Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
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707 FXUS62 KRAH 282022 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 321 PM EST Fri Nov 28 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Cold high pressure will build in from the Midwest through Saturday, then track east off the New England coast Saturday night. A cold front will move south through the region Sunday, before settling just to our south Sunday night. A more significant storm system is expected to develop along this front over the northern Gulf on Monday, then track northeast along the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas Monday night through Tuesday night. Chilly high pressure will then build in from the west on Wednesday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 100 PM Friday... * Coldest Night Of The Season The center of Canadian high pressure(cP airmass), currently positioned over the mid MS Valley, will build directly overhead tonight. NWLY gusts of 15 to 25 kts this afternoon will diminish around sunset, with winds becoming light and calm overnight. The combination of calm winds, clear skies, and dry airmass with dewpoints in the teens, will promote excellent radiational cooling conditions. The very cold low-level thicknesses of 1275-1280m, more typical of mid-winter, will result in the coldest night of the season. Expect lows in the lower to middle 20s, with some upper teens possible in outlying rural area(12-17 degrees below normal for late November). && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT/... As of 100 PM Friday... * Continued Cold/Chilly Canadian high centered over the region on Saturday will drift east and will move off the mid-Atlantic coast late in the day, reaching the northern Atlantic waters by early Sunday. Downstream of a mid/upper level shortwave trough ejecting from the central Plains into the Ohio Valley and upper Great Lakes, quasi-zonal flow aloft will transition to backing SWLY flow Saturday night. Despite compliments of full sunshine, temperatures will remain chilly Saturday, with highs in the lower 40s north to mid/upper 40s south --- 12-15 degrees below normal for late November. Weak shortwave impulses coupled and strengthening warm moist air advection within the SWLY flow aloft will lead to increasing clouds Saturday evening, with skies becoming mostly cloudy Saturday night. The thickening cloud cover may produce a non-diurnal temperature trend overnight, with lows occurring during the first half of the night,followed by nearly steady or slowing warming temperatures toward daybreak. Lows in the mid 20s to lower 30s. Overall model consensus favors keeping measurable precip chances after daybreak Sunday. However, a brief period of fleeting, patchy light freezing rain or drizzle cannot be ruled out across the NW Piedmont during the pre-dawn hours. Any impacts should be very limited in time and coverage, with temperatures rising above freezing shortly after sunrise. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 320 PM Friday... Shortwave energy and an associated surface low will move NE from MI into far southern Ontario and Quebec on Sunday and Sunday night. This will drag a cold front that crosses central NC on Sunday evening. Skies will be mostly cloudy to overcast, and scattered light showers will be possible along and ahead of the front, first mainly in the NW on Sunday morning then in SE zones by Sunday evening/night. The deterministic GFS is almost completely dry, but the GEFS mean is a bit wetter, as are the ECMWF and NAM. But even the ECMWF and NAM only depict a quarter inch or less of QPF, as the best mid/upper forcing goes well to our north. Plentiful warm air aloft will prevent any threat of sleet or snow on Sunday, but can`t rule out isolated pockets of brief freezing rain at the onset in the early morning, mainly in the NW Piedmont. The NAM is most aggressive with this as it has light precipitation starting earlier when wet bulb temperatures are still below freezing. If the GFS, ECMWF and the vast majority of their ensembles verify, any precipitation wouldn`t start until late morning at the earliest when surface temperatures will be too warm for anything besides plain rain. Plus there will be no source of CAA at the surface as the high pressure system will be east of New England by this point. So not expecting any significant impacts, but still something to continue monitoring. In-situ CAD will keep Sunday`s high temperatures in the mid-to-upper-40s over the NW Piedmont, while SE of the wedge boundary over the Sandhills and Coastal Plain, highs will be in the upper-50s to lower-60s. Lows Sunday night will range from upper-20s to lower-30s far NW to near 40 far SE. Monday will feature a brief lull in precipitation chances as a ~1030 mb surface high builds down from Upstate NY and New England. Temperatures will only reach the mid-40s to lower-50s (8-12 degrees below normal) and dew points will be in the 20s. However, this surface high will quickly move east to the Canadian Maritimes on Monday night as a potent shortwave tracking from the Southern Plains to the Middle MS Valley spawns a surface low over the Gulf Coast. This low will track NE through the Carolinas on Tuesday and looks to provide a welcome soaking (but cold) rain to our region from Monday night into Tuesday. While the system will be fast moving, it will have plenty of moisture and dynamics, and forecast rainfall totals are in the 1 to 1.5 inch range, amounts depicted on both the GFS and ECMWF. Isolated urban and poor drainage flooding can`t be ruled out, and WPC has much of central NC in a marginal (level 1 of 4) risk for excessive rainfall on Tuesday. Still, given how dry it has been lately, widespread flooding is not expected. Also watching potential for a brief period of freezing rain again at the onset of precipitation over the NW Piedmont on Monday night and early Tuesday morning, as a very small number of GFS and ECMWF ensemble members (around 10% or less) depict it. Once again a deep warm layer aloft should preclude any chance of sleet or snow, and even any freezing rain would be very fleeting as there will be no high to our north and the low will be taking an unfavorable inland track over eastern NC if the latest GFS and ECMWF verify. Monday night`s low temperatures in the 30s will be slow to warm on Tuesday with highs ranging from lower-40s in the far NW (maybe even some upper-30s) to lower-50s in the far SE. Rain chances will end and skies will clear from west to east on Tuesday evening/night behind the departing low as lows drop into the upper-20s to mid-30s. Dry weather will prevail on Wednesday and Thursday as surface high pressure builds in from the west. The next wave brings increasing clouds and a chance of precipitation as early as Friday, but at this time it looks more likely on Friday night and Saturday. Below-normal temperatures will continue, as highs will be in the mid-40s to mid- 50s from Wednesday through Friday, and lows Wednesday and Thursday nights will be in the upper-20s to mid-30s. && .AVIATION /18Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 100 PM Friday... Through 18z Saturday: A very dry, cold, and stable airmass(cP airmass) building into the region will support VFR conditions through the forecast period. NWLY gusts of 15 to 25 kts will diminish this evening with winds becoming light and calm tonight as the surface high builds directly overhead. Outlook: VFR conditions are likely to continue through early Sunday. A cold front will sweep east across the area Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, bringing a chance of showers and associated sub-VFR restrictions. The cold front will stall south of the area Monday with dry VFR conditions giving way to widespread rain/showers and sub-VFR restrictions late Monday night and Tuesday as a series of weak sfc lows/waves track through the SE US and up the Carolina Coast. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Badgett/Hartfield NEAR TERM...CBL SHORT TERM...CBL LONG TERM...Danco AVIATION...CBL