Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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226 FXUS62 KILM 010543 AFDILM Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 143 AM EDT Mon Jul 1 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front will move through Monday bringing a reprieve from the heat and humidity into mid week. Excessive heat is likely to return again though late in the week. && .UPDATE...
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Mostly quiet across the area as of 1:30 AM EDT. A cluster of thunderstorms linger over Sampson and Duplin Counties, with the storm motion fluctuating between pushing eastward and southeastward. Bladen and Pender Counties stand the best chance at catching some of this activity over the next hour or two. Elsewhere, another lobe of mid-level vorticity looks to eject out of the Pee Dee region and push towards the coast this morning. The forcing isn`t really that strong here, and despite what is essentially a tropical airmass, there is some dry air between 300-500mb. Conveniently, the last few KLTX scans show some isolated showers popping up in parts of the Pee Dee and Robeson County, which might be signs of this lobe of vorticity maturing and starting its movement. No significant rising motion on GOES-16 though, at least not yet. Finally, along the coast, some showers are pushing onshore, mostly west of Cape Fear. High-resolution guidance shows this overall lull continuing over the next couple of hours, but convection should pick up more leading into sunrise this morning. We`ll see how this turns out. Elsewhere, updated 06Z TAF discussion found below.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... Pre frontal trough lighting up this afternoon just to the northwest poised to move into the area in the next little bit as more sporadic convection is slowly developing elsewhere. This line will struggle in time as it presses south with less than conducive conditions aloft but eventually will make it through. The severe potential not overly impressive with little shear in place and the instability of course wanes in time as well. A second line/area of convection will move across early Monday AM with the actual front and press south. Its worth noting the higher pops overall tonight represent the possibility convection fills in somewhat between two expected pushes. The NPW/Heat Advisory will continue but may need to be cancelled early with any sustained areas of convection with its heavy lifting already accomplished. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Highlights: *Unseasonably cooler and drier through the period Confidence: *Moderate to High Details: A rather unseasonably cooler and drier air mass is expected to prevail through the period as high pressure builds in from the north behind a departing cold front to the south. No major changes were made to the previous forecast but we did trend dewpoints down a tad with 50s likely inland, which will certainly be a nice reprieve from the recent mugginess. We`re still carrying some rain chances Monday night, mainly near the coast, and then along the SC coast Tue/Tue night where moisture convergence will be greatest. Temps should stay below normal through the period with highs mostly in the mid 80s Tuesday and lows mainly in the mid 60s. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Highlights: *Excessive heat/humidity returns late week Confidence: *Moderate to High Details: High pressure at the surface will shift off the eastern seaboard Wednesday with a cold front possibly approaching Sunday. Meanwhile ridging should also prevail aloft. This pattern suggests high temps and near to below normal rain chances most of the period. Heat indices of 105+ degrees are possible inland starting Thursday but more likely across the entire area starting Friday. Thus, Heat Advisories and/or Excessive Heat Warnings will be pretty likely Friday through Sunday. && .AVIATION /06Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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Lull in the activity continues to open the 06Z TAF period, with ceilings bouncing between VFR and MVFR. May have more scattered convection that picks up before sunrise this morning, with TEMPO groups for TSRA kicking in from 08-12Z along the coast. Meanwhile, may have some isolated showers with a few rumbles of thunder accompany KFLO/KLBT within the next hour or two, but confidence is shaky there. Coastal terminals may have a second round of convection this afternoon in the 16-19Z window. More widespread MVFR should settle in over the next few hours, lingering through the majority of the TAF period. IFR visibilities possible in TSRA. Winds southwesterly now, with a few gusts at or above 20kts at the coast. Cold front will slowly move through today, causing gradual veering of the winds to westerly to northwesterly to northeasterly. Extended Outlook...Gradual improvement to VFR late Monday night into Tuesday morning. From there, VFR should dominate through the end of the work week.
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&& .MARINE... Through Monday...Southwest winds of 10-15 knots perhaps wobbling a knot or two above will develop and or persist tonight ahead of the front. Winds will shift to northeast during the day Monday and increase ending up around 15 knots. Significant seas will be 2-4 feet throughout the period. Monday night through Friday...A cold front will move through the central Carolina nearshore waters Monday with high pressure building from the north through Wednesday. The high will then shift farther east bringing a return of more typical summertime winds from the south. Winds and possibly even seas could reach marginal Small Craft Advisory levels Monday night/early Tuesday behind the departing cold front as high pressure builds in. && .FIRE WEATHER... Although there has been isolated heavy rainfall in spots over the past few days, the current U.S. Drought Monitor shows moderate drought (D1) exists across portions of eastern North and South Carolina. This drought has developed due to 60 day rainfall totals running well below normal plus recent hot, dry weather. Fortunately, widespread soaking rain appears possible tonight with 1 to 2 inches generally forecast. Hot and mostly dry weather should then redevelop late in the week. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...None. SC...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...ILM UPDATE...IGB NEAR TERM...SHK SHORT TERM...RJB LONG TERM...RJB AVIATION...IGB MARINE...RJB/SHK FIRE WEATHER...ILM