Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT

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274 FXUS61 KBTV 021047 AFDBTV Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Burlington VT 647 AM EDT Thu May 2 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Scattered to numerous showers, with a few possible thunderstorms, will continue through the day today over northern areas. High pressure will return for Friday and bring drier weather and some breaks in the sun. Rain showers enter northern New York on Saturday and the entire region for Sunday. Drier weather looks to start next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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As of 640 AM EDT Thursday... Showers and thunderstorms have exited New York and are now confined to northern Vermont. They will continue to move to the east and should leave the region in the next few hours. However, showers will reignite later this morning as cooling air aloft and diurnal heating provide instability. Clouds have cleared out over much of northern New York and the clearing should at least reach parts of western Vermont. However, it will be short lived as clouds will return later this morning. Previous Discussion Follows... Previous Discussion...A warm front is passing through the North Country tonight and it is bringing some scattered showers and thunderstorms from an area of elevated instability. These storms will continue for much of the night before dissipating by mid- morning as the elevated instability diminishes. Some showers will then develop during the day across northern areas as a shortwave trough builds into the region and an associated cold pool steepens lapse rates. Diurnal heating will help create some surface based instability, particularly over Northeast Vermont, and there is the possibility that it is strong enough for a couple thunderstorms to develop. Small hail and graupel cannot be ruled out in these storms due to the cold air aloft. There is a strong QPF gradient across the region with southern areas only expected to see a few hundreths of an inch of rain while the Northeast Kingdom should see up to around a half-inch. Across the showery northern areas, temperatures will only reach the lower 60s. However, temperatures will reach the upper 60s and low 70s across southern Vermont where it will be drier and where some breaks in the clouds are possible. The shortwave passes to the east overnight and the shower chances quickly end as lapse rates lower and diurnal heating ends. Abundant low-level moisture and light winds could cause fog formation overnight, particularly if some breaks form in the clouds. Temperatures will fall into the 40s across the region. An upper level ridge builds into the region on Friday and it will bring drier and warmer weather. 925 mb temperatures look to rise to between 9-14 degrees but easterly flow will keep the warmest temperatures, up to 20 celsius, just to the southwest over Central New York. Highs should therefore range in the upper 60s and low 70s. Temperatures will depend a bit on how quickly the low clouds from Thursday`s shortwave scour out and how quickly high clouds build in from the west. It looks like there should at least be some filtered sunshine during the day for most areas.
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&& .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT/... As of 408 AM EDT Thursday...Longwave ridge axis shifts eastward Friday night with southerly flow increasing. Expect increasing cloud cover and mild overnight temperatures in the mid/upper 40s and low 50s. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 408 AM EDT Thursday...The pattern evolution will support deeper moisture transport from the Gulf of Mexico Saturday as upper level ridge axis amplifies downstream of the North Country. A weak trough moving out of the lower mid west will help pull Gulf moisture northward while a stronger trough with upper level support swings through the Great Lakes region. These features will likely begin to phase supporting PWATs in excess of 1" late Saturday into Sunday as the surface trough moves through the region. Expect shower chances to begin increasing Saturday with rain/rain showers Saturday night and Sunday. While conditions will be wet, best forcing will likely be displaced northward into Canada as the low rides up the ridge, so excessive rainfall/flooding is not anticipated. Active pattern continues with ridging returning Monday into Tuesday. A lack of cold air replacement resulting from the nature of the continental airmass from lower/central US Plains will keep temperatures running warmer that seasonal averages. Ensembles favor a pattern that would support highs in the lower/mid 70s. We`ll be keeping an eye on the mid-week system that may move into the North Country on Wednesday. Warmer temperatures and a chance at decent forcing could supply ingredients for more robust thunderstorms. It will all depend on timing which is vague this far out. Should a front approach during max heating Wednesday, a few stronger storms would be possible. However, it`s just as likely at this point that frontal passage could be offset outside of peak heating which would limit convection. Ensembles keep a progressive pattern beyond Wednesday supporting quick moving ridge/troughs. && .AVIATION /12Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Through 06Z Friday...An area of scattered showers and thunderstorms is moving west to east across the region. It should generally take between 1-2 hours for the area to pass through a specific terminal. They are currently over northern New York and should reach BTV and PBG before 7Z and MPV and EFK around 7Z-8Z. These storms should be out of the region by around 10Z and the thunderstorm threat should be over for the rest of the day. However, there will be some scattered showers continuing for much of the day over the northern terminals. Ceilings will drop pretty quickly tonight and everywhere should reach MVFR before daybreak. IFR ceilings are expected at MSS and MPV later tonight and they cannot be ruled out at SLK either. Ceilings will rise slowly during the day today and they should be above IFR levels at all terminals by mid-morning. Winds will be relatively light during this period, generally shifting from southeasterly to southwesterly. LLWS will be a concern at every terminal tonight before becoming weaker during the day today as a low-level jet exits the region. Outlook... Friday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. NO SIG WX. Friday Night: VFR. NO SIG WX. Saturday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Chance SHRA. Saturday Night: VFR. Chance SHRA. Sunday: Mainly MVFR, with local VFR possible. Chance SHRA. Sunday Night: Mainly IFR, with areas MVFR possible. Chance SHRA. Monday: VFR/MVFR conditions possible. Slight chance SHRA. && .BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VT...None. NY...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Myskowski NEAR TERM...Myskowski SHORT TERM...Boyd LONG TERM...Boyd AVIATION...Myskowski