763
FXUS61 KAKQ 281956
AFDAKQ

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Wakefield VA
356 PM EDT Fri Jun 28 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
Heat and humidity return for Saturday and Sunday. A cold front
drops across the area late Sunday night through Monday morning.
Ahead of it, strong to severe storms with heavy rainfall are
expected. Dry weather is then expected through the middle of
next week with additional heat concerns possible for
Independence Day.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/...
As of 300 PM EDT Friday...

High pressure to the N slid offshore this afternoon and is now
centered off the coast of New England. Pretty quiet today with dry
weather and scattered to broken CU across the area. Temps have risen
into the mid to upper 80s for much of the area, but breezy onshore
winds have kept coastal locations cooler. Areas along the coast are
showing the low 80s and the Eastern Shore only in the upper 70s so
far. Expect another degree or two to be added before the afternoon
is over. Cloud cover will temporarily thin out later this evening,
then build back in after midnight through sunrise. Lows tonight will
be in the upper 60s for much of the area with lower 70s in the SE
and immediately along the bay.

&&

.SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...
As of 355 PM EDT Friday...

Key messages:

- Hot and humid conditions return for the weekend, peaking on
Sunday with dangerous heat indices around 105F.

- A cold front brings potential for strong to severe storms and
heavy rain on Sunday.

Sfc high pressure to the NE slides farther offshore Saturday as low
pressure moves into Eastern Canada with its trailing cold front
gradually approaching Appalachia. A weak warm front will push north
of the area, bringing southerly flow and hot temps. Should be mainly
dry Sat, but may see isolated showers and thunderstorms across the
area as weak shortwave energy passes through the area. CAMs do show
some morning convection along the coast, so have introduced Schc
PoPs in the SE. Highs will be in the low 90s. With dewpoints up into
the low 70s, heat indices will be in the upper 90s to around 100.
Sat night will not offer much relief from the heat with lows in the
upper 70s.

An upper trough and a strong cold front (for this time of year, at
least) will approach the area Sunday, crossing the region Sun night
into Monday. Ahead of the front, S/SW flow will allow hot and humid
conditions to continue. Cloud cover and potential morning precip
could hinder temperatures, but still expecting highs in the low-mid
90s. With dew pts in the mid 70s in most areas during peak heating,
dangerous heat indices around 105F are in the forecast. Note that
the dew point forecast continues to be a couple degrees lower than
NBM and is more in line with MOS values. While the potential for
morning convection exists, the main threat for scattered to numerous
storms will be in the afternoon and into the overnight hours.
Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected, especially for the SE half
of the FA where PWs will approach 2.5". As such, WPC has placed this
portion of the area in a Marginal ERO. Instability provided by the
heat/humidity along with moderate shear will allow for some storms
to be strong to severe, despite the stronger winds aloft being to
the N. Thus, there is a slight risk for severe storms for much of
the FA (~N of US460) and a Marginal elsewhere. Precip will clear out
from NW to SE late Sunday night. Lows will be mid to upper 60s NW
for most and the low 70s to the far SE.

&&

.LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
As of 355 PM EDT Friday...

Key Message:

- A brief break in the heat is likely early next week before
  very hot weather potentially returns by Independence Day.

High pressure fills in behind the front, bringing dry weather
through mid week. Relatively cooler temps and much lower dewpoints
will bring brief relief from the heat and humidity. Highs will be in
the low to mid 80s. Warming some on Tuesday with highs in the mid
80s, but onshore flow keeps temps a few degrees cooler at the coast.
Hot weather returns mid week with highs in the low 90s Wed and mid-
upper 90s on the Fourth of July. With dewpoints creeping back toward
70 on Thursday, there is the potential for heat indices over 100.
Remaining dry through at least Wed with a chc for afternoon
thunderstorms on Thursday. .

&&

.AVIATION /20Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
As of 130 PM EDT Friday...

SCT cloud cover is present across the FA this afternoon with cloud
bases around 3-4kft. Have seen a few instances of brief MVFR
with thicker patches of clouds, but otherwise VFR today. Cloud
cover will temporarily scatter out this evening, then build back
toward BKN after midnight. Guidance favors MVFR across most TAF
sites late tonight into early Sat. Cannot rule out IFR at RIC
during the early morning hours. ENE winds will continue to be
gusty along the coast through the afternoon. Winds turn to the
SE late tonight.

High pressure and mainly dry conditions will prevail for today
through at least Sat morning. Sctd showers/tstms are likely
Sun into Sun night. High pressure and drier conditions return
for Mon.

&&

.MARINE...
As of 300 PM EDT Friday...

Key messages:

- Generally sub-SCA conditions with periods of breezy
onshore/southerly winds this evening through the weekend.

- A period of SCA conditions is very likely on Monday with northerly
winds behind a cold front.

- Moderate risk of rip currents through Saturday.

The secondary cold front is south of the waters this afternoon with
high pressure centered south of Long Island. There is still a decent
pressure gradient in place, which is resulting in E-NE winds around
15 kt with gusts to 20 kt over the marine area. Winds become SE and
remain near 15 kt this evening-tonight as the high pushes offshore
before becoming SSE on Saturday. Could see a period of low-end SCA
conditions on the bay late Sat evening-Sat night as the winds become
more southerly and increase to 15-20 kt. Local wind probs show a 40-
70% chc of sustained 18 kt winds between 8 PM Sat-4AM Sun (highest
on the mid/upper bay). Winds diminish to 10-15 kt and become SSW by
mid to late Sun AM.

A decently strong summer cold front looks to approach the area
Sunday before crossing the waters from N-S between 4-10 AM Monday
morning. Scattered to numerous tstms are expected Sun aftn through
the first part of Sun night, which will likely necessitate SMWs (a
few of the storms could even produce 50 kt wind gusts). Sub-SCA
outside of any storms from Sun-late Sun evening. However, there will
be decent cool/dry advection following the cold FROPA Monday
morning, which will allow N winds to increase to ~20 kt (with
frequent gusts around or just above 25 kt). SCAs will likely be
needed for all of the Ches Bay, Lower James, and maybe even the
upper rivers/coastal waters. Local wind probs show nearly a 100% chc
of sustained 18 kt winds Mon AM, with low (~20%) probs of sustained
25 kt winds.

Waves/seas 1-3 ft/2-4 ft this afternoon. Seas generally 3-4 ft this
weekend with 1-3 ft waves. Seas could build to 5 ft S of Cape
Charles on Monday following the cold FROPA (with 3-4 ft waves). Sub-
SCA waves and seas are expected from Mon night through the middle of
next week.

There is a moderate risk of rip currents across all Atlantic- coast
beaches in the FA through Saturday.

&&

.AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...None.
NC...None.
VA...None.
MARINE...None.

&&

$$

SYNOPSIS...AM/TMG
NEAR TERM...AM
SHORT TERM...AM
LONG TERM...AM
AVIATION...AM
MARINE...ERI