


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV
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105 FXUS61 KRLX 280245 AFDRLX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Charleston WV 1045 PM EDT Wed Aug 27 2025 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure brings dry and unseasonably cool conditions through the week. A weak, moisture-starved cold front will reinforce this cool airmass on Friday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 620 PM Wednesday... A deep mixed-layer this afternoon and early evening AOA 6-7kft across much of the forecast area has brought down drier air aloft to the surface, with widespread surface dew points in the mid 30s to mid 40s at present, which is quite impressive for late August! This has resulted in RH values of 20-35%. Have updated temperatures and dew points through the overnight to match the latest trends, lowering both towards NBM 5th percentile or even lower in some cases. Very dry near surface conditions along with clearing skies and light flow courtesy of surface high pressure moving nearly overhead will result in very favorable radiational cooling overnight, with the only possible hindrance being the potential for some mid/upper level clouds associated with a weak mid-level wave currently across the western upper Ohio Valley. Trended overnight lows a couple to several degrees cooler area-wide, with upper 30s and 40s expected across the lowlands, while mid 30s to mid 40s in the mountains. There is the potential for a bit of patchy frost across the high elevation mountain valleys in Pocahontas/Randolph counties that are most susceptible to cold air drainage. Have issued a SPS for these forecast zones to highlight this potential. Additionally, some river valley steam fog will once again develop given moisture flux associated with a significant difference between water / air temperature, but given dry low- levels, fog will remain quite confined to the immediate river basins. The rest of the forecast remains on track. As of 1126 AM Wednesday... High pressure brings another quiet and comfortable day areawide with a Fall-like feel to the air. Afternoon temperatures will reach the the upper 60s across the mountains to the middle 70s in the lowlands. Dew point temperatures this afternoon will drop to the upper 30s and lower 40s with afternoon minimum RHs in the upper 20s to lower 30s across the lowlands. The air will certainly be dry, but fire weather shouldn`t be a huge concern at this time with the leaves still on the trees. Mostly clear skies overnight will allow overnight lows to reach the upper 40s to lower 50s areawide. A cold front will approach from the northwest Thursday, but it will be starved for moisture. The only chance of rain will be across northern West Virginia and southeast Ohio late Thursday into Thursday night with PoPs generally limited to 20 percent or less. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... As of 1126 AM Wednesday... An upper-level area of low pressure will remain over northern New England Friday and Saturday with a surface high over the lower Great Lakes. Dry air over the middle Ohio Valley and central Appalachians will bring comfortable days and cool nights with a good deal of sunshine each afternoon. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 1126 AM Wednesday... Models are not in agreement regarding the location and evolution of the aforementioned upper-level low in the long-term forecast period. Models show some brief ridging west of the upper-level low, which could signal the return of some warmer weather across the middle Ohio Valley for early next week. However, this could change as models come into better agreement. Models are also showing signs of an additional upper-level trough developing over the Eastern United States for the middle of next week, potentially signaling another cool down. At this time, rain chances look to be minimal through the middle of next week. Overall, our confidence in this long-term forecast is low due to model inconsistency, which is common this time of year when dealing with upper-level low pressure. && .AVIATION /03Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 745 PM Wednesday... VFR conditions under clear skies this evening will give way to FEW-SCT mid/upper level clouds later tonight amid some developing river valley fog. Overall, expect fog coverage to be quite similar to last night, perhaps a touch more widespread. Restrictions are currently progged only for EKN, but river valley fog will likely be in the vicinity of CRW/CKB/HTS/PKB and could briefly creep into a terminal near sunrise. Any fog that develops lifts/dissipates from ~1130-1230Z, with widespread VFR thereafter amid a developing FEW-SCT high based (045-050) Cu field. A highly isolated light shower is possible towards the end of the TAF period across portions of southeast Ohio. Surface flow goes calm tonight, with light WSW to WNW flow developing on Thursday. Occasional breezes up to 15 kts or so are possible during the afternoon. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: Medium tonight with fog, high otherwise. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: MVFR/IFR fog could briefly impact CRW, CKB, HTS, or PKB near dawn on Thursday. EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION: H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS. L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL. DATE THU 08/28/25 UTC 1HRLY 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 EDT 1HRLY 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H L L L L L HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H M L L BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H H L M M M M M PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H L L M M CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H L L L M L L AFTER 00Z FRIDAY... IFR conditions possible in patchy river valley fog each morning through this weekend. && .CLIMATE... A record low temperature of 47 degrees was set at Parkersburg, WV Wednesday morning. This ties the old record of 47 degrees set in 1945. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...GW/JMC NEAR TERM...GW/JMC SHORT TERM...JMC LONG TERM...JMC AVIATION...GW CLIMATE...GW