Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Mt. Holly, NJ

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644 FXUS61 KPHI 241910 AFDPHI Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 310 PM EDT Fri May 24 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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A weak front continues to settle to our south through tonight, then it lifts back to the north as a warm front during Saturday. A cold front moves through Saturday night into Sunday, then a stronger system and cold front arrives for Monday. A secondary cold front crosses our area Tuesday night into Wednesday, then high pressure should build in during Thursday and Friday.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/...
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Isolated convection across far southern Delaware and nearby Maryland continues this afternoon in response to a mid-level shortwave moving eastward across the Delmarva. Otherwise, surface high pressure over the Great Lakes gradually builds in from the north and west, bringing in a drier airmass through this afternoon. Tranquil weather will continue tonight with clear skies and light winds initially. We should be able to radiate pretty well leading to some patchy fog development over Delmarva and southern New Jersey. However, clouds will increase from south to north later in the night as a weak front to our south begins to lift back north. This should limit the amount of cooling late, so expecting lows in the mid 50s to lower 60s with mid 60s around Philadelphia. Other than patchy morning fog over the Delmarva, Saturday morning should be fairly tranquil. A warm front will push north of the area with the main forcing for some afternoon showers occuring late in the day over the Lehigh Valley and Poconos. The showers will progress eastward to the Delaware Valley by Saturday evening. Temperatures are anticipated to rise into the mid 80s with low 70s along the shore.
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&& .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/...
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As an upper-level trough moves across portions of Eastern Canada, it is forecast to weaken as is the surface low tied to it. An associated weakening cold front is forecast to arrive into our area Saturday and then shift offshore or dissipate near our area Sunday. While the main forcing for ascent weakens with time and even shifts mostly to our north and west, convection with it well to our west initially may become organized enough and therefore making it into our western zones during Saturday night. It may then tend to weaken with an eastward extent, however there is some hints in the guidance of a possible embedded MCV (convectively induced shortwave). This may invigorate the convection eastward, although with some weak ridging starting to develop overhead a weakening trend should occur. PoPs were held at chance or lower as a result. Some ridging remains in place then for Sunday with weak surface high pressure nearly overhead. While it should mostly be dry Sunday, may have to watch a few pop-up showers or storms during peak heating. It will be warm Sunday with highs in the 80s for most places, although the flow looks light and therefore supporting sea breeze circulations and cooler temperatures closer to the coast. A warm front looks to start arriving Sunday night with some increased lift, therefore some increase in showers/thunder will be possible. As we go through Monday, it looks increasingly unsettled as a stronger system and cold front arrives from the west. As an upper- level trough moves across the Great Lakes and adjacent Canada, the southern part of it will start to approach our area Monday afternoon. Despite surface low pressure once again tracking well to our north, a warm front will be lifting northward across our area. This may not clear our entire area, however increasing low to mid level flow will aide in stronger moisture transport northward and also increase the warm air advection. This results in the precipitable water values increasing to 1.5-2.0 inches. There should be some showers and perhaps thunder in the morning and this would tend to hold the instability down, although convection is expected to increase through the afternoon with more forcing for ascent arriving. While there is some severe thunderstorm risk with at least some locally damaging wind potential, this could be limited due to instability being on the lower side if showers/storms are more widespread earlier in the day. The model guidance does vary at least some on the degree of instability, however the low-level flow is forecast to exhibit some veering with height and therefore strengthening shear profiles. The high moisture content will result in areas of heavier rain, and with the potential for some repeated convection in some areas, there is some flash flooding risk with higher hourly rainfall rates associated with stronger convective cores especially for the urban areas centered on the I-95 corridor. The convection shifts eastward and then offshore later Monday night as a cold front works its way through our region.
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&& .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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Summary...Potentially unsettled at times especially to start with also some cooling. Synoptic Overview...An upper-level trough is forecast to amplify eastward into the the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Tuesday and Wednesday. The trough may then linger and even become closed off as we go through the end of the week, however there are differences among the model guidance regarding this scenario. At the surface, a cold front should be shifting offshore to start Tuesday with a secondary cold front possibly moving through Tuesday night into Wednesday. If the upper-level trough ends up weaker and moving along, then high pressure looks to build in during Thursday and Friday. For Tuesday and Wednesday...As an upper-level trough amplifies eastward into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, surface low pressure is forecast to track north of northern New England. A trailing cold front should be offshore to start Tuesday taking any showers and thunderstorms with it. As the main portion of the upper- level trough moves into the Northeast Wednesday, some showers or a thunderstorm will be possible into our area especially during peak heating. This may occur ahead of or with a secondary cold front arriving into our area Tuesday night into Wednesday. Coverage in our area may be limited due to the deeper moisture plume offshore. For Thursday and Friday...The aforementioned upper-level trough looks to remain in place during this time frame, although the strength of it varies among some of the model guidance as some close it off across the Northeast. If the closed low scenario does not become realized, then surface high pressure should be building toward and into our area during this time frame. At this point, cannot rule out some mostly diurnally driven showers especially on Thursday. Given the influence of the upper-level trough, temperatures should be cooler and closer to average.
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&& .AVIATION /19Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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The following discussion is for KPHL, KPNE, KTTN, KABE, KRDG, KILG, KMIV, KACY and surrounding areas... This afternoon...VFR. Scattered showers in southern Delaware early this afternoon. Light winds becoming northwest around 5 knots, then becoming west. A sea/bay breeze will develop along the New Jersey and northern Delaware coasts in the afternoon. Tonight...Clear skies and calm winds. Fog may form in southern New Jersey and Delmarva after 06Z with visibility 3-5SM. Saturday...VFR. Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms late in the day in the Poconos and Lehigh Valley. Outlook... Saturday night...A period of sub-VFR conditions with some showers and a thunderstorm possible. Sunday...VFR overall. Monday and Tuesday...Sub-VFR conditions probable with showers and some thunderstorms Monday, then conditions improve on Tuesday. Wednesday...VFR overall.
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&& .MARINE...
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The conditions are expected to remain below Small Craft Advisory criteria through Saturday. Isolated showers and thunderstorms Delaware coastal waters this afternoon. Outlook... Saturday night through Wednesday...Southerly winds could gust to 25 knots later Monday, otherwise the conditions are anticipated to be below Small Craft Advisory. Some thunderstorms Monday afternoon and evening could produce locally gusty winds. Rip Currents... For this afternoon, winds S to SW at 5-10 mph with breaking waves of 1 to 2 feet. There is a LOW risk for the development of dangerous rip currents at NJ and DE beaches. The LOW risk for the development of dangerous rip currents is expected to continue for Saturday.
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&& .PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...None. NJ...None. DE...None. MD...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Gorse NEAR TERM...Franklin/MJL SHORT TERM...Gorse LONG TERM...Gorse AVIATION...Franklin/Gorse/MJL MARINE...Franklin/Gorse/MJL