Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
Issued by NWS Raleigh/Durham, NC
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750 FXUS62 KRAH 251821 AFDRAH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 121 PM EST Tue Nov 25 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A strong cold front will sweep across the region Wednesday. Cold high pressure will follow the front for Thanksgiving through Saturday. && .NEAR TERM /TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 121 PM Tuesday... The chance for widely scattered showers...driven mainly by WAA with increasing southerly flow ahead of the approaching trough...will continue in the forecast through this evening. In-situ CAD and cloud cover continues to keep the northwest Piedmont and Triad cool as noted by current temps holding in the lower 60s. Farther east outside of the CAD region and where there`s sunshine (mainly along and east of I-95)...temps attm are in the low-mid 70s. Rain chances will increase tonight, particularly around and after midnight as a band of prefrontal showers moves across central NC. Look for temps overnight to hold in the upper 50s across the Triad with temps holding in the 60s east of the Triad. Rainfall amounts will generally be a 1/2 inch or less, but there could be pockets of higher rainfall amounts where the deeper convection/showers occur. && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... As of 121 PM Tuesday... A strong front will sweep across central North Carolina from late morning through the afternoon on Wednesday. Ahead of the front, highs will reach the 70s. Until the actual cold front moves through, the risk for widely scattered showers can`t be ruled out, but the best chance for rain should occur tonight through mid- morning Wednesday assoc with the prefrontal trough. The chance for showers will end quickly behind the front, with a sharp push of cold dry air arriving Wednesday night as a secondary front moves through. Winds will be breezy from the SW at 1020 mph, shifting to the NW late in the day and into the evening. Temperatures will fall steadily Wednesday night, dropping into the 30s for low temps by Thursday morning across much of central NC (lower 30s north and northwest with mid-upr 30s elsewhere). && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 1115 AM Tuesday... * Marginal Fire Wx concerns Thurs and especially Fri. * Low forecast confidence as we head into a potentially more active pattern Sun into early next week. Thanksgiving day will be dry as high pressure continues to build in from the Central Plains. A big temperature swing from Wednesday as we go from 10-15 degrees above normal to 10 degrees below normal on Thursday. Northwest flow will continue to usher in cooler air with highs in the upper 40s NW to low/mid 50s SE. New model data is showing a few mid/high clouds move across the region during the first half of the day with clearing skies in the afternoon. As the reinforcing dry cold front will cross the region late Thursday bringing chilly temperatures and winds are expected to pick up in the afternoon with gusts expected to be 15-20mph. There is a marginal fire weather concern for Thursday as winds pick up and dew point/RH values drop quickly in the afternoon. Overnight low temperatures are expected to be in the mid 20s NW to near 30 in the SE. Wind chills could get into the upper teens overnight/early morning Friday. Northwest flow will persist into Friday as the Canadian high dives south into the TN valley bringing another rush of chilly temperatures and gusty winds. Thus, another day of fire weather concerns. Fridays high temperatures will struggle to get to 50 degrees with much of the region expected to stay in the low/mid 40s, and apparent temperatures will be in the low 30s to low 40s. Friday night radiational cooling will be at its best and lows will range from the low 20s to mid 20s across central NC. Friday night is expected to be the coldest temperatures of the season! High pressure will shift off to the Northeast Saturday bringing a NE/E flow. Highs will begin to warm gradually through the weekend with Saturday highs in the mid to upper 40s and lows generally still be low freezing ranging from 28-32 degrees. Another weather system moving across the MS valley is expected to move into the Mid-Atlantic region as early as Sunday morning bringing increased rain chances for early next week. Long range models are far from agreement on how the system will develop and shift across the region thus will have to watch the system more closely as it moves onshore into the Pacific NW region later this week. && .AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 121 PM Tuesday... Through 18Z Wednesday: VFR conditions will continue this afternoon across most of central NC with the exception of KINT and possibly KGSO, with the NW Piedmont in the cooler CAD airmass. As dwpts continue to increase in the prefrontal sly flow, look for low clouds and IFR conditions to develop across much of central NC tonight, esp in the 02-07Z timeframe. In addition, a band of prefrontal showers are expected to move across central NC overnight through Wednesday morning, which would also result in a period of IFR or less conditions. Behind the prefrontal trough, cigs should rise with flt conditions returning to VFR as early as 15Z at KINT to around 19Z east near KFAY/KRWI. Also worth noting that winds will increase during the daytime Wednesday with gusts as high as 20kt from the WSW. After 18Z Wednesday: Conditions will improve to VFR Wednesday afternoon through Friday following the passage of a strong cold front. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...np NEAR TERM...np SHORT TERM...np LONG TERM...CA AVIATION...np