG TERM...AJZ/ERI AVIATION...ERI MARINE...JDM/TMG