Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV
Issued by NWS Charleston, WV
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314 FXUS61 KRLX 141729 AFDRLX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Charleston WV 1229 PM EST Fri Nov 14 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Chances of rain return Saturday in advance of a cold front that moves through early Sunday. Turning much colder Sunday. Additional chances for precipitation return on Tuesday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 1119 AM Friday... Today will be a comfortably mild day with increasing clouds from the west as a warm front approaches. That warm front will pass over the area early Saturday morning, creating scattered showers during the first half of the day. The main cold front will approach late in the day, with additional showers expected ahead of it. A thunderstorm or two cannot be ruled out late Saturday, but this will be the exception and not the rule because of very little CAPE (400 J/kg or less). There will be plenty of wind energy aloft, with 60-75 kts of 0-6 km shear expected late Saturday. Therefore, gusty showers will be possible late Saturday as stronger winds aloft mix down to the surface in scattered showers. Saturday will be breezy with southwest winds sustained at 10-15 mph, occasionally gusting 20-30 mph. Wind gusts in excess of 30 mph will be possible in the higher elevations of northeastern West Virginia. Mild temperatures are expected with highs near 70 across the lowlands and in the lower to middle 60s in the mountains. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... As of 1119 AM Friday... A sharp contrast to much colder weather will take place behind the cold front on Sunday with highs ranging from the upper 40s in the higher elevations to the middle 50s in the lowlands. Windy conditions are expected in the higher elevations of northeastern West Virginia Sunday, with occasional gusts reaching 40 mph at times. We expect the wind to be below advisory criteria, but this could change. Clouds will gradually clear for sunshine by Sunday afternoon. Temperatures will drop into the 20s and lower 30s Sunday night. The cooler weather will continue into Monday. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 1119 AM Friday... Models are showing another weak low pressure system approaching the middle Ohio Valley from the west on Tuesday. This may lead to a mixture of rain and some snow across the higher elevations of northeastern West Virginia Tuesday morning, before transitioning to primarily rain by Tuesday afternoon as temperatures warm into the 40s and 50s. Some wintry mix cannot be ruled out across portions of northern West Virginia predawn Tuesday with near- surface temperatures hovering around the freezing mark in combination with warmer temperatures aloft. However, given the uncertainty, we decided to go with a mix of rain and snow in our official forecast. Confidence in all of this is very low as models are still trying to iron out details. Beyond Tuesday, models become very inconsistent regarding precipitation timing and chances with numerous vort. maxes in the 500-mb flow aloft. The ECMWF and GFS both show a possibility of a larger storm system impacting our area late next week. The ECMWF is much slower with the development of this system, keeping it in the southcentral United States Thursday, and impacting our area Friday into next weekend. Meanwhile, the GFS shows a faster and weaker system, showing it crossing through the middle Ohio Valley as soon as Thursday. && .AVIATION /18Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 1228 PM Friday... VFR conditions will continue today. MVFR ceilings will approach overnight as a warm front lifts through West Virginia. In addition, 30-40 kts of LLWS will also be possible overnight, especially at KCRW, KHTS, and KPKB as winds above the surface increase ahead of a low pressure system. A mixture of VFR and MVFR ceilings are expected Saturday ahead of a cold front. Winds will generally remain from the southwest throughout the period, becoming stronger during the day on Saturday with occasional gusts in excess of 20 kts at times by Saturday afternoon. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY... FORECAST CONFIDENCE: High. ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: LLWS also possible overnight at the other terminals (KCKB, KEKN, KBKW). 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. UTC 1HRLY 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 EST 1HRLY 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H AFTER 18Z SATURDAY... IFR possible in heavier showers late Saturday through Sunday morning. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...None. OH...None. KY...None. VA...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...26 NEAR TERM...26 SHORT TERM...26 LONG TERM...26 AVIATION...26