Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Sterling, VA

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431 FXUS61 KLWX 310033 AFDLWX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC 833 PM EDT Thu May 30 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will gradually build toward the area through Friday night, before progressing offshore on Saturday. High pressure will remain offshore through early next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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Very dry air is being observed at all levels at this hour, as evident in current water vapor imagery and in the 00z IAD RAOB. As a result, clouds have quickly subsided with the onset of sunset this evening. Winds have also subsided this evening over the past hour. A cool night is anticipated with lows around 50 east of the Blue Ridge Mountains and 40s west. A few spots at the higher elevations could drop in the low to mid 30s. Have expanded frost advisories up through Garrett county, MD tonight given expected cooler temperatures and more moisture laying around from recent rains.
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&& .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... High pressure will settle overhead Fri with light winds and plenty of sunshine. Temps will continue to run below normal and new Frost Advisories may be needed again for those same areas as tonight. High pressure shifts offshore Saturday with southerly winds returning boosting daytime temperatures. There will be plenty of high clouds Saturday resulting in partly sunny skies. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Upper level ridging will begin to buckle while surface high pressure slides offshore Sunday into the early part of next week. This will give way to a zonal flow pattern aloft allowing a series of disturbances to pivot east from the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region. With high pressure offshore, low level moisture will be allowed to return on south to southwesterly flow. This will also boost temperatures back above average across the region leading to an increasingly unstable airmass heading into the early and middle part of the new workweek. With that said, daily chances for showers and thunderstorms exist each afternoon through Wednesday. 06/12z synoptic/ensemble guidance have trended slower with the moisture and disturbances reaching the forecast area, so have favored lower precipitation chances east of the Blue Ridge Sunday and Monday compared to areas west where orographic lifting can aid in convective development. The threat for showers and thunderstorms becomes a bit more widespread Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons given the uptick in moisture as well as instability from the increased temperatures across the region. More organized convection looks to hold off beyond the extended period as a cold front enters the region from the Ohio River Valley. Rainfall amounts are expected to be light at this point and no severe weather is anticipated at this point. Neither SPC nor WPC have highlighted any threats over the region for the period at this time. Even with that said, CSU Learning Machine Probabilities and CIPS analogues continue to point toward stronger storms during the Wednesday and Thursday timeframe. This is in association with a cold front that will slowly progress eastward by the latter half of next week. We will continue to monitor this threat over the next several days. Temperatures will creep back toward normal Sunday and Monday before heading back above normal midweek. Highs will warm back into the low to mid 80s Sunday and Monday with upper 80s midweek. 850 mb temperatures running +12 to +16 degrees C. Overnight lows will return to the mid to upper 50s and low 60s. && .AVIATION /01Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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VFR conditions are expected at all terminals through Saturday. Winds will remain out of the north Friday before turning southerly Saturday. Speeds will remain light at 5 to 15 kts. VFR conditions are expected Sunday with high pressure just offshore. A slight chance for a few thunderstorms is possible mainly at terminals along and west of a line from KMRB down to KCHO. Some restrictions are possible in and around any thunderstorm activity that may form. Higher chances for more widespread restrictions from shower and thunderstorm activity are possible during the afternoon and evening hours Monday through Wednesday as multiple pieces of shortwave energy push through. Highest chances for thunderstorms will be at terminals west of a line from KHGR/KMRB/KIAD south toward KCHO and KLYH.
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&& .MARINE...
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Winds briefly subside this evening before picking back up early Friday morning, especially over the open waters of the bay and lower tidal Potomac. Sub-SCA level winds are expected late Friday afternoon through Saturday as high pressure settles overhead. Winds will become light and variable before switching to the south Saturday afternoon. Sub-SCA level winds are expected Sunday into Monday. South to southeasterly winds return Sunday as high pressure pushes off the southeast U.S coast. An isolated shower or thunderstorm cannot be ruled out due to the bay breeze Sunday afternoon/evening. Better chances for showers and thunderstorms exists Monday through Wednesday as multiple disturbances pass through. Cannot completely rule out the need for a Special Marine Warning for any strong storms that cross the waters during that period.
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&& .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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DC...None. MD...Frost Advisory from 2 AM to 8 AM EDT Friday for MDZ001. VA...Frost Advisory from 2 AM to 8 AM EDT Friday for VAZ503. WV...Frost Advisory from 2 AM to 8 AM EDT Friday for WVZ501-505. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 2 AM to 11 AM EDT Friday for ANZ530>534-537>543.
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&& $$ SYNOPSIS...EST NEAR TERM...LFR/CJL SHORT TERM...LFR LONG TERM...EST AVIATION...LFR/CJL/EST MARINE...LFR/CJL/EST