Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Albany, NY
Issued by NWS Albany, NY
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140 FXUS61 KALY 271035 AFDALY Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albany NY 635 AM EDT Mon Jul 27 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... Lowered forecast max temps slightly for Wed, given expectation for abundant clouds and at least occasional showers/rain. Should steady rain occur most of the day, some locations may only reach the mid 60s to lower 70s for max temps. && .KEY MESSAGES... 1) Isolated showers/thunderstorms today become more numerous for Tuesday, with some potential for training heavy downpours and Marginal to Slight Risk for flash flooding, mainly south of I-90. 2) Coastal low likely brings periods of rain for Tuesday night into Wednesday night, some of which may be heavy, especially near and south of I-90. Locally heavy rainfall could bring isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding, however threat for river flooding remains very low at this time. && .DISCUSSION... KEY MESSAGE 1... Lead upper level disturbance and cold pool aloft may bring isolated to scattered, mainly afternoon showers/thunderstorms today, with best chances across higher terrain areas mainly west of the Hudson River. Slow storm movement could allow for locally heavy downpours to occur. As main upper level trough approaches from west Tuesday, increasingly upper level diffluent flow and low level convergence will allow for greater coverage of showers/thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon and evening hours. Nearly uni-directional low/mid level flow will allow for some training of showers/thunderstorms, leading to potential locally heavy rainfall, especially across the SE Catskills and mid Hudson Valley/NW CT regions, as well as across portions of the Mohawk Valley and SW Adirondacks. Latest HREFs suggest 3-hour probs for >1" rainfall as high as 70-90% across the SW Adirondacks/Mohawk Valley region between 21Z/Tue-00Z/Wed, and 30-70% elsewhere. Similar 3-hour probs for >3" rainfall are 10-30% across SW Adirondacks/Mohawk Valley and SE Catskills/mid Hudson Valley after 18Z/Tue, highlighting areas with greatest chances of heaviest rainfall. Flash Flood guidance is generally quite high across the region due to fairly dry antecedent conditions, with 1 hour FFG generally 1.5-2.5", and 3-hour FFG generally 2.5"-3.5", highest for areas north of I-90. As such, despite the locally heavy rainfall potential, overall high FFG suggests mainly isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding expected (Marginal to Slight Risk per WPC), with greatest chances mainly south of I-90 where FFG is slightly lower. KEY MESSAGE 2... Digging upper level trough is expected to develop into a closed low somewhere across central/southern NY or northern PA Wednesday before slowly advancing east southeast Wednesday night into Thursday. Depending on exactly where this sets up, and resulting surface features track, bands of moderate to heavy rainfall may pivot north and west into the region Wednesday into Thursday. Rainfall should be mainly stratiform, although some elevated instability could allow for some embedded convective elements. Overall rainfall amounts of 1-3" are currently expected from today through Thursday morning, with greatest amounts across the SE Catskills due to enhancement from upslope flow. Locally higher amounts of 3-4" could occur in these areas, and any other locations where heavier rainbands set up and stall and/or pivot. Despite this heavy rainfall, overall groundwater storage capacity remains fairly high across the region, which should allow the ground to soak it up with low chances for river flooding. Latest MMEFS (ensemble river forecasts) do not suggest any river flooding in eastern NY/western New England assuming widespread rainfall amounts remain under 4-5". So, although localized ponding of water in some urban/poor drainage areas, and isolated/scattered instances of possible flash flooding where any training heavy downpours occur, the threat for river flooding appears very low at this time. && .AVIATION /12Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... VFR conditions continue for all TAF sites through 18z. Continued mention of MVFR conditions in PROB30 groups for scattered non-severe thunderstorms this afternoon between 18z and 23z for all TAF sites. After 22z to 28/01z, VFR conditions should prevail through the end of the TAF period. However, confidence was low to include at this TAF time MVFR cloud ceilings between 10z and 12z as chances for rain showers increase beyond the TAF period. Winds continue to be calm this morning, becoming southerly to southwesterly between 5 and 10 knots for this afternoon. Winds become calm once again after 28/00z through the end of the TAF period. Outlook... Tuesday Night: High Operational Impact. Definite SHRA...TSRA. Wednesday: High Operational Impact. Definite SHRA...TSRA. Wednesday Night: High Operational Impact. Definite SHRA...TSRA. Thursday: High Operational Impact. Likely SHRA...TSRA. Thursday Night: Low Operational Impact. Slight Chance of SHRA. Friday: Low Operational Impact. Slight Chance of SHRA...TSRA. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. NY...None. MA...None. VT...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...24/31 AVIATION...05