


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Sterling, VA
Issued by NWS Sterling, VA
562 FXUS61 KLWX 140759 AFDLWX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC 359 AM EDT Sat Jun 14 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A stalled frontal boundary will continue to oscillate over the region through the weekend bringing increased chances for showers and thunderstorms. Thunderstorm activity will be tied to the afternoon and evening hours with flash flooding and locally damaging winds as the primary threats. The front lifts north as a warm front Tuesday into Wednesday with a strong cold front expected to cross late next week. Temperatures will remain at or above average through the period. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Not a washout this weekend with plenty of dry times especially early in the day. Location will matter though for convective development. Continue to monitor a stalled frontal boundary draped over the region. Shortwave energy will once again traverse this boundary from west to east later on this afternoon and evening sparking off another round of heavy showers and thunderstorms. Current 00Z CAM guidance once again focuses on areas south and east of the Potomac River (i.e Washington DC metro, central VA, southern MD, and eastern VA) for the heaviest convective development. Similar to yesterday expecting convection to fire across the Alleghenies and Blue Ridge mid- afternoon before pushing eastward into the I-95 corridor and points east late afternoon into the early evening hours. Timing wise things look to be a bit earlier with a focus on convective initiation between 16-19z/12-3pm along and west of the Blue Ridge before pushing east of the Blue Ridge and into the metros between 20- 00z/4-8pm. Beyond 00z/8pm, convection slowly wanes with the loss of daytime heating although passing showers and areas of drizzle/fog may remain given the moist airmass in place. Primary threat with storms today will be localized flash flooding. PWATS remain between 1.5 to 2 inches with FFG guidance in a large chunk of the area running between 1-1.5 inches in both the 3-6hr period. MUCAPE values will sit between 500-1500 J/KG with 0-6 KM shear values sitting between 25 to 35 kts. This should yield multicellular clusters and the possibility of training with rain rates of 1-2"+/hr. For that reason, have hoisted a Flood Watch from 2pm today through this evening for the DC Metro, southern MD, and northern/central VA. This watch may need to be expanded further west into the Allegheny Highlands given the antecedent conditions and placement of the front. High temperatures today will be slightly cooler given the placement of the front and added cloud cover. Locations along the PA/MD border into the mountains will see highs in the mid to upper 70s. Areas further south toward the front (i.e the Baltimore/DC metros and central VA will see highs in the low to mid 80s. Mostly cloudy skies are expected with a few breaks of sun later this morning and into the early afternoon hours. Passing showers will likely linger into tonight with activity diminishing around midnight. Areas of drizzle and fog will be leftover as onshore flow increases across the region with the front sagging a bit further south of the region. Lows tonight will fall back into the mid to upper 60s for most with low 60s north of the I-70 corridor. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... Not much of a change in the forecast as a pesky stalled front remains nearby. The good news is that Sunday appears drier although cloud cover will remain due in part to onshore easterly flow from strengthening high pressure off the New England coast. This high pressure system looks to force the frontal boundary further south into central and southwest VA Sunday morning into SUnday midday. Subsidence behind shortwave low pressure from Saturday evening will also promote a decrease in PoPs as well for at least 2/3rds of the forecast region. Even with that said, the risk for showers and thunderstorms will still remain from the far western portions of the Alleghenies south and east into central and eastern VA. This lines up with both 00z CAM and synoptic guidance very well with the front subdued to the south as jet max energy squirts east and high pressure wedges in from the north. Once again, flash flooding will be the primary concern with any showers and thunderstorms that develop given the antecedent conditions. Locally damaging winds cannot be ruled out as well with SPC maintains a Day 2 Marginal Risk for portions of the VA Piedmont mainly along and south of I-64. Highs Sunday will push into the upper 60s and low 70s with easterly flow on the sable side of the boundary. LOcations along and south of I-64 will sit in the mid to upper 70s to around 80 degrees. The boundary works slowly back to the north Monday bringing continued chances for showers and thunderstorms. Severe weather does not appear to be an issue as stable marine air will be slow to erode over the region. Highs Monday will remain in the upper 60s and low to mid 70s with the influence of high pressure along the New ENgland coast still wedging south and the front slowly push back north from central and southern VA. Overall coverage of showers and thunderstorms will be scattered with a focus mainly south and east of metro areas. Convection chances increase again Tuesday as warmer air works back into the region. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... The surface boundary that will have lingered over the area for several days will finally start to dissipate and lift north of the area on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a weak upper trough will approach from the Ohio Valley. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to form during the afternoon hours within a very humid airmass (surface dewpoints around 70). High temperatures on Tuesday are expected to be reach into the upper 70s and lower 80s for most. High pressure will strengthen offshore moving into the middle of the week, leading to south to southwesterly low-level flow and increasing heat and humidity locally. Temperatures should reach into the 90s on both Wednesday and Thursday. When combined with dewpoints in the lower 70s, heat indices may approach 100 on Thursday. Thunderstorms appear possible both days, but the greater coverage should be on Thursday as an upper trough tracks off to our north across the Great Lakes, with its associated cold front approaching from the west. Current model guidance suggests that ample instability and shear may be present on Thursday, so some storms may be on the stronger side. Upper troughing is expected to dig in from the Great Lakes on Friday. Cooler and drier conditions are expected locally in the wake of the system`s cold front. && .AVIATION /08Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Scattered showers, low clouds, fog, and drizzle continue across the terminals this morning as a stalled front sits nearby. The corridor terminals as of 08z continues to bounce between MVFR to IFR with IFR conditions across the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghenies. MVFR to IFR cigs and vsbys can be expected through at least 15z amongst the terminals with subtle improvement into the mid-afternoon hours. Onshore flow and a moist marine airmass look to linger throughout the day and into the first part of next week. BKN-OVC MVFR TO IFR cigs are expected this afternoon and evening with the front wavering nearby. Another round of showers and thunderstorms will also follow with MRB and CHO seeing activity begin between 16-20z/12- 4pm before an advancement eastward toward IAD/DCA/BWI between 20- 00z/4-8pm. Locally heavy rainfall will be the biggest threat with storms today which will reduce vsbys. Gusty winds also cannot be ruled out along with frequent lightning. ANy convection will slowly wane after 00z/8pm with passing showers and drizzle/fog leftover during the overnight hours. IFR/sub-IFR cigs/vsbys are expected across all terminals tonight into early Sunday morning as onshore flow increases. Winds today will remain light out of the north at 5- 10kts before turning east Sunday. Additional periods of sub-VFR conditions are likely to continue for both Sunday and Monday. Shower and thunderstorm chances will remain during the afternoon and evening hours especially at terminals south and east of KCHO. Areas further north will remain in a marine airmass with persistent low clouds and areas of fog/low clouds during the overnight/early morning periods. Sub-VFR conditions may be possible Tuesday morning, but improvement back to prevailing VFR conditions is expected Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday. Temporary drops to sub-VFR conditions may be possible in thunderstorms both Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. && .MARINE... A stalled front will remain draped across the waters through tis evening. Winds today will switch from the south this morning to the north and east later this afternoon into tonight. Some marginal SCA northerly channeling is possible in the northern and middle part of the bay later this afternoon and evening, but confidence is low. Shower and thunderstorm chances are expected once again later this afternoon and evening (mainly after 20z/4pm). Some storms may warrant Special Marine Warnings with gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall as the primary concerns. Any convection will wane over the waters after 00z/8pm with passing showers, low clouds, and fog leftover overnight. Less shower and thunderstorm activity can be expected Sunday and Monday. Winds will remain out of the east on both days at less than 15 kts. Sub-SCA level southerly winds are expected over the waters on both Tuesday and Wednesday. && .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... DC...Flood Watch from 2 PM EDT this afternoon through this evening for DCZ001. MD...Flood Watch from 2 PM EDT this afternoon through this evening for MDZ013-016>018-504. VA...Flood Watch from 2 PM EDT this afternoon through this evening for VAZ025>031-036>040-050-051-053>057-501-502-505>508- 526-527. WV...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...EST NEAR TERM...EST SHORT TERM...EST LONG TERM...KJP AVIATION...KJP/EST MARINE...KJP/EST