Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS State College, PA
Issued by NWS State College, PA
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558 FXUS61 KCTP 241524 AFDCTP Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service State College PA 1124 AM EDT Mon Jun 24 2024 .SYNOPSIS... An upper level trough will swing over Pennsylvania today, then high pressure will build over the state tonight. A relatively zonal flow will remain in place through the rest of the week, with cold front passages likely late Wednesday and either late Saturday or early Sunday next weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Wonderfully refreshing air mass across central PA this morning with low dewpoints in the 40s and 50s and a fresh west breeze blowing at 15 to 25 mph. Visible imagery shows stratus has dissipated over the Alleghenies with shallow nroth to south stratocumulus cloud streets evident from the Fingerlakes southward throughout western and central PA. Stratus is still most prevalent over the Endless Mountain region through the Pocono Plateau and sprinkles will still be possible there into this afternoon. Latest Bukfit soundings support afternoon wind gusts of 20-25kts over the western part of the forecast area and 25-30kts in the east, which is several knots higher than NBM guidance. 800-850mb temps support highs from just the lower 70s over the mountains north of KIPT, to the mid 80s across the Lower Susq Valley. The arrival of very dry air aloft above a weak inversion a signal that reliably results in afternoon dewpoints dropping below NBM guidance, so have leaned toward the drier MAV guidance. Fair and seasonable weather with diminishing winds are anticipated tonight, as high pressure builds into the state. Latest NAMNest and SREF prob charts target the Alleghenies for late night valley fog. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... The surface high is progged to pass off of the Mid Atlantic coast Tuesday, resulting in a warmer return southwest flow. Ensemble mean 850mb temps rising to near 17C supports highs mostly in the 80s, to near 90F in the Lower Susq Valley. However, dewpoints remain moderate in the 50s. A warm front lifting through the Eastern Grt Lks may result in a shower or tsra Tuesday night, mainly over the NW Mtns. Surging PWATs and falling heights ahead of an upstream cold front will bring a much better chance of widespread showers/tsra Wednesday afternoon. A ribbon of relatively strong mid level winds, combined moderate instability, suggests organized convection and locally severe weather is possible Wed PM. Latest ensemble plumes indicates most likely aerial average rainfall Wed will be around a half inch. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... Late evening update holds very minor changes to the long range fcst. Did knock out PoPs totally from Thurs-Fri as we dry nicely behind the mid-week front. Before the front, Wed could be just muggy and hot enough to need a heat advy in the SE, but only for Wed. Prev... Showers and storms will gradually exit to the the southeast on Wednesday night as high pressure builds in. The midweek cold front will reset the cycle similar to what today`s cold front will do and usher in a similar stretch as Monday & Tuesday. Thursday and Friday will consist of about 48 hours of lower dewpoints, temperatures closer to average for this time of year, and plenty of sunshine. Afternoon highs in the 70s and 80s, overnight lows in the 50s and 60s (perhaps even upper 40s in the northern mountains Friday morning), and dewpoints below 60F will feel especially good with the persistent stretch of heat. As high pressure shifts to the east on Friday, southerly flow will support increasing temperatures and moisture into the weekend. The chance for showers and storms will also ramp up Saturday and Sunday as a warm front lifts across the region. && .AVIATION /15Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Mainly VFR conds with winds out of the northwest at 10 to 20 knots with gust of 20 to 30 knots expected most of the day. The gusts will quickly drop off after 00Z and winds will decrease to less than 5 knots for all sites. VFR conditions are expected overnight with mainly clear skies. Outlook... Tue...VFR, no sig wx expected. Wed...Restrictions possible in TSRA. Thu...AM SHRA/TSRA with restrictions possible, drying out late. Fri...Mainly VFR. && .CLIMATE... No temperature records were set on Sunday. The following records have been set during this stretch of heat: MDT: * A record high temperature of 99 degrees was set at Harrisburg, PA on Saturday, Jun 22, breaking the old record of 97 degrees set in 1988. IPT: * A record high temperature of 98 degrees was set at Williamsport on Friday June 21st, breaking the old record of 97 degrees set in 1923 and tied in 1933. BFD: * A record high temperature of 89 degrees was tied at Bradford on Friday June 21st, tying the record set in 2022. * A record high temperature of 90 degrees was set at Bradford on Thursday June 20th breaking the old record of 88 degrees set in 2012. * A record high temperature of 88 degrees was set at Bradford on Wednesday June 19, breaking the old record of 87 degrees set in 1987. AOO: * A record high temperature of 96 degrees was set on Saturday, Jun 22, breaking the old record of 91 degrees set in 1988. Highest Max Temperatures for Central Pennsylvania Observing sites for June (date of occurrence is in parentheses: State College 96 in 1952 (26th) and 1933 (29th) Harrisburg 100 in 1966 (27th), 1952 (26th), and 1934 (29th) Williamsport 104 in 1925 (5th) Altoona 97 in 1971 (28th) and 1953 (21st) Bradford 93 in 2022 (22nd) Longest run of consecutive days with max temp >=90 in June: State College 6 (24-29th 1966) /current streak=2/ Harrisburg 10* (19-28th 1943) /current streak=7/ Williamsport 9 (18-26th 1923) /current streak=7/ Altoona 8 (13-20th 1994) /2024 streak=6 (ended Sat)/ Bradford 1 (23rd 2024) /2024 streak=1 (Sat)/ *Harrisburg had a run of 11 days with temperatures greater than 90 degrees that started on 26th and ended on July 6th in 1901. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Fitzgerald NEAR TERM...DeVoir/Fitzgerald SHORT TERM...DeVoir/Fitzgerald LONG TERM...Dangelo/Banghoff AVIATION...Bauco CLIMATE...Evans/Steinbugl/Colbert