


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, OH
Issued by NWS Wilmington, OH
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154 FXUS61 KILN 161801 AFDILN Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington OH 201 PM EDT Wed Apr 16 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Dry conditions continue mid-week before a low end chance for precipitation returns Thursday afternoon into Friday early hours. Additionally, a notable warmup will arrive for the end of the working week. Precipitation returns to the forecast for the weekend, with multiple rounds of rain expected. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Upper level ridging and 1025 surface high pressure continue to be the primary influencer for our weather. Consequentially, mass subsidence promotes mostly clear skies overnight and strong radiational cooling. Overnight low temperatures fall into the low to mid 30s in central Ohio/ Kentucky, upper 30s closer to the Tri-State. Very light to calm winds will promote frost formation in areas where temperatures fall low enough, so have a Frost Advisory issued for much of the area. Outside of frost, there is also a signal for valley fog, particularly in areas where a moisture source is present. Due to the dry airmass in place, do not think that other areas will have fog issues. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY/... Thursday acts as a transition day as the upper level ridge and surface high begin to get shunted east thanks to troughing in western CONUS and a broad area of surface low pressure deepening on the eastern side of the Rockies. Due to the above, southerly flow returns to the Ohio Valley Thursday and there is a chance for showers during the afternoon hours as a warm front lifts north through our area. This feature helps usher in warmer temperatures and an influx of moisture. High temperatures on Thursday climb into the 60s. Any lingering rain showers move off to the northeast during the evening hours and we dry out, though we will be squarely warm sectored in the approaching system. As such, overnight lows will be in the mid 50s and dew points continue to rise during the night. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... Positive midlevel height anomalies will evolve across the ern CONUS for the start of the long term period, with /very/ warm air filtering into the OH Vly ahead, and on the ern periphery, of a northeast-advancing an initial low pressure system fcst to move through the mid MS Rvr Vly into the nrn Great Lakes Friday into Friday night. This will place the ILN FA squarely in the heart of the open warm sector amidst a tightening pressure gradient. A well- mixed BL will evolve by the afternoon, supporting very warm and breezy conditions locally with mostly sunny skies. A few patches of mid/high clouds may be the lone hindrance to temps soaring to around 80 degrees by late afternoon, but widespread upper 70s are expected by late in the day within stiff SW sfc flow on the order of 20-30 MPH. Dry conditions should prevail locally through the entirety of the daytime Friday before showers/storms gradually drift to the ESE into the area toward late evening. The initiation/genesis region of this activity will be well to the WNW of the ILN FA in an environment characterized by a much-more supportive thermodynamic and kinematic environment. In fact, the latest trends within the ensemble suites suggest a further delayed arrival of the activity with the low center being positioned slightly further /away/ from the local area, lending itself to considerable uncertainty regarding the severity, or at the very least the expanse of severe storms, into the local area Friday night into very early Saturday. There is very little doubt that an axis of scattered to numerous showers/storms will eventually pivot its way into SE/EC IN and WC OH near/after midnight, but with increasingly-meager mid/low level lapse rates into the nighttime period, the prospect of a corridor of steady shower/storm activity moving into areas near/N of I-71 seems much more plausible than does a pronounced severe weather episode within this same time/space. Eventually, the pivoting axis of shower/storm activity will begin to slow/stall/weaken before crawling back to the N into the daytime Saturday. The specifics of when/where this occurs remains to be seen, but the latest ensemble data supports a slower/further N solution, which would mean that locales across NE KY and the lower Scioto Valley into south-central OH may end up staying mostly, if not completely, dry into Saturday morning. Into/beyond Saturday afternoon, the data becomes a bit more dispersive, with an increasingly-large envelope of solutions as we progress into Sunday/Monday. However, there is a signal for the parent system to finally move through the area during the day Monday, promoting increased shower/storm chances in a widespread nature for the start of the workweek, followed by a drier spell into midweek of next week. The coverage of shower/storm activity late Saturday into Sunday remains a bit uncertain, owing to differences in handling of the track of the parent low pressure system out of the south-central plains and into the mid MS/OH/TN Vlys into Sunday/Monday. A quicker/southern ejection of this low to the NE would preclude the front from moving back too far to the N, keeping better shower/storm chances entrenched across the area Saturday night into Sunday. However, a slower/further N track of this low pressure system (favored) would likely mean the front is able to pivot far enough N as to allow for a drier stretch to briefly evolve late Saturday through Sunday, particularly near/S of I-71. The unsettled pattern should quiet a bit as we progress into the middle of next week, with slightly above normal temps favored toward the end of the long term period. As a whole, temps through the long term period will be above normal, with at least several days with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s/60s. && .AVIATION /18Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... High pressure in control over the region and VFR conditions continue. Some scattered cu moving through the region this afternoon with west/northwesterly flow around 10 knots with periodic gusts to 20 knots through the afternoon. Winds sharply decrease after sunset and go calm/ light and variable. Given mostly clear skies, there is some concern for fog in areas that have a moisture source (KLUK comes to mind). Went ahead and included VSBY reductions briefly at KLUK, however KILN and KDAY may also experience early morning brief reductions. Lacked confidence at these two sites due to very dry airmass in place, so moisture would need to come from surface foliage. Southerly flow around 10 knots returns on Thursday with high clouds moving in from southwest to northeast. Chance for afternoon showers, though confidence on timing is low at the moment. OUTLOOK...MVFR/IFR conditions possible along with a chance of thunderstorms Friday night into Saturday. && .ILN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...Frost Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM EDT Thursday for OHZ026-034-035-042>046-051>056-060>065-070>074-077>082-088. KY...Frost Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM EDT Thursday for KYZ097>100. IN...Frost Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM EDT Thursday for INZ050-058-059-066. && $$ SYNOPSIS...CA NEAR TERM...CA SHORT TERM...CA LONG TERM...KC AVIATION...CA