Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
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345 FXUS62 KRAH 250700 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 300 AM EDT Tue Jun 24 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will build across and offshore the southern Middle Atlantic today, then continue to extend westward across the South Atlantic states through Wednesday. A pre-frontal trough, then weak cold front, will move across NC Thursday and Thursday night. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 955 PM Monday... The 00Z upper air analyses show the H25 trough over the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, while the H5 trough was slightly east, mainly along the East Coast. There is still plenty of moisture evident at H7 and H85, although some drier air was creeping into the northern Piedmont. At the surface, the front has progressed through most of central NC, however there are still some mid 70s dewpoints over the Coastal Plain as of 01Z. Dewpoints elsewhere generally range from mid 60s to mid 60s. The surface high, over OH/PA as of 01Z, should settle ssewd to over WV/VA tonight. The question is if the surface boundary will remain stalled over the Coastal Plain tonight or whether/how far the high will help push it sewd. Where the higher dewpoint air remains, some fog/low stratus will be possible. Otherwise, expect lows mainly in the mid 60s to around 70 degrees, although a few isolated spots could stay a bit above 70. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT/... As of 400 PM Monday... Tuesday will be largely precipitation free across central NC as the trough exits into the Atlantic and is replaced by weak ridging over the Southeast US. Our region will also be under a much drier more stable airmass behind the cold front. Surface high pressure over the Appalachians in the morning will move east into the Atlantic during the day, shifting the low-level flow to a more southerly direction. Thus there will be very little to no change in temperatures from today despite today`s cold frontal passage, with highs again in the lower-to-mid-90s. Where there will be a noticeable difference is the humidity, as dew points will mix out into the upper-50s to lower-60s in the afternoon. So heat indices will be very similar to the air temperatures. The one possible area of precipitation is from Fayetteville south and east, where some CAMS (mainly the HRRR and RAP), show enough instability for a few showers and storms to develop along the sea breeze. But the other CAMS are much less impressed. Given this and the unfavorable upper pattern, only carry slight chance POPs there at this time. Lows Tuesday night will be in the upper-60s to lower-70s. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY... As of 300 AM Tuesday... A cold front should extend from northeast to southwest across the forecast area Thursday morning, and it will continue to slide southeast through the day. At this point, Thursday afternoon currently looks like the best chance for rain in the next 7 days, with likely pops extending south and east from Raleigh. While instability values should be modest, between 1000-2000 J/kg, the vertical wind profile shows very little shear, which will make it hard for any thunderstorms to become organized and produce severe weather. The chance for thunderstorms will continue into the evening, and another round of thunderstorms will be possible Friday afternoon with the front loitering in the region - ensembles show the chance of showers/storms extending a bit farther to the north on Friday than they did 24 hours ago. An isolated storm cannot be ruled out on Saturday, but the next chance of storms across the region will come Sunday, Sunday night, and Monday with another front. The NAEFS shows a higher probability of rain Sunday night than Thursday, but this remains an outlier solution. There will be minimal relief from the heat with Thursday`s front, although highs should drop 3-5 degrees from Wednesday`s values. Still, most of the region will reach the 90s again. Friday`s high will be similar to Thursday`s, then an upper ridge will build over the Southeast for the weekend, bringing a renewed surge of heat and humidity. Saturday and particularly Sunday are the days with the highest heat indices, with nearly all locations over 100 degrees on Sunday. While humidity will remain high on Monday, highs should be 5- 10 degrees cooler compared to Sunday. && .AVIATION /06Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 220 AM Tuesday... While primarily VFR conditions, and a couple of layers of stratocumulus (5-6 thousand ft) and altocumulus (8-10 thousand ft) are expected through this evening, an area of IFR-MVFR ceilings may develop along a cold front that will settle south across sern NC and nrn SC this morning. Associated flight restrictions will be most likely at FAY, followed by RWI and then RDU. Light, generally nely surface winds this morning are forecast to veer to sely/sly today- tonight, as high pressure otherwise builds across and offshore the srn Middle Atlantic. Outlook: Areas of mostly IFR stratus will be possible throughout cntl NC Wed morning and mainly at FAY and RWI Thu morning. A chance of mainly afternoon-evening showers/storms will also return to the forecast for Wed through the weekend, with the relative highest probabilities at FAY/RWI on Thu. Additionally, the development of an Appalachian-lee, nocturnal low-level jet across and offshore the Middle Wed night may result in marginal low-level wind shear in cntl NC during that time. && .CLIMATE... Record High Temperatures: June 26: KRDU: 102/1952 KFAY: 101/1951 June 27: KFAY: 102/1998 June 30: KFAY: 102/2012 Record High Minimum Temperatures: June 25: KRDU: 77/2010 KFAY: 75/1952 June 26: KGSO: 74/2010 KRDU: 76/1902 KFAY: 76/1997 June 27: KGSO: 76/1969 KRDU: 76/1952 KFAY: 77/1998 June 28: KGSO: 76/1969 KRDU: 76/1952 KFAY: 78/1914 June 29: KGSO: 74/2010 KRDU: 78/1914 KFAY: 76/1969 June 30: KGSO: 74/1936 KRDU: 80/1936 KFAY: 79/1936 July 1: KGSO: 77/1970 KRDU: 75/2012 KFAY: 76/1990 && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...MWS NEAR TERM...KC SHORT TERM...Danco LONG TERM...Green AVIATION...MWS CLIMATE...RAH