Forecast Discussions mentioning any of "HRRR" "RAP" "RUC13" "RUC" "RR" received at GSD on 09/30/16


Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Binghamton NY
1036 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Unsettled and occasionally wet weather will continue through the weekend as a large and slow moving storm system impacts the region. Drier conditions are expected early next week as that system weakens. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/... 1030 PM Update... New area of rain over Eastern PA and NYC area finaly making more progress into our area. The latest HRRR while slightly fast and too far north, is handling this area of precipitation the best. Much like last night however I had to tighten our gradient with rain approaching so slowly. The 1036 MB high over eastern Quebec is allowing enough ridging and drier air at low levels to really impede the northward progression of the rain, much like it has most of the past 24 hours. Slowly this shield of rain will move northwest across our CWA but may not reach Binghamton area until just after midnight. Rainfall amounts are fairly light, or just a few tenths of an inch. The previous AFD is below. 130 pm update... Two main weather players will remain dominant this period; the large cutoff low in the Ohio Valley and the expansive surface high over southeastern Canada. An east-southeast flow will continue across central NY/northeastern PA around these features. Showers are temporarily rotating northwestward and out of the forecast area this afternoon. As somewhat drier air pushes in from New England, we will be generally rain-free from late this afternoon through a good portion of tonight. Later tonight and Friday, another area of moisture and lift will move in from the southeast (seen on radar imagery as an area of steadier rain at this time over southern NJ and along the Delmarva coast). This will lead to a lowering of clouds and increasing coverage of light rain. Thus, shower probabilities will increase into the likely range again for at least northeastern PA and NY`s southern tier. Highs Friday (similar to today), should range from the upper 50s- mid 60s. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... 415 PM Update... Cutoff low will remain almost stuck in position through the weekend. It will be initially parked over the Lower Ohio Valley to Western Great Lakes, with shortwaves ahead around it from south to north through our region. Showers will be possible at just about anytime depending on timing of the individual waves, though with enhancements during the daytimes due to the energy injected via diurnal heating. With the good deal of cloud cover through the weekend, the temperature range will be fairly narrow. Highs will trend from mainly lower-mid 60s Saturday, to mid 60s-near 70 Sunday. A few spots in the northeastern zones could manage upper 40s for lows Friday night, otherwise lows over the weekend will generally be lower to mid 50s. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... 415 PM Update... Upper low will be filling in and weakening early next week. It will try to progress through the area but there is uncertainty on how long that will take. Temperatures will change little, and there will still be a fair amount of clouds around. However, with the upper low weakening, shower chances appear slight at best early next week. && .AVIATION /03Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... VFR conditions across the board this evening will deteriorate through the overnight hours, as another area of lower stratus clouds and light rain moves in. MVFR clouds will spread northward tonight and begin to impact KAVP around 08-10z. The low clouds will slowly push north and impact KBGM, KELM and KITH through the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon...with periods of IFR possible. Areas to the north...KSYR and KRME will likely see VFR conditions through the period...but a brief rain shower and temporary MVFR cigs cannot be ruled out. Conditions should start to improve around or just after 00Z Saturday. Easterly surface winds 5-10 kt will persist with a few gusts to 15 kt in the morning. OUTLOOK... Saturday night-Sunday...Occasional restrictions possible from lower ceilings and showers. Monday-Tuesday...Mostly VFR. Early morning fog possible at KELM. && .BGM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...None. NY...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...MDP NEAR TERM...Heden/MLJ SHORT TERM...MDP LONG TERM...MDP AVIATION...BJT/MLJ
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
933 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 930 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 At 930 PM CDT Bowman radar indicated a few showers just southwest of the state. The forecast is trending ok starting a slight chance of showers just before midnight southwest. Temperatures and winds look good. Current forecast trending ok. UPDATE Issued at 633 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Surface low pressure across eastern Montana will be the focus for scattered showers tonight west. Latest HRRR model continues to show scattered showers southwest after 10 PM CDT. Currently skies are clear but clouds will soon arrive from WY/MT. So far forecast is trending well. Will only need to update current conditions. && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Friday) Issued at 225 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Isolated to scattered showers tonight into Friday morning west into the north central highlights the short term forecast. The 12 UTC global and the high resolution rapidly updating suites through 17 UTC are in agreement on a shortwave across Wyoming this afternoon propagating northeast tonight into western North Dakota. Isolated to scattered showers are forecast with this wave across the west and north central tonight into Friday morning. There is a small chance of a thunderstorm with steep mid level lapse rates, however, not much lightning has been observed with this wave thus far across Wyoming this afternoon. .LONG TERM...(Friday night through Thursday) Issued at 225 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Increasing precipitation potential early to mid next week highlights the extended forecast. The 12 UTC global suites are in general agreement on an upper level low coming onshore to northern California or Oregon Sunday potentially propagating into the Central or Northern Plains Tuesday into Thursday. While there is a spread amongst the guidance suite in the track of the low, the feature itself is favored. This system will have to be monitored for potential widespread precipitation including the slight chance for a few snowflakes mixing in on the back side of the low Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Prior to the arrival of the low Sunday into Monday, there is a chance of showers and thunderstorms with impulses embedded in southwest flow aloft. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday evening) Issued at 633 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Hazards to aviation include low level wind shear. Surface low pressure across eastern Montana will move very slowly east tonight and Friday. The low will be the focus for scattered showers over western North Dakota tonight. Included wind shear for KISN-KMOT- KBIS for increasing low level winds to 35kts at 2 thousand agl. Otherwise VFR at all TAF sites. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ UPDATE...WAA AVIATION...WAA
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service State College PA
1127 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Showery conditions will prevail overnight. Any flooding would be localized and minor with little in the way of impacts. Unsettled weather with occasional lighter rain showers will persist into the weekend with a gradual drying trend by early next week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 8 AM FRIDAY MORNING/... Still a neat little box around 95 pct of central PA where no radar echoes exist. It is drizzly at may locations, but that stuff is too low (and the droplets too tiny for most 10cm radars) to pick up. A slight increase in radar echoes is starting to move in from the south and precip in DE also sliding just a little to the west of north. HRRR and RAP doing well with the first couple of hours in the past few runs, so higher than normal confidence exists that they will do well with the rest of the night. 00Z NAM arriving and continues to make heavier rain than other mdls. The placement of the heavier rain is mainly to the east of the Susq and is an area where generally less rainfall occurred. That area has also had a decent break of time since any real rain has occurred. Grid work with this update was mainly to dip the POPs to =<20pct in the north for the next few hrs. However, the guidance is big on developing the precip associated with a wave moving up the MidAtlantic coast. This area would then blossom as it enters eastern PA and make the heaviest rain in the east for a few hours either side of sunrise while lifting north. The northern mtns should then have their best shot at some rain during the daytime on Fri. Prev... Rainfall down to nil at the moment with central PA in the dry slot between a higher plume of moisture to the east and another to the west. Newest progs yield only light to what might be considered modest amounts of rainfall through sunrise. 18Z NAM seems like a high-end outlier on QPF amount - and only for a small area. Stream response has been very little if anything on the medium to larger streams. Even NAM amounts and placement will not cause widespread flooding problems. The ground and still-growing vegetation are gladly soaking it up. Have decided to chop the rest of the Flood Watch off. Have adjusted POPs in the very near term to account for the dry slot and GFS/HRRR/RAP evolution of the rain for the rest of the night. Prev... 2.5 to 3.5 inch amounts feel across southern tier overnight through midday...with higher amounts likely on the east facing slopes occurred across the southern tier. Flooding threat remains...albeit low...with upslope areas susceptible to any persistent upslope or training convective showers over the next 18 hours which could add another 1 to as much as 2 inches in some spots. Dry slot over western PA with high cloud covering eastern brought transition to low topped open cellular activity propagating from southeast to northwest today. Thus a more showery regime took over with times of little or no rainfall and other times with brief moderate to heavy rates accumulating a few tenths of an inch at time. Moderate PW transport along with some elevated instability will maintain a favorable environment for mdt-heavy rain/efficient rainfall processes through this evening, while increasingly diffluent flow aloft supports some training bands in addition to the trend to low topped open cellular character. In fact...training bands have organized over nrn VA/MD at mid afternoon and are moving into the Laurels and South Central Mountains...as anticipated earlier. Still expecting storm totals of 2-4" over the remaining flood watch area with locally 5"+ possible along the east-facing slopes and highest terrain. Very dry antecedent conditions resulting in 3-6hr FFG values of 4+ inches along with below normal stream flows should help to mitigate flooding to some extent, however if the higher end amounts are realized flooding impacts/runoff issues could become more serious. && .SHORT TERM /8 AM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH 6 PM FRIDAY/... The Large low will be quasi stationary and will continue to stream moisture into Southwestern PA through tomorrow. Strong E-SE LLJ and above normal PW along with associated forcing on east/southeast side of upper low favors scattered to numerous lighter rain showers through the period. The mid range models are keying in on a mid level short wave trough that forms to the east of the low and should increase rainfall rates and amounts through Central PA as it is coupled with the LLJ and the PWATS. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... The upper level low will continue to spin slowly northward into MI and continue on into Southern Canada. The low will slowly be pulled into the upper level flow and cold air advection will filter into the region early into next week. The final vestiges of the low that has dominated our weather pattern this week will finally lift and move off coast by mid next week by the upstream amplifying trough over the central CONUS. High pressure should regain control of the large scale pattern. The 12Z GFS comes more into alignment with the EC however the EC continues the path of the TC Matthew much slower and keeps it off the coast of Florida, where the GFS brings the projected path up the Atlantic coast and has the system nearing the NC coast by Thursday morning. Temperatures will be slightly below normal through the weekend, before shifting to slightly above normal by the middle of next week. && .AVIATION /04Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Minor changes made to 03Z TAFS. Low clouds and areas of light rain, drizzle, and fog will linger across the area, given strong easterly flow of moisture off the ocean. MVFR to LIFR conditions will prevail into at least Friday. Again, not much change expected overnight or on Friday. Outlook... Sat...Low cigs/showers likely, mainly w mtns. Sun...AM low cigs possible. Mon...Showers/cig reductions possible at KBFD. Tue...Fair. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...DeVoir/Steinbugl NEAR TERM...Dangelo/DeVoir/Steinbugl SHORT TERM...DeVoir/Ceru/Steinbugl LONG TERM...Ceru/Steinbugl AVIATION...Martin
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Duluth MN
645 PM CDT THU SEP 29 2016 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Friday) Issued at 340 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Despite a broad area of high pressure across the Upper Midwest, much of northern Minnesota and parts of northwest Wisconsin are under a stubborn cloud deck trapped within an inversion. Still, it looks like late today this inversion should somewhat mix out resulting in clearing across parts of the region, though by that point the high pressure will departing to the north. Tonight clouds return as the abundant boundary layer moisture condenses, resulting in a stratus deck. While this still looks to be the coolest night of the week, the cloud cover will limit lows to the mid 40s, though some spots across the MN Arrowhead could fall to the low 40s if skies are not as cloudy as currently anticipated. MOS guidance has been consistently cooler with lows close to freezing in some runs, but looking at the actual text bulletin, it appears MOS might not be taking into account the stratus we expect to develop. The upper level low responsible for all this low level moisture - currently over the Tennessee Valley - decides to take a visit back to the Great Lakes this weekend, and as it approaches from the southeast, low level winds will be out of the east tonight into Friday. This will result in the dry slot evident on water vapor and visible satellite imagery to build into the Northland, finally resulting in what should be a mostly sunny afternoon across the Northland. Temperatures will be warmer with highs in the mid to upper 60s, except near Lake Superior and especially in the Twin Ports and along the south shore where winds off the lake will limit highs to the upper 50s to near 60. .LONG TERM...(Friday night through Thursday) Issued at 340 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 The forecast area will remain positioned between low pressure rotating to our south near Chicago, and high pressure anchored to the north over Ontario. This will keep majority of the Northland dry through the weekend. The exception will be a chance for light rain possibly pushing as far north as the Park Falls area in northern Wisconsin Saturday. The resulting pressure gradient will allow for east winds to prevail across the Northland through the weekend. The flow will turn southerly and strengthen through the beginning of next week as the next low pressure system advances into the Dakotas. Latest runs of the GFS/ECM are in surprisingly good agreement with the low that will impact the region next week considering its out on day 5 and beyond. The long wave trough, with closed 500hPa low, is projected make landfall on the western coast Sunday, then migrate east across the central US and into the Northern Plains by Wednesday. This track will allow for a warm front to lift over the region early in the week, bringing a surge of warm gulf air along with a chance for showers and thunderstorms with it. Once the low passes over the western Lake Superior region and cold air advection makes a return for the upcoming weekend, a much cooler airmass with 850hPa temps well below zero will dive into the Northland. This may be our first shot at light snow accumulations along the borderland. However, suspect overall timing of the long wave trough and associated stacked low/precipitation chances will be slower than currently in forecast. This is due to model bias of typically progressing closed systems too fast, as well as the impact of the tropical storm approaching the east coast during this time; which the GFS and ECM are showing large differences with. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday evening) Issued at 645 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 High pressure centered just north of Lake Superior with a ridge extending southwest through Minnesota will only move slightly north through the period. VFR ceilings over northeast Minnesota are expected to continue to slowly diminish per the latest RAP and satellite supports a slow clearing trend. However, MVFR and IFR ceilings are expected to expand in a persistent easterly flow. Fog will also be possible tonight and we have a mention in the TAFs later tonight into Friday morning. The lower ceilings and fog are expected to lift Friday morning leading to VFR conditions. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DLH 43 60 49 62 / 0 0 0 0 INL 43 65 45 66 / 10 0 0 0 BRD 46 68 47 66 / 0 0 0 0 HYR 44 65 47 63 / 0 10 10 10 ASX 47 57 50 61 / 10 10 10 10 && .DLH Watches/Warnings/Advisories... WI...None. MN...None. LS...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...JJM LONG TERM...Graning AVIATION...Melde
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
650 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 ...Updated Aviation Discussion... .SHORT TERM.../This evening through Friday/ Issued at 334 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Little of concern tonight outside of possible fog redevelopment. The Ohio Valley upper low should remain nearly stationary with clear skies across Iowa. The broad low level cyclonic flow continues to drawn in some lower humidities, especially east, however the latest RAP shows somewhat higher 0-500m RH north and west. This is also where early morning stratus and fog lingered so have introduced some patchy fog wording there early in the morning with clear skies and light wind. .LONG TERM.../Friday night through Thursday/ Issued at 334 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 The more likely window for sensible weather through this period will be toward the middle of next week, although the current Ohio Valley upper low may just brush Iowa with light precip over the weekend. The models are in good agreement drifting the system back to southern Lake Michigan by late Saturday. The forcing will be neutral or subsident but increasing moisture 3km and below may be sufficient to squeeze out some light showers east. The system should finally depart to end the weekend as the western CONUS trough advances. This will increase temps and moisture somewhat as return flow begins and ridging enters Iowa. The GFS and ECMWF are now fairly consistent and suggest deep forcing increasing west to east Tuesday Night into Wednesday. Timing is still somewhat suspect however with the ECMWF frontal passage much faster, so while the best window appears to be around Wednesday have lingered some low PoPs east into Thursday. Instability looks weak regardless of the solution, but both deep and shallow shear are quite high. This suggests somewhat of a weak, subtle fall QLCS tornado threat if diurnal timing is favorable due to the high shear values 3km and below. && .AVIATION.../For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday evening/ Issued at 650 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 VFR conditions will prevail through the entire forecast period. Fog is possible by Friday morning and may impact FOD and MCW, but low confidence in mentioning attm. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && $$ SHORT TERM...Small LONG TERM...Small AVIATION...Podrazik
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
650 PM CDT THU SEP 29 2016 ...AVIATION UPDATE... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 300 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 18Z surface analysis has high pressure from the upper Great Lakes into the southern Plains while a cut off upper low was over the lower Ohio Valley. Dew points were in the 40s and 50s from the Plains into the Ohio Valley. && .SHORT TERM...(This Evening through Friday) ISSUED AT 300 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Through sunset, mainly clear skies will be seen across much of the area with clouds and isolated showers/sprinkles across the far eastern parts of the area. After sunset and through much of the evening, isolated sprinkles/showers will gradually decay across the far east. The upper low over Kentucky will remain there through Friday. Trends with the RAP and other models indicate another surge of low clouds will spread west again after midnight with widespread cloud cover over the eastern two thirds of the area around sunrise Friday. On Friday, several additional upper level disturbances will rotate through the area. These disturbances will slowly spread isolated to scattered rain showers west across the area during the day. The initial dryness of the air indicates some chilly temperatures are possible tonight, especially those areas that remain clear. On Friday, cloud cover/precipitation will make temperatures very interesting. High temperatures should eventually get into the 60s at some point during the afternoon. .LONG TERM...(Friday Night through Thursday) ISSUED AT 300 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Forecast focus on chance of showers early in the extended then chance of thunderstorms about the middle of next week. Friday night through Saturday: Vertically stacked upper low in KY will track slowly northward into northern Indiana. The cyclonic flow/cold pocket around the low will bring a mostly cloudy sky to the dvn cwa, along with scattered showers. The higher pops (40-50 pct) will be kept roughly along and east of the MS River, closer to the low. In our far western counties pops will be in the 20-30 pct range. Highs on Saturday should range from 65 to 70 due to the extensive thick cloud cover. Saturday night through Tuesday night: A pleasant stretch of weather expected, dry with a warming trend. The upper low will be shifting into the eastern Great Lakes during the weekend, while ridging aloft builds into the cwa. Highs will be in the upper 60s to lower 70s on Sunday, warming well into the 70s by Tuesday. Lows will be mainly in the 50s. Wednesday through Thursday: Low confidence due to potential Tropical Storm or Hurricane Matthew moving up the East Coast (GFS) vs the system still near the Bahamas (ECMWF). Both models sweep a negative- tilt trough/strong cold front into the Midwest, accompanied by showers and thunderstorms. So, there are two scenarios 1) the tropical system slows the approaching trough or 2) the trough sweeps to the east and merges with the tropical system. As of now, the ECM with the slower movement to "Matthew" sweeps the cold front across the cwa on Wednesday. On the other hand, with the tropical system moving up the East Coast the GFS is about 24 hours later with the arrival of the front. The consensus model has chance pops to cover the two scenarios described above. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday Evening) ISSUED AT 644 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Wrap around clouds from a stalled upper low pressure system on the Ohio valley will bring mostly bkn-ovc cigs with VFR conditions initially dropping to 1-3K AGL or MVFR conditions toward morning into the late morning hours before rising above 3k AGL. Winds will be north to northeast at generally 10 to 15 MPH. && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 1224 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Mississippi River: Latest adjustments that were made was to slightly lower crest forecasts at most points but minor to major flooding continues to be on track. Forecast point DLDI4 Dubuque is expected to crest right at flood stage with major flooding still expected at New Boston, Keithsburg, Gladstone and Burlington. Majority of the crests are projected to occur during the Saturday through Monday time frame. No significant rain is expected through the middle of next week. Cedar River... Vinton: Forecast to fall below flood stage by Friday morning. Cedar Rapids: Forecast to fall below major flood stage by late tonight. Conesville: Cresting near 18.1 feet through this evening before beginning to slowly fall. Wapsipinicon River... Anamosa Shaw Rd: Forecast to fall below moderate flood stage by the late evening. De Witt 4S: Now into major flood stage. Thinking current crest forecast at 13.4 feet is on the upper end of possible outcomes. Reasonably high probability the final crest is a bit lower. Iowa River... Marengo: Moderate flood stage is forecast by Friday afternoon or evening. Columbus Junction: Major flooding is occurring. Rate of rise has slowed but is forecast to increase tonight. Oakville and Wapello: Moderate confidence is associated with the crest forecasts. Current thinking is crest forecasts are toward the upper range of what is possible; observed crests may come in lower. Please follow forecast information closely throughout this event. && .DVN Watches/Warnings/Advisories... IA...NONE. IL...NONE. MO...NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...08 SHORT TERM...08 LONG TERM...Haase AVIATION...Nichols HYDROLOGY...Haase/Uttech
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
812 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 805 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Low pressure will slowly drift back north into Michigan and eventually Ontario over the next couple of days. Occasional showers will occur overnight into Friday and then chances diminish gradually through the weekend. then starting this evening and persisting into Saturday. Highs will remain near to slightly above normal in the middle 60s to lower 70s with lows in the 50s for the next several days. && .SHORT TERM...(This Evening through Friday) Issued at 237 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Thus far this afternoon convection has been to the north and west of the area with other activity rotating towards the northwest from eastern/central Ohio associated with the next wave. This activity will pose the main concern mid evening into early Friday with potential for pockets of moderate to heavy rain possible. Before then expecting more of a hit and miss convective regime with some potential expansion in the 21 to 00z window before diminishing. Used HRRR experimental as it keyed in well yesterday on convective development and has been overall decent today. May need a further increase/expansion in pops given upstream trends but for now have held no more than likely pops. Coverage will increase even further Friday as strongest wave rotates around the upper low and it moves back north across the area. Severe weather not anticipated but could see some small hail with the stronger cells. && .LONG TERM...(Friday Night through Thursday) Issued at 237 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Deep upper low will final begin to make a trek back towards the north into Ontario Sunday and eventually New England by Tuesday. Several pieces of energy will still be rotating around the low to bring periodic chances for showers (storms?) into Saturday with trends finally heading towards drier conditions Sunday and especially Monday through Wednesday. While convection will mainly be diurnally driven Sat afternoon/eve chance will exist just about anytime so will maintain chance or slight chance pops outside time frames with greatest potential. A period of above normal temperatures will arrive with highs well into the 70s through Wednesday as yet another trough digs into the Plains with models differing on exact handling and timing as what will likely be Hurricane Matthew may be raising havoc with the upper level flow mid to late week. Slight chance to chance pops mainly west Weds Ngt into Thursday as main dynamics remain to the west. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday Evening) Issued at 810 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Stacked deep low pressure center over central Kentucky will oscillate with a slow transition northward into far southern Indiana by late Friday evening. First in a series of circumferential channeled shortwaves to impact northern Indiana at start of forecast period and expect a sharp drop in ceilings/shra shortly and again another bout early Friday morning that should saturate downward into predominately IFR primarily due to ceilings. Cool/saturated airmass to likely lend very slow improvement by midday and likely remain at or below fuel/ alternate levels for much of the daytime hours. && .IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IN...NONE. MI...NONE. OH...NONE. LM...Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM EDT Friday for LMZ043-046. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Murphy SHORT TERM...Fisher LONG TERM...Fisher AVIATION...Murphy Visit us at www.weather.gov/iwx Follow us on Facebook...Twitter...and YouTube at: www.facebook.com/NWSNorthernIndiana www.twitter.com/nwsiwx www.youtube.com/NWSNorthernIndiana
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Jackson KY
1050 PM EDT Thu Sep 29 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 1050 PM EDT THU SEP 29 2016 Showers continue to move NW across the Bluegrass and far eastern KY and mean while the showers across the Lake Cumberland region continue to diminish. The overall better coverage resides in the Bluegrass where cloud tops actually cooled slightly this evening. Therefore went categorical POPs in this region, and the HRRR seemed to provide the best trend and initialization. However wane these showers over the next 3 hours as models and analysis would suggest including the HRRR. Also added patchy dense fog into the grids and will be most prevalent in heavier showers and areas that have seen more rain through the day. Other minor adjustments to obs and trend will wrap up this update. UPDATE Issued at 656 PM EDT THU SEP 29 2016 The more scattered coverage of showers and isolated storms resides across the far east this evening and another area of just showers across the Lake Cumberland region this hour. Between these two areas is a relative lull and even clearing skies. This is all being aided by a upper level low that is generally centered across south central KY this evening. Overall think the forecast package in the near term looks on track and will have to keep a eye on radar trends through the night. Did opt to remove thunder after 01Z, but kept in through then given the isolated strikes we have seen in the far east toward Letcher and Martin Counties. Otherwise only minor updates to latest obs and trends were needed. && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Friday night) Issued at 440 PM EDT THU SEP 29 2016 19z sfc (and aloft) analysis shows a stacked low spinning over Central Kentucky. This is clearly seen in the movement of the scattered convection throughout the region as well as the clouds on visible satellite. The convection was and is best developed in far eastern Kentucky - particularly in RLX`s area where some large hail has fallen. In fact, the storms to the east have been well organized with decent low level rotation and evidence of splitting cells. Will have to keep an eye on the far east and northeast parts of the area into the evening. Temperatures did not recover much from overnight lows today thanks to the clouds and pcpn. At 3 pm readings varied from the mid 50s in the east with the steadier rains to the lower 60s over the somewhat drier Cumberland Valley. Winds have been light and variable through the day with a tendency for them to come out of the north and northwest while dewpoints have fallen into the low to mid 50s most places. The models are in good agreement aloft through the short term portion of the forecast. They all depict a bowling ball of low heights centered over Central Kentucky through midday Friday. This feature will then meander back north to northwest into Saturday morning. Plenty of energy accompanies the heart of the low and will continue to spin over Kentucky. Late in the period there are some differences starting to show up among the models with the GFS the slowest to ease away from JKL and the NAM slightly quicker. Given the similarities in guidance will favor a blended solution with emphasis on the HRRR in the near term. Sensible weather will feature a chilly and damp evening for most with a potential for a couple of thunderstorms in the far east. Some small hail cannot be ruled out from any stronger storm that develop given the low freezing level. Fog will be possible overnight and not just confined to the valleys as stratus is expected to build down on the ridges, as well. Look for mainly a few scattered showers around the fringes of the CWA later tonight through Friday as the core of the upper low slips off to the west and we start to dry out. Clouds will remain, though, limiting the diurnal rise and fall through the rest of the forecast, but highs should be a category or two higher than today. Used the CONSShort and ShortBlend as a starting point for most grids into Friday morning with the SuperBlend used thereafter. Made only minor changes to the T grids based on our terrain. As for PoPs - ended up similar to a MOS blend through Saturday morning. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 325 PM EDT THU SEP 29 2016 The extended period should feature isolated rain showers to begin the period Saturday and Sunday, as a slow moving area of low pressure slowly rotates through the region. They system will have only meager lift an moisture associated with it, so any showers that form with it should be isolated to scattered at best, mainly for the western and northern portions of the forecast area. Once the upper low rotates out of the Ohio Valley and out of our area Sunday evening, the remainder of the extended should be dry and pleasant. A ridge of high pressure is forecast to settle over the region through out the upcoming work week, which would bring mostly clear to partly cloud skies, dry conditions, and light winds to eastern Kentucky. Daily highs are expected to top out in the 70s for most locations. A few spots along and south of the Hal Rogers Parkway and Highway corridor may reach or slightly exceed 80 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday. Nightly lows should bottom out in the 50s. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday evening) ISSUED AT 730 PM EDT THU SEP 29 2016 Starting out with lower CIGS at JKL,SYM, and SJS this evening and western sites seeing VFR. Overall think areas that saw decent rainfall today will stand the best chances for fog issues overnight. Therefore went for a period of IFR VIS across site of SYM and SJS. Other sites have been Trace and more hit or miss. The other issue the forecast soundings would suggest the potential for a stratus build down and therefore went at least MVFR CIGs for all the sites. This will clear through the morning on Friday as we get into the dry slot. Given the placement of the upper level low winds will be light through the period. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ UPDATE...DJ SHORT TERM...GREIF LONG TERM...AR AVIATION...DJ
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated
National Weather Service Saint Louis MO
928 PM CDT THU SEP 29 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 915 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Clouds will continue to rotate through our area for the rest of tonight on the backside of the slow moving, deep upper level low over KY. Scattered showers, mainly light were also moving through parts of southwest IL and east central and southeast MO this evening. Looking at the latest NAM and HRRR model runs it appears that any showers late tonight will likely be confined to parts of southwest IL. These clouds will help to keep the temperatures from getting quite as cold as last night. GKS && .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Friday Afternoon) Issued at 233 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Focus continues to low system over the OH Valley region. This low will continue to linger in the area and actually move west slightly thru Fri. Clouds will continue to spread across the area tonight thru Fri with showers mainly east of the MS River. Latest guidance continues to suggest a threat for thunder across far ern portions of the CWA on Fri afternoon and have kept a slight chance mention. The extensive cloud cover will help to keep temps relatively warm tonight and cool on Fri and have trended temps accordingly. Tilly .LONG TERM... (Friday Night through Next Thursday) Issued at 233 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Models continue to have upper level low sit and spin over Ohio Valley through first part of weekend, then begin to lift out to the northeast Saturday night. So will have lingering precipitation chances Friday night and Saturday in active cyclonic flow under mostly cloudy skies. Otherwise, temperatures to begin moderating for the last half of the weekend and into early next week with highs in the mid to upper 70s, maybe even low 80s for portions of the area by next Wednesday. In the meantime, next system to approach the region by Wednesday, a bit slower than previously forecast, so kept Tuesday night dry for everyone now and lowered pops a bit on Wednesday. Best chances of rain will be Wednesday night and Thursday as strong cold front moves through. Byrd && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Friday Evening) Issued at 552 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Nearly stationary upper level low and surface troughing was over KY with an upper level ridge and surface ridging over the Plains. Low level clouds along with a few light showers continue to rotate through eastern MO and IL on the backside of the low. The MOS guidance was consistent in lowering the cloud ceiling down to around 1000 feet late tonight. The cloud ceilng should gradually rise late Friday morning and afternoon, but not likely above MVFR. More significant showers should remain east of the taf sites tonight, with scattered showers for UIN and the St Louis metro area Friday afternoon. N-nwly surface winds will continue through the period. SPECIFICS FOR KSTL: Nearly stationary upper level low and surface troughing was over KY with an upper level ridge and surface ridging over the Plains. Low level clouds along with a few light showers continue to rotate through eastern MO and IL on the backside of the low. The MOS guidance was consistent in lowering the cloud ceiling down to around 1000 feet late tonight. The cloud ceilng should gradually rise late Friday morning and afternoon, but not likely above MVFR. More significant showers should remain east of the taf sites tonight, with scattered showers for STL Friday afternoon. N-nwly surface winds will continue through the period. GKS && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Saint Louis 57 69 58 71 / 20 60 20 20 Quincy 54 67 58 69 / 10 30 30 30 Columbia 53 68 57 71 / 10 10 10 20 Jefferson City 53 68 57 71 / 10 10 10 20 Salem 54 67 54 70 / 40 60 40 20 Farmington 53 65 55 70 / 20 30 10 20 && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...None. IL...None. && $$ WFO LSX
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service State College PA
526 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Showery conditions will prevail today and tonight, especially across the southern half of the state. Unsettled weather with occasional light rain showers will persist through the weekend with a gradual drying trend by early next week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... Two primary area of showers will continue through this morning, mainly across southern and eastern portions of the forecast area. The first plume of showers on a SE to NW axis across south-central PA and the Laurel Highlands coincided with a strong 45 kt serly LLJ, and enhanced upper level divergence/uvvel within the thermally direct cell associated with the right entrance region of a 90 kt/300 mb jet. The second area of mdt to hvy rain was being created by a similarly strong, nearly 4 sigma, 40-45 kt easterly 850 mb jet off the Atlantic transporting very high, 2-2.5 inch PWAT air over the coastal front. Heaviest rainfall rates of 2-5 tenths of an inch per hour per Dual Pol DPR product estimates are seen across the western Poconos and portions of the Lower and Mid Susq River Valley. The latest...07Z run of the HRRR tracks this area of enhanced moderately heavy rain NWWD across the Middle and West branch valleys of the Susq and north-central mtns during the mid to late morning hours...before carrying it north of the PA/NY border by 14Z, leaving mainly scattered showers across the CWA for the midday and afternoon hours. Outside of these primary rain areas, look for overcast skies with brief...scattered showers along with areas of drizzle and fog at elevations AOA 1800 ft MSL. Temps to start the day will be in the low-mid 50s in most locations. Winds will persist from the east to northeast at 8-12 kts. The Large low will be quasi stationary and will continue to stream moisture into Southwestern PA through much of today. Strong E-SE LLJ and above normal PW along with associated forcing on east/southeast side of upper low favors scattered to numerous lighter rain showers through the period across the Laurels. The highest rain chances this afternoon will once again be focused across the SE half of the state, but should be generally light and under 0.10 per hour, with 10-hour basin average amounts mainly under 0.25 of an inch. Afternoon max temps will only reach the upper 50s across the higher terrain of the north and west...and lower 60s throughout the valleys of central and southern PA. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH 6 PM SATURDAY/... Greatest deep layer convergence appears to become focused across the western mtns of PA tonight and early Saturday...before shifting into Central PA for the late morning and afternoon hours Saturday. Expect to see rather low coverage of showers at any one time. However, a few narrow north-south bands of mdt showers should shift gradually east across the region during the day Saturday, bringing additional light 12-hour rainfall amounts of 2 tenths or less to many locations. A few locations could see over one half of an inch where an hour or so of training showers occur. Will follow the cooler EC and NAM guidance for max temps ranging from the upper 50s across the higher...to mid 60s in the Susq Valley on Saturday. GFS MOS guidance looks to be up to several deg too warm considering solid overcast and persistent llvl easterly flow. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... GEFS and latest operational models track the initially cut-off upper level low slowly northward from the Lower Ohio Valley to southern Lake Huron during the 12z Sat to 12z Sunday period. The low will slowly blend into the upper level northwesterly flow over Sern Canada Sun-Mon and cold air advection will filter into the region early into next week. The final vestiges of the low that has dominated our weather pattern this week will finally slide off the New England coast by the middle of next week thanks to an upstream amplifying trough over the central CONUS. High pressure should regain control of our weather here in PA for Tue into early Thursday. The 00Z GEFS appears to be in close agreement with the previous 12Z GFS and EC with a path of Hurricane Matthew from the Bahamas to near the Outer Banks of NC during the 12Z Wed to 12Z Friday timeframe. The main concern here in Central PA would be a period of enhanced...deep easterly flow, clouds and perhaps a few periods of rain late next week...before the storm begins to drift NE and away from the Carolina and Mid Atlantic Coast. Temperatures will be slightly below normal through the weekend, before shifting to slightly above normal by the middle of next week...then possibly dipping back to near normal as clouds (at least the mid and high variety) thicken-up to the NW of Matthew. && .AVIATION /09Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Widespread MVFR-IFR conditions through tonight. Periods of rain moving SE-NW across the airspace early today with decreasing coverage by afternoon. Isolated LLWS possible 35-40KT from 090-120 degrees especially KBFD/KJST and may add with 09z update. Outlook... Sat...MVFR-IFR cigs. Ocnl -RA. Sun...MVFR cigs. Chc -RA. Mon-Tue...Gradual improvement likely. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Lambert/Steinbugl NEAR TERM...Lambert SHORT TERM...Lambert LONG TERM...Lambert/Steinbugl AVIATION...Steinbugl
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI
317 AM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .DISCUSSION... The regional radar show another round of showers advancing across much of the forecast area this morning. Recent radar trends indicate that the intensity and thus rainfall amounts through the morning rush hour will be much less than what occurred yesterday. This next round of rain is still associated with the quasi stationary upper low centered over Kentucky. The water vapor loop indicates good upper difluent flow across the upper Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes. There is also strong transport of Atlantic moisture extending from the Mid Atlantic region into the eastern Great Lakes. These factors are supporting the extensive swath of showers from Se Mi all the way to wrn Virginia. During the course of the day, the center of the upper low is forecast to only inch up toward the Indiana/Kentucky border. A strengthening of the cyclonically curved upper jet max to the east of the mid level circulation (across the Upper Ohio Valley) is forecast to increase upper divergence across Se Mi. This will then trigger an increase in mid level deformation across Srn Lower Mi. Model cross sections do show a rather deep layer of weak elevated convective instability with respect to a saturated air parcel. This does suggest the potential for the development of a rather deep mid level frontal circulation. The main forecast uncertainty at this point is the location of the more persistent mid level frontal forcing and thus heaviest rainfall today. The NAM and GFS continue to suggest this mid level frontal circulation focusing the more persistent rainfall from the northern Detroit suburbs up through the I-69 corridor into southern Saginaw county this afternoon into the evening. The HRRR and especially the ARW suggest the frontal dynamics will become established a little farther south (Metro Detroit/Ann Arbor south to the Ohio border). Given the compact nature of the upper low, it certainly seems possible for any mid level frontal forcing to set up farther south closer to the mid level low center. So it seems possible for locations (generally south of a Saginaw to Bad Axe line) to pick up another half inch to inch of rain, with a few locals receiving up to an additional two inches of rain. For this reason and and with some uncertainty where any nearly stationary bands of more moderate rain will set up later today, the current flood watch will remain intact. The upper low will inch its way northward across Indian tonight. The upper level divergence and better mid level frontal dynamics will slide to the west of the forecast area, while the feed of the Atlantic moisture fractures. This will lead to decreasing chances for showers during the night. While there is of course some slight differences amoung the 00Z model suite in the exact track of the upper low, they all suggest it will lift into srn Lower Mi on Saturday, then slowly depart to the east of the region Sunday into Monday. The associated cold pool aloft and resulting steep mid level lapse rates will reside over the forecast area Sat into at least early Sunday. This will support some redevelopment of showers and a few thunderstorms. The potential for deep convection within close proximity to the slow moving upper low could certainly support some additional localized heavy rainfall Sat into Sun. Ample cloud cover and showers will maintain a low diurnal spread in temps over the next three days (highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s). The departure of the upper low will bring drier and warmer conditions to the region for the first half of next week. && .MARINE... Stalled low pressure system south of the Great Lakes will maintain persistent fresh onshore flow into Saturday morning. This will warrant continuation of existing Small Craft Advisories for all nearshore zones due to both winds and elevated waves. Easterly winds will diminish in intensity and back to the northeast by the end of the weekend as the low begins to lift out of the area. && .HYDROLOGY... The pattern today will remain largely unchanged from yesterday. Rounds of showers will continue to pivot around a stalled low pressure system with additional rainfall totals of 2 inches possible on a local basis, including in the Detroit Metro area. The heaviest rain is forecast to fall between noon and 6pm today, mainly along and south of the I-69 corridor. Urban and small stream flooding will once again be possible along with minor flooding on area rivers. && .PREV DISCUSSION... Issued at 1158 PM EDT Thu SEP 29 2016 AVIATION... IFR ceiling will be widespread over SE Michigan during the night and through the morning. This will be mixed with mostly MVFR restriction in rain showers as they increase in coverage from Ohio. Nightfall and infusions of moisture into the boundary layer from rain will promote persistence of the low ceiling. MBS will have the best chance to waver between IFR and MVFR within the farther north reaches of the low pressure system and where the frequency of rain will be lower until later in the day. IFR visibility will be more dependent on coverage and duration of heavy rainfall as the surface wind will remain moderate from the east and prevent much fog component. Determination of coverage and duration of heavy rain remains a challenge to pin down outside of the 0-3 hr time range in this type of low pressure system. This is also the case for otherwise low thunderstorm potential which will remain out of the initial forecast and defer to later updates as needed. Ceiling and visibility conditions are expected to progress upward into MVFR assuming modest daytime heating during the afternoon will be sufficient to lift ceiling outside of heavier showers. For DTW... Ceiling on the cusp of IFR during the evening will settle below 1000 ft during the night and remain there through the morning. Visibility restriction remain mostly above 3 miles in moderate showers. The main concern in the absence of thunderstorms will be continued moderate northeast wind that will force traffic operations to the northeast through Friday evening. //DTW Threshold Probabilities... * High for ceiling 5000 ft or less through Friday evening. * Low for thunderstorms through Friday evening. && .DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...Flood Watch through this evening FOR MIZ060>063-068>070-075-076. Lake Huron...Small Craft Advisory until midnight EDT tonight FOR LHZ422. Small Craft Advisory until 5 AM EDT Saturday FOR LHZ421-441>443. Lake St Clair...Small Craft Advisory until midnight EDT tonight FOR LCZ460. Michigan waters of Lake Erie...Small Craft Advisory until midnight EDT tonight FOR LEZ444. && $$ DISCUSSION...SC MARINE.......JVC HYDROLOGY....JVC AVIATION.....BT You can obtain your latest National Weather Service forecasts online at www.weather.gov/detroit.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Flagstaff AZ
1005 PM MST THU SEP 29 2016 .SYNOPSIS...Chances for showers and thunderstorms continue across northern Arizona on Friday. Drier air is expected this weekend, followed by increasing southwest winds and cooler temperatures from a passing weather system early next week. && .DISCUSSION...Showers and thunderstorms have decreased across northern Arizona this evening. Will trim back POPS for eastern sections tonight. HRRR and NAM12 do show more development across far northwest Coconino County later tonight so will leave forecast alone over the Kaibab Plateau. && .PREV DISCUSSION /433 PM MST/...Satellite and radar imagery reveal decreased shower activity and cloud cover across most of northern Arizona south of Interstate 40. The remaining activity is expected to decrease in intensity while dissipating from south to north through the evening and overnight hours. With that said, some storms may persist in the White Mountains region into the overnight hours from convection moving northward from Graham and Greenlee counties. On Friday, drying conditions are forecast behind a passing trough. The forecast continues to call for chances of thunderstorms, but coverage is expected to be considerably less than today. Over the weekend, expect near average temperatures and dry weather as southwest flow develops ahead of a deep low pressure system approaching the west coast. Models continue to indicate that a west coast low will pass north of Arizona on Monday, pushing a cold front across the state. Winds along and ahead of the front could become strong with gusts 40+ mph a possibility. Most of the moisture with the system appears that it will stay north of the state at this point with only low PoPs for our forecast area. Daytime highs early next week should be around 10 degrees below average. Overnight lows have the potential to be the coldest we have seen so far this season, especially if overnight winds are able to diminish. Some areas above 6000 feet could see the first hard freeze of the fall Tuesday or Wednesday mornings. && .AVIATION...For the 06Z package...Any remaining -shra/-tsra north of KGCN and east of KSOW will dissipate by 07z-08z. Mainly clearing skies overnight, patchy sc with bases 7-10kft agl. Patchy low clouds and fog possible over higher elevation through 12z-14z. After 16z Friday, expect sct-bkn cigs with bases from 8-10kft agl and isold -shra/-tsra. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && $$ PUBLIC...MAS/RR AVIATION...BEP For Northern Arizona weather information visit weather.gov/flagstaff
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
335 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... A dry southwest flow of air will linger across the region through this weekend. Progressively warmer temperatures are on tap through early next week. The path of tropical cyclone Matthew will be closely watched as it tracks north near the Atlantic coast next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Occasional convection continues to fire in the warm sector and move N/NE early this morning, mainly near and east of the I-77 corridor. Some of the cells have been quite strong and/or heavy rain producers. This activity has been supported by a mid-upper level speed max digging into the base of the trough extending from upper low centered over the Ohio Valley. There`s been enough of an eastward component to cell motion that training hasn`t been much of an issue, yet. The latest mesoscale guidance suggests some semblance of convective coverage will persist through daybreak. In fact, the latest HRRR depicts an uptick in coverage around 12Z. Pops have been increased to solid chance along much of the I-77 corridor through sunrise. We aren`t expecting a whole lot out of this activity, but will certainly need to watch for the training potential, especially in the urban corridor along I-77. The aforementioned speed max is expected to lower heights enough such that the frontal boundary should finally nudge east of the forecast area by early afternoon, spreading much drier air into the NC Piedmont and northern foothills. Thus, deep convection in the near term is expected to peak around daybreak, then diminish through the morning, with nothing expected this afternoon. Some of the mesoscale and short term guidance tries to develop some ridge top convection this afternoon, but forecast soundings look positively hostile to convective development, so we`re not buying it. Max temps are expected to be (finally) right around normal, except along the I-77 corridor, where maxes of a category or so above climo are still expected. With the dry air mass in place, all areas are expected to see around to a little below climo min temps tonight. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... At 240 AM Friday: GFS and ECMWF indicate that the center of a H5 closed low will lift north across the Great Lakes region this weekend. The mid level pattern across the region will likely feature a Bermuda High and a trof from the Ohio River valley south to the Mississippi Delta. Short range guidance shows that a dry slot associated with the Great Lakes low will rotate across the western Carolinas. This pattern should result in dry conditions and high temperatures ranging from the mid 70s within the mtn valleys to the low 80s east. On Monday, it appears that an asymmetrical mid-level omega block will develop over the northern CONUS, with the ridge axis over the Mid West and Great Lakes. TC Matthew is expected to be tracking north near the eastern tip of Cuba by late Monday. Sensible weather across the CWA will remain unchanged from the dry weekend. High temperature are forecast to warm a degree or two over values reached on Sunday. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 250 AM Friday: The path of TC Matthew will gain most of the attention through the extended period. Both the GFS and ECMWF indicate that Matthew will track north, tracking parallel along the Atlantic coast from FL to NC. To the west, the northern tip of a H5 ridge will reach the southern Appalachians, sourced from a high over Mexico. To the north, another deep low is expected to organize across the nrn plains. The pattern does not appear to be supportive of heavy rainfall across the CWA, developing ahead or west of Matthews track. I will keep the forecast generally dry from Tuesday through Thursday. Temperatures are forecast to remain between 3 to 5 degrees above normal. && .AVIATION /08Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... At KCLT and KHKY, surface front remains virtually stalled just west of the terminals early this morning, with plenty of low level moisture in place. This creates the very real potential for another round of fog and/or low stratus this morning. In fact, KCLT was already reporting a low MVFR cigs at issuance time, and there`s plenty of IFR cigs not too far away. Meanwhile, SHRA were near the KCLT airfield at 0530Z (tempo`d through 07Z), and this may result in mixing out the lower cigs, at least for a little while. Based upon observational trends, as well as signals from the guidance, there`s enough confidence to add a mention of IFR cigs at both terminals later this morning, but enough uncertainty exists such that these conditions will be handled largely with tempos. The front is expected to finally punch through by late morning, so improvement to VFR should be rapid, with VFR conditions persisting through the end of the period. Elsewhere: It`s now looking doubtful that earlier forecast restrictions will materialize at KAVL. An up-valley wind of 5-10 kts is expected to persist, which should keep temp/dewpoint spreads around or above 5 degrees. Suppose a brief IFR cig still cannot be ruled out (and this is hinted at in the forecast with a tempo for FEW008/SCT020), but all restrictions have been removed from the forecast. With drier air lingering behind frontal boundary, all sites are forecast to see VFR conditions persist for the next 24 hours. Outlook: VFR conditions expected in most places through the beginning of next week as dry high pressure settles in over the area. Confidence Table... 07-13Z 13-19Z 19-01Z 01-06Z KCLT Low 55% High 93% High 100% High 100% KGSP High 100% High 100% High 100% High 100% KAVL High 85% High 99% High 100% High 100% KHKY Med 70% High 92% High 100% High 100% KGMU High 100% High 100% High 100% High 100% KAND High 100% High 100% High 100% High 100% The percentage reflects the number of guidance members agreeing with the scheduled TAF issuance flight rule category. Complete hourly experimental aviation forecast consistency tables and ensemble forecasts are available at the following link: www.weather.gov/gsp/aviation && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...None. NC...None. SC...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...NED NEAR TERM...JDL SHORT TERM...NED LONG TERM...NED AVIATION...JDL
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Wilmington NC
505 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... A stationary front will waver along the coast through this weekend. Periods of showers with an isolated thunderstorm are possible along this front. Weak high pressure will build in early next week. Hurricane Matthew may bring increasing waves by the middle of next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 330 AM Friday...The expansive cutoff Low centered over Kentucky will be the main show affecting the ILM CWA this period. The latest HRRR, RAP and HiResWrf models, all indicate to a degree, the current pcpn breaking out and further increasing in coverage and intensity during early this morning and continuing thruout the day. This a result of dynamics from elongated mid- level vorts from the tropics passing nearly overhead, the sfc frontal boundary aiding low level forcing, and copious amounts of moisture with flow from the sfc thru aloft mainly southerly straight from the tropics. With the days heating and sfc based instability becoming available, convection should breakout further. The dry slot/tongue rotating around the cutoff low, will slowly push the pcpn toward the east whereas the individual showers and storms will be racing to the north. The back edge of this main area of pcpn should push just east of the ILM CWA by early this evening. Locations especially west of the I-95 corridor, will actually see drier air and lower temps due to the dry slot. How much of this drier air and lower temps work eastward are 1 of the main challenges of this forecast. For the overnight period, have left a low POP along the immediate coast, basically in the vicinity of where the stalled frontal boundary ends up. At this point, have indicated in the Hazardous Weather Outlook that heavy rainfall from todays convection will have the potential to produce temporary flooding especially susceptible areas having experienced a good dose of rainfall during the past few days. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... As of 415 AM Friday...The cutoff low begins to very slowly fill as it lifts to the north reaching the Eastern Great Lakes by the end of this short term period. The direct affect from this cutoff low will lessen with time. Models in agreement with the stalled sfc front lying along or just off the coastline of the Carolinas. And the dry air extending just shy of the immediate coast. Thus the challenge of fcsting daily sfc temps and dewpoints. The moist air will extend from the stalled front and offshore. The main baroclinic zone and associated convection, to lie offshore from SW to NE, parallel to the Carolina coastlines. Have indicated low pops for the immediate coast to account for any onshore movement of pcpn each night, and any development along the stalled front during each day. As for temps, stayed closed to a consensus amongst the avbl Mos Guidance with a slightly higher bias for max temps each day. This will result in daily max temps a category higher than climo norms and daily Mins 1 to 2 categories above the norms. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 3 AM Friday...Temperatures will be quite seasonable to slightly mild and rain chances minimal through the long term. Moisture associated with frontal remains lingering offshore on Monday and low level onshore flow could advect the stray shower to mainly coastal areas. Weak upper troughiness may aid the coverage of showers even though mid levels probably dry. Beyond Monday this troughiness gets replaced by a slowly amplifying ridge and this should cut down on the already paltry radar coverage. This low coverage will be confined to coastal areas while inland zones stay dry. Low level moisture trapped beneath the inversion will favor a bit more in the way of clouds than `normal` through the period. Currently it appears that Matthew stays far enough east to only have marine effects locally. The GFS has been a very fast outlier from other guidance though now Canadian is even faster. The EC has shifted a bit farther east from previous runs. The overnight RI is allowing convection to wrap around the center and so models may show some improvement with the system stacking in the vertical. && .AVIATION /09Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 06Z...Patches of IFR or lower now becoming less widespread ahead of approaching pre-frontal band of showers and should remain so for the rest of the overnight save for perhaps LBT where so much rain fell recently. Showers streaming onshore to increase in coverage predawn but only tend to MVFR with any IFR dips too brief to warrant being in TAFs. Dry slot sweeps west to east across the area this afternoon and clears things out. Slight chance of very minor visibility restrictions returning Friday night. EXTENDED OUTLOOK...Primarily VFR. Isolated to scattered afternoon showers through much the period, although limited in strength and coverage due to dry air aloft. && .MARINE... NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 330 AM Friday...Sfc cold front across the inland Carolinas will push to the coast late tonight and likely stall along the immediate coast or just offshore Sat and subsequent periods. This will be the dividing line for pcpn coverage. East of the front pcpn will be more numerous and potent, and west of the front isolated in coverage. Looking at S winds at 10 to 15 kt today and SW 10 to 15 kt tonight, with speeds lower within the actual frontal zone. Significant seas will be a healthy 3 to possibly 4 ft, and comprised of mainly wind driven waves at 4 to 6 seconds. An underlying 1 foot ESE ground swell at 10-11 second periods will be present. SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 415 AM Friday...This time period will feature a stalled frontal boundary either along the immediate coast of the Carolinas or just offshore and parallel to the coastline. Thus the challenge of either keeping winds from the S-SW or eventually having winds become nearly variable in direction during this period. As always, will try to acknowledge a dominate wind direction in lieu of going variable. The sfc pg remains rather semi-relaxed thruout this period, yielding either 5-10 kt or 10-15 kt. The latter will occur at the beginning of this period and becoming 10 kt or less as this period progresses. Significant seas will run around 3 ft thruout this period. Wind driven wave input into the significant seas will lower during this period. However, an easterly 2 to possibly 3 foot ground swell at 10 to 12 second periods will become the dominate input into the significant seas equation during the day on Saturday and persisting thru Sunday night. This illustrated nicely by Wavewatch3. LONG TERM/MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 3 AM Friday...A northeasterly wind wave and increasing ESE ground swell energy to cause a gradual rise in seas over the long term. Tough to say how high the wind speed and resulting short period seas get though as most model guidance is seemingly too fast with Matthew. Winds may end up being reduced this period assuming the slow movement of the currently favored EC model comes to pass. The aforementioned swell energy is less related to Matthew and more energy from the long fetch developing. Any Matthew swells (and there will be some!) may be slated for just beyond the long term. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...None. NC...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...MBB NEAR TERM...DCH SHORT TERM...DCH LONG TERM...MBB AVIATION...MBB
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
310 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 310 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 A stalled upper level disturbance will bring periods of rain to the area through the weekend. A few embedded thunderstorms are also possible. Highs through the weekend will be in the 60s with lows in the 50s. High pressure will bring slowly improving conditions early next week. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and Tonight) Issued at 310 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Latest water vapor imagery clearly shows cutoff upper low continues to wobble just south of our area, allowing continuous feed of Atlantic moisture and shortwaves embedded in deep cyclonic flow to maintain areas of rain and abundant clouds across the southern Great Lakes. SCT/NUM showers will continue through at least Saturday along with mostly cloudy skies and limited diurnal temp ranges. Position of upper low continues to favor main axis of steadier/heavier rain across southern Michigan where best 850-700mb theta-e ridge resides, along with better 295K system relative isentropic ascent, midlevel deformation, and upper level divergence. There is also a secondary area of fgen/deformation across central IN/OH on immediate northern flank of cyclone. Current regional radar mosaic shows these axes of better forcing and moisture quite well and will continue to pivot eastward this morning. Even outside of these two areas, the chance for SCT showers will exist throughout the CWA given abundant moisture and deep cyclonic flow. Best chances for most of the area will probably be this afternoon and into the evening/early overnight. Height fall centroid will begin to lift north during this time given slow approach of west coast trough. Combination of robust midlevel CVA and increasing instability due to cold pool aloft will likely support numerous/widespread showers. A few embedded thunderstorms certainly possible given around 500 J/kg of SBCAPE during diurnal peak. Chance of thunder could even persist after sunset given surface dewpoints around 60F and 500mb temps dropping below -20C. No severe weather is anticipated. Locally moderate/heavy rain may be possible if weak instability is realized and any training develops with PW values around 1.25 inches and decent synoptic forcing, but not expecting any real impacts. Basin-average QPF amounts expected to be around 0.25-0.5 inches through tonight. Expect high temps to remain in the mid/upper 60s (assuming no breaks in the clouds) with lows tonight generally in the mid 50s. && .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 310 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Midlevel cold pool will be directly overhead on Saturday and this will support another day of showers, and possibly thunderstorms, given 500 J/kg SBCAPE and pinwheeling vort lobe overhead. Best chances will likely be in the afternoon, during peak heating, but again, no severe weather is expected given limited instability. Activity will diminish overnight as instability wanes and upper low begins to lift NE. Precip chances are lower on Sunday but can`t completely rule out shower chances as several models indicate weak vorticity spoke rotating through the area on backside of exiting low. Deep/moist cyclonic flow will at least support mostly cloudy skies and a few stray showers certainly possible in our N/NE counties. Some peaks of sun possible in our south and could see some lower 70s for max temps. Improving conditions expected during the first half of next week. Monday appears mainly dry, though still some residual cyclonic flow so could still be a fair amount of clouds and a very low chance for a sprinkle in our north. Ill effects of upper low will be fully vanquished by Tuesday as longwave ridge develops over the Great Lakes in response to deep trough over the Rockies/Central Plains. Eventually this will send a cold front through our area but likely not until Wednesday night/Thursday with questionable precip chances based on latest GFS. Until then, expect slowly moderating temps and mostly sunny conditions Tues and Wed. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Friday Night) Issued at 1237 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Widespread mvfr/ifr conditions over nrn IN and upstream across srn MI/nw OH attm. Not expecting any sgfnt improvement to conditions early this morning, with upstream cigs/vsbys suggesting some potential for further deterioration. Ocnl areas of shra should cont to rotate around strong upr low now centered over nrn KY and fcst to lift slowly north today/tonight. Some diurnal improvement to flight conditions psbl today, but latest HRRR suggests another band of shra will move through the area this aftn suggesting any improvement will be fairly brief. && .IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IN...NONE. MI...NONE. OH...NONE. LM...Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM EDT this evening for LMZ043-046. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AGD SHORT TERM...AGD LONG TERM...AGD AVIATION...JT Visit us at www.weather.gov/iwx Follow us on Facebook...Twitter...and YouTube at: www.facebook.com/NWSNorthernIndiana www.twitter.com/nwsiwx www.youtube.com/NWSNorthernIndiana
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
332 AM CDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 332 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Cut-off H5 low that drifted down into KY yesterday is already starting to lift back to the NNW this morning. Biggest implication for us is that the low stratus looks to return from the east faster than initially indicated, with sky grids increased considerably this afternoon in western WI/eastern MN and overnight for western MN. 925- 850 RH off the GFS/NAM/RAP shows cloud cover currently over SE WI ending up in eastern SD by Saturday morning. Of interest though is that the NAM in particular shows a wedge of dry air dropping down from Lake Superior tonight, with skies actually clearing out some in western WI tonight as the stratus is heading for SD. Given the expected cloud cover, low 70s are unlikely again today out in western WI. Other issue more for this morning is a batch of low stratus coming down off of Lake Superior. The HRRR shows this cloud cover getting down to about the Twin Cities/Wilmar in the for of fog/low stratus. Though this may result for a cloudy morning for much of central MN, this looks to mix out by mid-late morning with a brief window of sunny skies in the afternoon before cloud cover arrives from the east. Last change made in the short term was to keep the Eau Claire area dry through 12z Saturday. CAMs and deterministic models alike keep the MPX area dry, with any rainfall Friday night confined to eastern WI where moisture on the 290-305k isentropic surfaces. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 332 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 The period begins with a stubborn upper level low lifting slowly northward across Indiana. Considerable cloudiness will occur across the FA in the morning along with a few showers from the southeast corner of MN through KEAU. The cloudiness should begin to breakdown from the northeast in the afternoon as drier air spreads in along with the upper level low beginning to drift east. This leaves a horseshoe of higher cloud cover curving from western MN through IA to eastern WI. The cloudiness will breakdown Saturday night leaving us with a fine early fall day on Sunday. High temperatures this weekend will be very close to seasonal values with lows about 5 degrees above normal. We have had a little bit of a roll reversal for next week between the EC and GFS with regards to the weather system impacting the FA in the Tuesday through Thursday period. The EC continues to inch forward a bit on the leading edge of the rain on Tuesday while the GFS is looking more like earlier runs of the EC on keeping rain out of the Twin Cities until Wednesday afternoon. The Canadian would also keep rain out of the local area until Wednesday afternoon. One of the differences noted is that the EC has more of a positively tilted upper wave while the GFS and Canadian are more negatively tilted. At this point, we allowed small pops into western MN on Tuesday with the small pops working across eastern MN and western WI Tuesday night. This will be too fast if the latter solutions are correct. Another item noted is the strength of the low level moisture transport Tuesday night and early Wednesday across western MN. This area will likely see the most rain from this event with amounts of a half inch to one inch likely. The long term closes out with a cold front pushing east of the FA with a breezy southwest wind occurring on Thursday. High temperatures early next week will continue to be close to seasonal normals. However, highs will trend downward thereafter, with readings only in the middle 50s to lower 60s expected on Thursday. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Friday night) Issued at 1143 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Mainly clear skies and light winds are expected for the first half of tonight, but we are watching an area of low stratus that is starting to expand west-southwest. It is most likely at KSTC and KAXN...but also possible at KMSP and KRNH. 300-600ft ceilings are being observed with these clouds. KMSP... We are changing are tune about a clear morning. The low stratus in northern WI and northern MN is making good progress W-SW, and these 400-700ft ceilings could be close or over KMSP by sunrise if the trends continue. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ Sat...VFR. Wind ENE at 5 kts. Sun...VFR. MVFR possible. Wind NE at 5 kts. Mon...VFR. Wind SE at 5-10 kts && .MPX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... WI...None. MN...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...MPG LONG TERM...RAH AVIATION...CLF
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Morristown TN
326 AM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .SHORT TERM (Today and Tonight)... The main feature throughout the short-term forecast will be the upper level closed low currently centered across Central Kentucky. At the surface, a boundary exists to the east of the mountains across W NC and SW VA. Dewpoints to the east of this boundary are in the upper 60s and low 70s and to the west in the 40s and 50s. The highest dewpoints across the forecast area are in locations closest to the boundary across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Already seeing a few locations reporting fog this morning with low dewpoint depressions across the area. Patchy fog is expected to continue to develop throughout the early morning hours. Current radar imagery indicates a few showers moving across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia early this morning and have kept at least a slight mention of precipitation for these area throughout the early afternoon. The latest HRRR indicates an uptick in precipitation across North Carolina later this morning. Most of the activity is expected to stay to the east where the higher PW air is but expect the moisture gradient will be right along the CWA border. Most of the area will remain dry today as the upper low drifts to the north. Highs will be slightly below normal ranging from upper 60s to mid 70s. Dry conditions will continue overnight with the surface boundary well to the east of the area. Cool conditions are expected overnight with lows in the upper 40s to mid 50s. .LONG TERM (Saturday through Thursday)... As an upper low slowly pulls away from the area this weekend...a stray shower may brush across our far northern Cumberland Plateau area Saturday afternoon. Otherwise...high pressure builds into the region and will be the main weather feature throughout the extended. This will result in a quiet weather pattern with dry conditions and valley temperatures warming back into the 80s for the upcoming work week. Could see a weakening frontal boundary move through late in the period. Models differ on the amount of moisture and energy attached to the system. For now will only mention slight chance of showers over portions of northern locations around the Thursday time frame. Additionally...of concern is a tropical system potentially moving along the east coast late in the extended. Confidence quite low on track of this system and will continue to monitor but for now...current model trends show track will have little effect on weather across the Southern Appalachian Region. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Chattanooga Airport, TN 74 56 79 57 / 10 10 10 10 Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport, TN 73 52 76 54 / 10 10 10 10 Oak Ridge, TN 73 53 76 55 / 10 10 10 10 Tri Cities Airport, TN 72 49 74 51 / 10 10 10 10 && .MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...None. TN...None. VA...None. && $$ MA/MJB
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
344 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... A strong upper level area of low pressure will remain just west of the mountains today before slowly lifting to the north later tonight into Saturday. This system will combine with a residual stationary front across the region to produce periods of showers and thunderstorms into late tonight. The low will move northeast, away from the region, resulting in drier weather this weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 245 AM EDT Friday... Broken bands of heavy rain producing showers continue across the west under the tail of a passing speed max and over the northeast third with added low level convergence early this morning. Expect this trend to persist through daybreak with main coverage likely shifting into the northwest sections as multiple short band type features merge. Then questions with added coverage through the day as the upper low begins to shift back north while the jet aloft remains strong over continued low level convergence espcly north and east this afternoon. Will also have to watch for another band to work north along the southern Blue Ridge this morning as several solutions including the latest HRRR and 00z ECMWF paint quite a bit of QPF extending north from the North Carolina foothills into the west between 12-16z. This along a residual convergence axis well to the south and eventually along the eastward moving occluded front that will swing across the Blue Ridge this afternoon. This along with some breaks and decent instability southeast may allow one final heavier band of shra/tsra to evolve across the north/east this afternoon given strong veering with height and moist PWATS. However with uncertainty wont hoist another watch at this point while allowing the ongoing FFA to end with this package given only current scattered nature to shra attm. Otherwise again running with likely/cat pops today, except tapering to chance heading into the southwest zones where will likely remain in the dry slot aloft with limited added showers. Lowered high temps a little under easterly flow and more clouds as expecting a range from near 80 southeast to only the 60s far west. Upper low should continue to trudge north toward the Ohio Valley overnight allowing drier air aloft to gradually win out from southwest to northeast behind the passing surface occluded boundary. Think still decent coverage in the north/east during the evening before showers fade late tonight with little focus remaining. May even see some clearing work in from the southwest after midnight so mostly chance pops tapering to spotty showers northeast sections by dawn. Expect more clearing west to allow temps to fall into the cool 40s in spots with overall low/mid 50s elsewhere, except low 60s far east. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 305 AM EDT Friday... Drying trend will continue over the weekend as the upper low finally lifts farther north and weak high pressure slides in from the west. May still have an isolated shower around early Saturday over the north, otherwise cutting pops with more sunshine on tap by the afternoon. Another spoke of energy looks to rotate around the upper low Saturday night with this feature reaching the western mountains later Sunday. Moisture quite limited with the weak associated front but cant totally rule out an isolated shower western slopes late Sunday into Sunday night. Otherwise expecting mainly clear skies Saturday night and mainly sunny Sunday before clouds invade the west late. High temps to remain mild under west/southwest flow aloft with mostly 70s both Saturday and Sunday and lows mostly 50s Saturday night given good radiational cooling conditions. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 330 PM EDT Thursday... The upper low will give way to ridging in the eastern US through the early part of next week. This stall the approaching front and allow a large area of high pressure to settle over New England and wedge down the east side of the Appalachians. The big variable lies with the potential track of TS Matthew as it is expected to turn north and move up the Atlantic coast. The exact track of Matthew will determine how much, if any, precipitation it can push into the region from the east and how much overrunning precipitation will develop as it interacts with the wedge. Right now, the most likely scenario is for some light overrunning precipitation to develop by Tuesday and increase a bit into Wednesday especially in the east, with any significant effects form Matthew remaining to our east. && .AVIATION /08Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 1250 AM EDT Friday... Variable but overall sub-VFR conditions will prevail overnight with cigs fluctuating between MVFR and low end IFR at times. Best coverage of showers resulting in vsby restrictions look to occur along the KLYH-KHSP corridor for the rest of the night. However another narrow band of showers and storms may affect areas from KBLF to KBCB/KROA into the early morning hours. Thus will include either a vicinity or tempo mention with perhaps a brief prevailing group of lower cigs/vsbys. Should finally see convection wane before daybreak but still enough to keep thunder in a few western sites over the next few hours. Uncertainty continues with the degree of added convective coverage on Friday with the upper low starting to retrograde while the occluded boundary to the west shifts east and starts to cutoff deeper moisture late. Models continue to focus showers and storms across the northwest corridor Friday morning, then along and north of a KLWB- KDAN line. Should see any IFR conditions slowly improve to MVFR/VFR by midday/early afternoon though think places like ROA/LYH/LWB will keep MVFR to the end of this taf period. Will include more showers and storms given decent probability during the afternoon in most locations with tapering of showers by the evening as the main corridor of deeper lift slides north. Extended aviation discussion... A deep upper low will finally shift farther to the north by Saturday and away from the region on Sunday. This should allow for a gradual improvement in cigs after early sub-VFR Saturday with widespread VFR Sunday as weak high pressure builds in. Looks like overall VFR to then prevail into early next week outside of some upslope low clouds Monday and perhaps along the Blue Ridge Tuesday as another weak wedge develops under high pressure to the north. && .HYDROLOGY... As of 330 AM EDT Friday... Overall convective bands have decreased in both coverage and intensity early this morning so letting the watch go across the north for now. Otherwise main concern again with the redevelopment of heavier bands from the south/southeast through the day as multiple areas of convergence pivot around the upper low to the west. Likely looking at another inch or so of rainfall on average across the north with locally higher amounts where deeper convection mixes in. Also some concern along the Blue Ridge through midday with possible very early morning redevelopment and training as seen a few models. Given now saturated soil conditions and elevated stream/creek levels will be easier for flooding or flash flooding to develop while still appears most mainstem rivers will stay below flood levels for now. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...None. NC...None. WV...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AMS/JH NEAR TERM...JH SHORT TERM...JH LONG TERM...MBS AVIATION...AMS/JH/WP HYDROLOGY...JH
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Topeka KS
319 AM CDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 319 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Main features undergo minor changes today and tonight and bring some forecast difficulties by late tonight. Upper low over the Ohio Valley looks to lift a bit north with the low level ridge over the Missouri Valley weakening somewhat. This should allow for slightly more cirrus to reach eastern Kansas with time with the airmass modifying a bit for slightly warmer high temps today. The ridge weakens enough for winds off the surface to go more easterly this evening, bringing the potential for the low cloud over eastern portions of Iowa and Missouri early this morning to make their way into northeastern Kansas late this evening. Models are in good agreement with these trajectory trends and bring a decrease in speeds late in the night. Depending on where the stratus ends up and how far east and persistent the cirrus will be, at least patchy fog seems possible for mainly northeastern locations after 08Z. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 319 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Saturday may see some patchy fog in northeast Kansas especially in the lower elevations and river valleys. Surface ridge will be over northeast Kansas Saturday morning with light winds expected and clear skies. Highs on Saturday will mainly be in the lower to mid 70s across the area. Slightly warmer temperatures are expected on Sunday with the return of southerly flow and rising heights. The upper low in the Ohio Valley on Saturday will move off to the northeast through Monday as an upper level trough move across the western CONUS with a ridge over the Southern and Central Plains. This will bring temperatures back into the lower 80s for Monday. By Tuesday the upper trough will move out into the Plains with main upper low moving northeast into the Northern Plains. Good moisture return is forecast along with increasing shear and instability. Best chances focus on Tuesday night into Wednesday for thunderstorms. A cold front is forecast to move through central and eastern Kansas on Wednesday as the upper trough moves across the Plains. The upper trough axis looks to move through on early Thursday. Expect precipitation to linger in the east Wednesday night then dry out behind the front by Thursday morning. Cooler temperatures in the low to mid 70s and lows in the 40s to lower 50s Friday morning. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Saturday) Issued at 1129 PM CDT Thu Sep 29 2016 Forecast soundings prog any boundary layer moisture to remain very shallow and the latest RAP soundings fail to saturate the surface. Because of this will maintain a VFR forecast without adding a mention of fog, but there may be a slight chance for some shallow ground fog in the river valley. && .TOP Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NONE. && $$ SHORT TERM...65 LONG TERM...53 AVIATION...Wolters
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Albany NY
1013 AM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... As a slow moving upper level low moves towards the area, on and off rain showers are expected today through the weekend. Along with plenty of clouds, temperatures will be a little cooler than recent days. Some clearing is expected by the early to middle part of next week once the slow moving storm system moves away from the region. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... Clouds have spread across the entire region and based on upstream conditions, all areas should remain cloudy through the afternoon. The steadier rain is still west of our region, from the Catskills to the Tug Hill Plateau and southerly low level flow is steering the rain almost due north. There are a few sprinkles and isolated showers into the mid Hudson Valley, eastern catskills and western Mohawk Valley. Radar and satellite data shows a very gradual building east of the rain and some new development toward the mid Hudson Valley that will track north and northeast through the afternoon. So have adjusted rain chances and timing based on current data and trends, with some HRRR forecast data considerations as well. Some adjustments to sky cover and temperatures, too, as temperatures are not likely to rise much through the day. The previous AFD has a few more details and is below... Into the day today, there will be a chance for some light rain showers, mainly across southern areas. Although the rainfall may initially continue to fall as virga, the column should moisten up enough for some showers to reach the surface. Decent warm air advection/isentropic lift is expected to develop by later today, which should allow for a more widespread and organized band of showers to move up from the south by later this morning and into this afternoon. The majority of these showers should be fairly light in intensity, although cannot rule out some brief heavier bursts by later today across far southern areas. While far southern areas may pick up to a half inch of rain today, the bulk of the region will see under a quarter of an inch. High temps today will vary from north to south. While northern areas may see highs in the low to mid 60s thanks to less precip and thinner clouds, the rest of the area looks to see highs in the mid 50s to low 60s. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... The upper level low will continue to sit and spin over the Midwest/Ohio Valley tonight, keeping the stagnant upper level pattern in place. Although the best isentropic lift will be lifting northeast of the area by tonight, still cannot rule out some light rain showers from time to time thanks to moist cyclonic flow in place. With plenty of clouds in place, there won`t be much of a diurnal range, with temps tonight only falling into the mid 40s to mid 50s. During the weekend, the upper level low will only be slowly shifting eastward. It looks to move to near to near Detroit by Saturday Night and towards western New York by Sunday Night. As it slowly starts to head our way, the upper level ridge axis will also shift eastward and away from the area. Moist cyclonic flow will continue to allow for additional showers from time to time over the weekend. At this point, have mainly just gone with chc pops, as it is rather difficult to pinpoint any particular time/area more prone for showers. With the persistent southerly flow in place, PWAT values will continue to rise and reach near 1.50 inches (especially for southern areas) on Saturday. As a result, any shower can briefly have some heavier rainfall, but these rates won`t be high enough to cause any flooding concerns and any bursts of heavier rainfall should be relatively short lived. Outside of any rain showers, it should be cloudy, damp and fairly cool. Highs on Saturday look to be in the upper 50s to low 60s. Lows on Saturday Night look to be upper 40s to mid 50s. Highs on Sunday may be slightly higher with temps reaching upper 50s to mid 60s. Lows on Sunday night will be in the upper 40s to mid 50s. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... The long term forecast starts out unsettled on Monday and Tuesday with fair weather expected for Wednesday and Thursday. Hurricane Matthew is forecast to be about 500 miles southeast of the Carolinas on Thursday so no local impact from Matthew expected during this extended period. Have continued the forecast of unsettled weather for Monday and Tuesday with a chance of showers during the entire period. There is good model consensus showing the persistent upper level low near Lake Ontario on Monday and over southern New England on Tuesday. Cyclonic flow, upper level cold pool and plenty of moisture should conspire to produce occasional showers across the forecast area. Highs on Monday generally in the 60s to near 70 with some upper 50s in the higher terrain. Lows Monday night are expected to be in the upper 40s to mid 50s with highs on Tuesday in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Dry weather is then expected Wednesday and Thursday as a large area of high pressure ridges in from northern New england. Highs on Wednesday in the 60s to near 70. Lows Wednesday night are expected to be in the 40s with highs on Thursday in the 60s to around 70. && .AVIATION /14Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... Large, nearly stationary, low pressure system over Kentucky is providing a deep southeasterly flow across the area. Main band of rain stayed west of the TAF sites overnight, but should slowly move eastward today. The combination of onshore flow and precipitation should moisten the lower part of the atmosphere later Today so this afternoon or evening expect MVFR Cigs/Vsbys all TAF sites, which will continue through the overnight. East to northeast surface winds are forecast to continue through the TAF period /12Z Saturday/. Winds will generally be 5 to 10 knots, but there may be occasional gusts to 20 kts during the day today. Outlook... Saturday through Monday Night: Moderate Operational Impact. Chance of SHRA. Tuesday: Low Operational Impact. Slight Chance of SHRA. && .FIRE WEATHER... Unsettled weather is expected over the next few days as a slow moving upper level low moves across the area. As a result of this storm, several days of cloudy weather is expected, with on and off rain showers. The entire region is expected to see a wetting rainfall through the weekend, with RH values each day generally above 60 percent. E-NE winds of 5 to 15 mph are expected today and tomorrow, with winds switching to the SE on Sunday at 5 to 10 mph. && .HYDROLOGY... The latest US Drought Monitor continues to show drought conditions across much of the region. Precipitation departures this year have been 3 to 12 inches below normal, with the greatest departures across southeastern parts of the area. As a result, streamflow and ground water levels have been running below normal. Some needed rainfall is expected over the next few days, although this rainfall will not be enough to end the drought by itself. A slow moving upper level low will allow for on and off rain showers through the weekend and possibly into early next week as a well. Most locations will see at least a half inch of rainfall, with the potential for over an inch across southeastern parts of the region. Although rain may briefly fall moderate to heavy in intensity, no flooding is expected. For details on specific area rivers and lakes, including observed and forecast river stages and lake elevations, please visit the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service /AHPS/ graphs on our website. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. NY...None. MA...None. VT...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Frugis NEAR TERM...Frugis/NAS SHORT TERM...Frugis LONG TERM...SND AVIATION...SND FIRE WEATHER...Frugis HYDROLOGY...Frugis
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
928 AM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 912 AM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 showers this morning have moved further east on the plains than indicated on the hrrr model...these showers will continue moving slowly northeast...but will likely not drop much east of Sterling. Hrrr suggests the activity will transition from the northern plains today...to the palmer divide this evening with some stronger convection also developing. this reflected in the grids...will adjust pops a bit based on radar trends this morning. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 424 AM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 A stream of moist air is moving over the state this morning, mainly over the mountains. Shower activity over the mountains early this morning should increase through today as diurnal warming helps the airmass become slightly unstable. Light radar echoes have developed over the north central mountain counties, but the heavier echoes so far have been over the west slope. The moisture is moving over the state on deep south to southwesterly flow as an upper ridge axis holds its position over western Kansas. The southerly fetch will make it difficult for much precipitation to move over northeast Colorado until later this afternoon and evening. And even then, areas along the I-25 corridor may be the only ones to see any rainfall. The forecast will have the highest chances of precipitation over the mountains. By afternoon, the atmosphere may become unstable enough to support thunderstorm activity, but only moderate rainfall is expected. Temperatures today will be held back by the increasing cloud cover, but still a couple degrees warmer than normal. Later tonight, temperatures in the mountains will cool enough for snow to fall at elevations above 8000 feet. Shower activity will be winding down at that time, so no significant accumulations are expected. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 424 AM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 A flat upper level ridge will be over the area on Sat and will become more swly on Sun as an upper level trough deepens over the Pacific NW. There will be some mid lvl moisture over the rgn on Sat with not as much on Sun. Over instability is not that great either day with capes aob blo 500 j/kg. Overall the best chc of convection looks to be on Sat over the higher terrain with only isold activity over the plains. Temps will remain abv normal both days with readings in the upper 70s to lower 80s across nern CO. On Mon swly flow aloft will increase as an upper level low moves into the Great Basin. Surface low pres will intensify east of the mtns with gusty ssw winds expected over the plains with increasing fire danger. Moisture will increase in the mtns by aftn mainly west of the divide which will lead to a chc of showers and storms as some mid lvl qg ascent moves in. As for highs temps will remain above normal especially across nern CO as highs reach the lower to mid 80s. For Mon Night into Tue the upper level low will move ene across WY with the flow aloft becoming more wnw across nrn CO. Cross-sections show best moisture will stay to the north of the area with downward forcing in place. Will keep in a chc of showers mainly north of I- 70 across the higher terrain. Temps will be cold enough for some snow in the mtns with a mix across the higher valleys. Over nern CO will keep in a slight chc of rain showers. Winds will increase in the foothills and across the plains as a bora type fnt moves across late Mon Night into Tue morning. As for highs readings will drop into the 60s across the plains. By Tue Night into Wed the upper level low will move into the wrn Dakota`s with wnw flow aloft remaining over the area. There are some differences between the ECMWF and GFS with handling of moisture. The GFS shows an increase in moisture Tue night into early Wed morning while the ECMWF has this moisture increase late Tue night thru the day on Wed. Overall should see a better chc of snow in the mtns Tue night possibly into Wed depending on the timing of this moisture as orographics will be favorable. Over the nern CO will see a slight chc of showers. Winds will remain gusty across the area as well. Highs over nern CO will remain in the 60s. For Wed Night into Thu the flow aloft will continue wnw as drier air spreads across the area. This should lead to a dry pattern with temps warming back to nr seasonal levels. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Friday night) Issued at 424 AM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Showers today will stay mostly north of the Metro area and over the mountains...metro area aiports will have a slight chance of showers after 21z. Will put vcts at kapa and kbjc vcsh at Kden. Aviation impacts should be minimal...with mostly vfr ceilings and spotty mvfr ceilings. Winds in the metro area will be light. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ UPDATE...RTG SHORT TERM...Dankers LONG TERM...RPK AVIATION...Dankers
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated
National Weather Service Billings MT
927 AM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .UPDATE... Shortwave moving through eastern MT this morning will generate isolated showers and a few thunderstorms through the afternoon over parts of the area. Expanded precipitation chances over eastern zones late this morning/early this afternoon to cover the path of the wave. CAPES on RAP soundings were 500 j/kg or lower with no shear, but lapse rates were high today, so included a slight mention of thunder in the afternoon. Kept some QPF over the mountains through the day with orographic lift, the instability and precipitable waters around /0.70/ inches. Precipitation will end this evening. Temperatures were in good shape with mixing to around 700 mb. Winds were higher than forecast in KLVM so have increased wind speeds there. Arthur && .SHORT TERM...valid for Tdy and Sat... Shortwave lifting out of north central WY is producing some shower activity near Billings and in eastern areas early this morning. Though there has not been any lightning since evening, mid level lapse rates remain steep at around 7.5c/km, and the airmass is plenty moist (precipitable waters on the order of 150 pct of normal), so isolated to scattered showers will continue and shift east over the next several hours in response to the synoptic scale ascent. Have expanded morning pops to account for the expected shortwave timing. As showers end to our east we will see subsidence spread over our west as main upper trof remains well to our west and off the Pacific coast. Again per the moist airmass we could see some weak showers/tstms develop over our western mountains during the peak heating hours, otherwise it will be dry today and tonight once forcing from the current shortwave exits. Pacific shortwave will emerge from the western low and move thru the northern great basin into western and central MT Saturday afternoon and evening. This will bring our next period of showers and isolated thunderstorms beginning in our west Saturday afternoon and tracking eastward across the lower elevations after 00z with a frontal passage. Temps will remain well above normal the next two days, but not quite to record levels, as we remain under warm SW flow aloft. Expect highs mostly in the upper 70s to mid 80s, along with mild nights. JKL .LONG TERM...valid for Sun...Mon...Tue...Wed...Thu... Models continue to prog an upper trough and associated low to move onto the west coast on Sunday. As the trough and associated low move inland, moisture and energy will be advected over the region bringing increasing shower and thunderstorm chances through the middle of next week. Much like previous model runs, the track of the aforementioned low and location of the precipitation remains somewhat uncertain. The GFS lifts the low out of the Great Basin on Monday and through Wyoming on Tuesday, and eventually off to the east into the Dakotas by Wednesday. The ECMWF on the other hand is slightly different with the track of the low. Like the GFS, the low lifts out of the Great Basin on Monday, but takes the low on a quicker and more northern track, lifting the low into southern Montana by Tuesday afternoon, gradually moving into North Dakota by Wednesday evening. Shortwave ridging is then progged to build in over the region for Thursday and Friday bringing drier conditions to the area. The only exception could be eastern areas where wrap-around precipitation associated with the low could linger. Given model differences in the track of the low, uncertainty exists in the location of precipitation and precipitation amounts, as well as temperatures and snow levels. If the ECMWF solution were to pan out, it could mean a much cooler forecast with lower snow levels. For now, have continued with a model blend until details become more certain. Definitely something to watch though. High temperatures across the plains on Sunday will start off in the 60s to lower 70s for most locations, falling into the 50s and potentially lower for most of the upcoming week. STP && .AVIATION... Mainly VFR conditions can be expected through today. A few areas of showers will persist this morning east of Billings. Otherwise, showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible once again this afternoon and evening, mainly over the southwest mountains as another weak disturbance moves over the area. STP/Hooley && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS... Tdy Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu ------------------------------------------------------- BIL 081 054/081 052/066 050/057 044/052 043/055 042/056 1/U 01/U 42/T 56/T 66/W 53/W 22/W LVM 081 049/078 043/063 044/056 041/053 038/053 037/055 2/T 23/T 23/T 45/T 55/W 42/W 22/W HDN 082 050/083 051/069 050/060 044/051 042/054 041/054 2/W 00/U 42/T 56/T 66/W 64/W 32/W MLS 082 054/083 056/071 053/066 047/056 041/053 038/054 2/W 00/U 33/W 65/T 67/W 76/W 53/W 4BQ 081 053/083 053/070 052/070 046/053 040/052 038/055 2/W 00/U 22/W 55/T 66/W 65/W 53/W BHK 077 049/078 051/070 051/069 048/057 041/051 037/051 2/T 00/U 23/T 56/T 66/W 66/W 63/W SHR 080 048/082 051/068 049/063 044/050 039/051 038/054 1/B 10/U 23/T 45/T 66/W 54/W 22/W && .BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...None. WY...None. && $$ weather.gov/billings
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Duluth MN
908 AM CDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 908 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Updated the cloud cover forecast through tonight. It appears the HRRR to be among the models best depicting the current low-level stratus covering most of the Northland. The HRRR, and some other models (such as the local WRF and 950 hpa RAP13 RH), are indicating it will take longer to dissipate the stratus than the previous forecast. Therefore, delayed its dissipation with the latest update. Also, the HRRR, RAP, local WRF, and 4 km NAM suggest the marine stratus, from the cool and humid easterly flow from Lake Superior, will linger near the Twin Ports and Ashland areas, so increased afternoon cloud cover for those areas. It then looks like the marine stratus will surge back inland this evening, so increased cloud cover into tonight, using the HRRR cloud cover as a guide. && .SHORT TERM...(Today through Saturday) Issued at 344 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Stratus is continuing to be the major concern this morning. It is developing over relatively warmer Lake Superior, where the average surface water temperature is about 53 degrees, with the air temperature now in the 40s where clouds have not formed. A lake effect of sorts, with enough moisture and temperature differential for clouds but not precipitation. The stratus downstream of Lake Superior should continue early this morning, then gradually dissipate late this morning as the airmass warms and mixing helps get rid of it. On the larger scale, the upper level low that we have been dealing with for several days now is currently over the lower Ohio river valley. This feature is expected to ease slowly north tonight and Saturday, slowly pushing additional clouds and some chances for precipitation into the southeastern portions of the forecast area later tonight and Saturday. Otherwise, the ridge axis is expected to linger over the northern portions of the area. Stratus may form once again tonight, though the models are not picking up on it as well as they did last night and have backed off on the cloud cover. Higher clouds from the upper low may keep temperatures warm enough to diminish the potential for stratus formation. Temperatures today to be warmer than yesterday with the clouds expected to clear, so have brought highs up into the mid-upper 60s most locations. Tonight have kept things milder with lows in the upper 40s south, and lower 40s north where there should be less cloud cover. Saturday to be slightly cooler than today, depending on exact cloud cover. .LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Thursday) Issued at 344 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 The main focus on the extended initially will be a cutoff system located in the central Great Lakes. The latest GFS/GEM/ECMWF continues to be in excellent agreement for the weekend and early next week bringing this feature northeastward into the eastern Great Lakes/New England. Behind the cutoff, high pressure will nudge into the Northland from north on Sunday. This will keep light winds out of the east/northeast. Highs will be in the 60s throughout the region. The ridge axis will move east of the forecast area on Monday and Tuesday, which will bring southerly warm air advection at 850 hPa and result in a warming trend early in the week. Highs will be in the mid to upper 60s on Monday and around 70 on Tuesday. As the ridge departs, a trough will dig and deepen across the Western US into the Plains. Ahead of the trough and area of low pressure will develop in the Northern Plains and this feature will bring the Northland the next chance of precipitation. This system will gradually slide northeastward across the Northern Plains into Ontario by late in the week. This will spread shower and thunderstorm chances from southwest to northeast on Monday evening through Wednesday. Removed thunderstorm mention for Thursday/Friday as the system will be northeast of the CWA and instability will be limited. Expect rain showers to linger around the backside of the mature system. Still expect temperatures in the 60s on Wednesday, but it will be cooler than Tuesday due to cloud cover. Late in the week and heading into the weekend guidance continues to show a cooling trend as northwest/westerly flow develops around the back side of the system. This will bring near to below 0 degrees Celsius 850 hPa temperatures for late on Thursday/Friday, which will bring the coolest airmass of the Fall season to this point. Still some run to run and model to model discrepancies with how cold of an airmass will move in, with the latest ECMWF being the coldest and farthest south at this point in time. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Saturday morning) Issued at 704 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Will gradually see the IFR/LIFR stratus deck lift and scatter out as the morning progresses per the latest NAM/RAP/HRRR guidance. Expect VFR conditions at all terminals between 17Z to 20Z as the stratus deck scatters out. Will see visibilities improve this morning to VFR as fog lifts due to the mixed layer developing. Guidance continues to hint at a stratus layer redeveloping late tonight. Tried to account for this by hinting at IFR ceilings at all terminals except for KDLH, where am fairly confident a stratus deck will move in. Along with the stratus expect fog to develop due to light winds. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DLH 59 48 61 47 / 0 0 0 0 INL 63 45 64 45 / 0 0 0 0 BRD 67 48 67 47 / 0 0 0 0 HYR 64 48 64 46 / 0 0 0 0 ASX 58 51 59 49 / 10 0 0 10 && .DLH Watches/Warnings/Advisories... WI...None. MN...None. LS...None. && $$ UPDATE...Grochocinski SHORT TERM...LE LONG TERM...WL AVIATION...WL
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI
1134 AM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .UPDATE... Update for the potential for rainfall development through the afternoon hours. Nearly all hires models advertise one or more bands of showers to develop this afternoon through the evening hours. Complex mid and upper level are keeping most of them from zeroing in on any one corridor for the band/bands to set up making it very difficult to adjust the going forecast right now. The current water vapor images show this complex structure with several trowel walls to possibly zero in on. Currently the radar advertises 2 main bands to watch, one across the Saginaw Valley and Thumb, with the other near the Ohio border. Current thinking is that as the easterly 850mb jet peaks this afternoon and the exit region of the cyclonic upper level jet max shifts closer to SE MI, the mid level forcing will converge lower on the frontal surface near the current Flood Watch is laid out. This will most likely occur in the 18-00Z time frame. So no notable changes to the forecast or Watch at this time. Additional chances for rain overnight will be addressed at the 4pm issuance. && .PREV DISCUSSION... Issued at 646 AM EDT Fri SEP 30 2016 AVIATION... Widespread IFR / borderline MVFR will persist through the day, accompanied by gusty northeast wind and episodes of showers. Expect general trend of IFR cig improving to MVFR with diurnal heating by early afternoon with occasional returns to IFR within heavier showers. Heaviest showers are expected south of KFNT mainly 19z- 23z...roughly in line with the latest HRRR and NAM runs. Just a low chc of a thunderstorm not worthy of inclusion in the TAF attm. For DTW...NE wind will be problematic through this evening and potentially into late tonight. Wind is forecast to veer to a more SE direction by Saturday morning. Episodic showers will continue throughout this time. //DTW Threshold Probabilities... * High for cig aob 5kft. * Low for tstorm impacting KDTW airspace mainly this evening. PREV DISCUSSION... Issued at 317 AM EDT Fri SEP 30 2016 DISCUSSION... The regional radar show another round of showers advancing across much of the forecast area this morning. Recent radar trends indicate that the intensity and thus rainfall amounts through the morning rush hour will be much less than what occurred yesterday. This next round of rain is still associated with the quasi stationary upper low centered over Kentucky. The water vapor loop indicates good upper difluent flow across the upper Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes. There is also strong transport of Atlantic moisture extending from the Mid Atlantic region into the eastern Great Lakes. These factors are supporting the extensive swath of showers from Se Mi all the way to wrn Virginia. During the course of the day, the center of the upper low is forecast to only inch up toward the Indiana/Kentucky border. A strengthening of the cyclonically curved upper jet max to the east of the mid level circulation (across the Upper Ohio Valley) is forecast to increase upper divergence across Se Mi. This will then trigger an increase in mid level deformation across Srn Lower Mi. Model cross sections do show a rather deep layer of weak elevated convective instability with respect to a saturated air parcel. This does suggest the potential for the development of a rather deep mid level frontal circulation. The main forecast uncertainty at this point is the location of the more persistent mid level frontal forcing and thus heaviest rainfall today. The NAM and GFS continue to suggest this mid level frontal circulation focusing the more persistent rainfall from the northern Detroit suburbs up through the I-69 corridor into southern Saginaw county this afternoon into the evening. The HRRR and especially the ARW suggest the frontal dynamics will become established a little farther south (Metro Detroit/Ann Arbor south to the Ohio border). Given the compact nature of the upper low, it certainly seems possible for any mid level frontal forcing to set up farther south closer to the mid level low center. So it seems possible for locations (generally south of a Saginaw to Bad Axe line) to pick up another half inch to inch of rain, with a few locals receiving up to an additional two inches of rain. For this reason and and with some uncertainty where any nearly stationary bands of more moderate rain will set up later today, the current flood watch will remain intact. The upper low will inch its way northward across Indian tonight. The upper level divergence and better mid level frontal dynamics will slide to the west of the forecast area, while the feed of the Atlantic moisture fractures. This will lead to decreasing chances for showers during the night. While there is of course some slight differences amoung the 00Z model suite in the exact track of the upper low, they all suggest it will lift into srn Lower Mi on Saturday, then slowly depart to the east of the region Sunday into Monday. The associated cold pool aloft and resulting steep mid level lapse rates will reside over the forecast area Sat into at least early Sunday. This will support some redevelopment of showers and a few thunderstorms. The potential for deep convection within close proximity to the slow moving upper low could certainly support some additional localized heavy rainfall Sat into Sun. Ample cloud cover and showers will maintain a low diurnal spread in temps over the next three days (highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s). The departure of the upper low will bring drier and warmer conditions to the region for the first half of next week. MARINE... Stalled low pressure system south of the Great Lakes will maintain persistent fresh onshore flow into Saturday morning. This will warrant continuation of existing Small Craft Advisories for all nearshore zones due to both winds and elevated waves. Easterly winds will diminish in intensity and back to the northeast by the end of the weekend as the low begins to lift out of the area. HYDROLOGY... The pattern today will remain largely unchanged from yesterday. Rounds of showers will continue to pivot around a stalled low pressure system with additional rainfall totals of 2 inches possible on a local basis, including in the Detroit Metro area. The heaviest rain is forecast to fall between noon and 6pm today, mainly along and south of the I-69 corridor. Urban and small stream flooding will once again be possible along with minor flooding on area rivers. && .DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...Flood Watch until 8 PM EDT this evening FOR MIZ060>063-068>070-075- 076. Lake Huron...Small Craft Advisory until midnight EDT tonight FOR LHZ422. Small Craft Advisory until 5 AM EDT Saturday FOR LHZ421-441>443. Lake St Clair...Small Craft Advisory until midnight EDT tonight FOR LCZ460. Michigan waters of Lake Erie...Small Craft Advisory until midnight EDT tonight FOR LEZ444. && $$ UPDATE.......DRK AVIATION.....JVC DISCUSSION...SC MARINE.......JVC HYDROLOGY....JVC You can obtain your latest National Weather Service forecasts online at www.weather.gov/detroit.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
1002 AM CDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 1002 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Upper low continues to spin near Louisville this morning, with periodic showers pushing westward into Illinois. No real change expected in this pattern expected through this evening, before the low finally starts to move northward after midnight. Main updates to the forecast generally involved massaging the PoP trends into Saturday, with little change needed to temperatures. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) ISSUED AT 308 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 07z/2am water vapor imagery shows center of persistent upper low centered over central Kentucky. Scattered showers continue to pivot around the low, with the most concentrated area of rain immediately to the north of the center over southern Indiana/far northern Kentucky. Based on recent radar loops, have opted to go with likely PoPs along/south of a Paris to Effingham line early this morning...with rain chances steadily decreasing further west toward the Illinois River Valley. As the day progresses, additional showers will develop further west, resulting in increasing PoPs across the remainder of the KILX CWA. With upper low slowly lifting back northward and lapse rates steepening, MUCAPE values are progged to reach the 600-1000J/kg range across the east later today. As a result, have mentioned isolated thunder along/east of I-55 this afternoon. Given extensive cloud cover and scattered showers, high temperatures will once again remain in the middle to upper 60s. Showery weather will continue tonight, although areal coverage will decrease due to loss of daytime instability. Will carry chance PoPs everywhere, with lows dropping into the middle 50s. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) ISSUED AT 308 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Upper low will continue to lift northward into northern Indiana by Saturday evening. With this feature still in the vicinity, am expecting scattered showers and cool conditions to persist through Saturday. After that, all model solutions track the low into the Great Lakes by Sunday, resulting in rising heights across the Midwest and a return to warmer/drier conditions for early next week. With increasing amounts of sunshine, high temperatures will reach the lower 70s on Sunday, then the middle 70s by Monday. The next big weather question will revolve around how quickly a western CONUS trough can translate eastward next week. The speed of this system will likely be impacted by Hurricane Matthew as it tracks northward off the North Carolina coast by the middle of next week. Given the expected track/intensity of Matthew, think a slower eastward progression of the trough is prudent. As a result, have maintained dry conditions through Tuesday night, with only low chance PoPs arriving across the western CWA by Wednesday. Wednesday night into Thursday appears to be the primary time frame for precip chances as the trough and its associated cold front gradually make their way eastward into Illinois. Before the precip arrives however, a couple of very warm days with temperatures well into the 70s and perhaps to around 80 degrees will be on tap for Tuesday and Wednesday. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Saturday morning) Issued at 654 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 An occluded low pressure system churning to the SE of our forecast area will keep clouds and periodic showers in the TAFs over the next 24 hours. IFR clouds will dominate the first few hours of the 12z TAFs, with LIFR at BMI. Daytime heating will lift the LCL, so that MVFR conditions prevail for the rest of the day. There may be enough mixing to break a few holes in the clouds this afternoon, but expect overcast conditions for the most part. IFR clouds and MVFR visibility in fog will likely develop tonight as the low pressure center lifts north into Indiana. Rain chances will be hard to pinpoint, but the latest HRRR and RAP models point toward a band of steadier rains arriving from the east later this afternoon into the evening. Have focused that time frame for prevailing rain for CMI and DEC. Outside of that, have kept VCSH at the other terminals. Surface winds will remain out of the north-northeast over the next 24 hours, with wind speeds increasing to 10 to 15 kts today. Look for an occasional gust up to 20 kts at times, especially during any showers that affect the TAF sites. && .ILX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NONE. && $$ UPDATE...Geelhart SHORT TERM...Barnes LONG TERM...Barnes AVIATION...Shimon
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Melbourne FL
935 AM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .UPDATE... Today...Weak frontal boundary extending from northeast Florida through the Big Bend region into the Gulf of Mexico will only move a little to the east today, so the real dry air behind it won`t reach east central Florida. The highest precipitable water values will be in the south though as some drier air aloft has filtered in over the north. The morning sounding at Tampa showed precipitable water 1.72 inches with still cool temps aloft (500mb -8C). Southwest steering flow was still around 15 knots but should decrease slightly through the day. The GFS shows decent divergence aloft during the afternoon with 500 mb temps cooling a degree or so. The weakening frontal trough approaching will cause surface winds to diminish so a sea breeze will develop and provide added lift over the east side of the peninsula. West coast sea breeze storms will push steadily inland this afternoon, though probably not quite as fast as yesterday. Additionally, there was a weak pre frontal convergence line from north of Tampa to Lake George early this morning that may provide additional focus for storms as they increase in coverage/intensity while traversing the peninsula. The HRRR model has been showing an increase in lightning and wind gusts near the east coast as convection and boundaries moving across the peninsula interact with the east coast sea breeze. So several ingredients are coming into place for an active afternoon. We have already outlined the potential for strong storms in the Hazardous Weather Outlook along with a slight chance for a severe storm or two. Little change to the previous products are needed. && .AVIATION... Scattered storms will again spread west to east across the peninsula again while increasing in coverage/intensity. Timing looks a little later than yesterday. A few of the storms will again produce strong wind gusts over 35 knots and frequent lighting strikes. The east coast sea breeze will likely result in the strongest storms being at the coastal terminals during the late afternoon and early evening. && .MARINE... Today...The pressure gradient will ease today as a weakening frontal boundary moves very slowly eastward from northeast Florida and the Big Bend region. This will cause southwest winds to diminish below 10 knots and a sea breeze will form this afternoon. Seas should be less than 3 feet. However, boaters will need to be alert for strong storms moving off the coast by late afternoon. Expect Special Marine Warnings again. && .MLB Watches/Warnings/Advisories... FL...None. AM...None. && $$ FORECASTS...Lascody IMPACT WX/AVIATION...Sedlock
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
513 AM CDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 332 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Cut-off H5 low that drifted down into KY yesterday is already starting to lift back to the NNW this morning. Biggest implication for us is that the low stratus looks to return from the east faster than initially indicated, with sky grids increased considerably this afternoon in western WI/eastern MN and overnight for western MN. 925- 850 RH off the GFS/NAM/RAP shows cloud cover currently over SE WI ending up in eastern SD by Saturday morning. Of interest though is that the NAM in particular shows a wedge of dry air dropping down from Lake Superior tonight, with skies actually clearing out some in western WI tonight as the stratus is heading for SD. Given the expected cloud cover, low 70s are unlikely again today out in western WI. Other issue more for this morning is a batch of low stratus coming down off of Lake Superior. The HRRR shows this cloud cover getting down to about the Twin Cities/Wilmar in the for of fog/low stratus. Though this may result for a cloudy morning for much of central MN, this looks to mix out by mid-late morning with a brief window of sunny skies in the afternoon before cloud cover arrives from the east. Last change made in the short term was to keep the Eau Claire area dry through 12z Saturday. CAMs and deterministic models alike keep the MPX area dry, with any rainfall Friday night confined to eastern WI where moisture on the 290-305k isentropic surfaces. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 332 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 The period begins with a stubborn upper level low lifting slowly northward across Indiana. Considerable cloudiness will occur across the FA in the morning along with a few showers from the southeast corner of MN through KEAU. The cloudiness should begin to breakdown from the northeast in the afternoon as drier air spreads in along with the upper level low beginning to drift east. This leaves a horseshoe of higher cloud cover curving from western MN through IA to eastern WI. The cloudiness will breakdown Saturday night leaving us with a fine early fall day on Sunday. High temperatures this weekend will be very close to seasonal values with lows about 5 degrees above normal. We have had a little bit of a roll reversal for next week between the EC and GFS with regards to the weather system impacting the FA in the Tuesday through Thursday period. The EC continues to inch forward a bit on the leading edge of the rain on Tuesday while the GFS is looking more like earlier runs of the EC on keeping rain out of the Twin Cities until Wednesday afternoon. The Canadian would also keep rain out of the local area until Wednesday afternoon. One of the differences noted is that the EC has more of a positively tilted upper wave while the GFS and Canadian are more negatively tilted. At this point, we allowed small pops into western MN on Tuesday with the small pops working across eastern MN and western WI Tuesday night. This will be too fast if the latter solutions are correct. Another item noted is the strength of the low level moisture transport Tuesday night and early Wednesday across western MN. This area will likely see the most rain from this event with amounts of a half inch to one inch likely. The long term closes out with a cold front pushing east of the FA with a breezy southwest wind occurring on Thursday. High temperatures early next week will continue to be close to seasonal normals. However, highs will trend downward thereafter, with readings only in the middle 50s to lower 60s expected on Thursday. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Saturday morning) Issued at 507 AM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Fog/low stratus has slowly built southwest from Lake Superior through the night. Only MPX terminal that will definitely be in it is STC, with AXN on the western edge of the clouds and MSP/RNH/EAU near its southern edge. Followed the idea of the HRRR that this fog will slowly mix out through the morning, finally clearing out of central MN in the mid to late morning, which is a bit slower than what LAMP guidance has. Of course is this is going on, stratus has been rapidly pushing west across WI through the night and will be moving from west to east across the area today. Not expecting fog to be as much of an issue tonight as forecast soundings show us going the route of a 2k-5k foot CIG. KMSP...Fog/stratus has made it into the north metro and northeast winds will continue to try an push it toward MSP. At this point, not very confident of the stratus will reach MSP this morning, so maintained a tempo group. Confidence is high that status coming in late this afternoon will remain above 018. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ Sat...VFR. Wind ENE at 5 kts. Sun...VFR. Wind NE at 5 kts. Mon...VFR. Wind SE at 5-10 kts && .MPX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... WI...None. MN...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...MPG LONG TERM...RAH AVIATION...MPG
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
726 AM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS... A strong upper level area of low pressure will remain just west of the mountains today before slowly lifting to the north later tonight into Saturday. This system will combine with a residual stationary front across the region to produce periods of showers and thunderstorms into late tonight. The low will move northeast, away from the region, resulting in drier weather this weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 245 AM EDT Friday... Broken bands of heavy rain producing showers continue across the west under the tail of a passing speed max and over the northeast third with added low level convergence early this morning. Expect this trend to persist through daybreak with main coverage likely shifting into the northwest sections as multiple short band type features merge. Then questions with added coverage through the day as the upper low begins to shift back north while the jet aloft remains strong over continued low level convergence espcly north and east this afternoon. Will also have to watch for another band to work north along the southern Blue Ridge this morning as several solutions including the latest HRRR and 00z ECMWF paint quite a bit of QPF extending north from the North Carolina foothills into the west between 12-16z. This along a residual convergence axis well to the south and eventually along the eastward moving occluded front that will swing across the Blue Ridge this afternoon. This along with some breaks and decent instability southeast may allow one final heavier band of shra/tsra to evolve across the north/east this afternoon given strong veering with height and moist PWATS. However with uncertainty wont hoist another watch at this point while allowing the ongoing FFA to end with this package given only current scattered nature to shra attm. Otherwise again running with likely/cat pops today, except tapering to chance heading into the southwest zones where will likely remain in the dry slot aloft with limited added showers. Lowered high temps a little under easterly flow and more clouds as expecting a range from near 80 southeast to only the 60s far west. Upper low should continue to trudge north toward the Ohio Valley overnight allowing drier air aloft to gradually win out from southwest to northeast behind the passing surface occluded boundary. Think still decent coverage in the north/east during the evening before showers fade late tonight with little focus remaining. May even see some clearing work in from the southwest after midnight so mostly chance pops tapering to spotty showers northeast sections by dawn. Expect more clearing west to allow temps to fall into the cool 40s in spots with overall low/mid 50s elsewhere, except low 60s far east. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 305 AM EDT Friday... Drying trend will continue over the weekend as the upper low finally lifts farther north and weak high pressure slides in from the west. May still have an isolated shower around early Saturday over the north, otherwise cutting pops with more sunshine on tap by the afternoon. Another spoke of energy looks to rotate around the upper low Saturday night with this feature reaching the western mountains later Sunday. Moisture quite limited with the weak associated front but cant totally rule out an isolated shower western slopes late Sunday into Sunday night. Otherwise expecting mainly clear skies Saturday night and mainly sunny Sunday before clouds invade the west late. High temps to remain mild under west/southwest flow aloft with mostly 70s both Saturday and Sunday and lows mostly 50s Saturday night given good radiational cooling conditions. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 330 PM EDT Thursday... The upper low will give way to ridging in the eastern US through the early part of next week. This stall the approaching front and allow a large area of high pressure to settle over New England and wedge down the east side of the Appalachians. The big variable lies with the potential track of TS Matthew as it is expected to turn north and move up the Atlantic coast. The exact track of Matthew will determine how much, if any, precipitation it can push into the region from the east and how much overrunning precipitation will develop as it interacts with the wedge. Right now, the most likely scenario is for some light overrunning precipitation to develop by Tuesday and increase a bit into Wednesday especially in the east, with any significant effects form Matthew remaining to our east. && .AVIATION /11Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 711 AM EDT Friday... Variable but overall sub-VFR conditions will prevail this morning with cigs fluctuating between MVFR and low end IFR at times. Best coverage of showers/storms resulting in vsby restrictions look to occur along the KBCB-KROA corridor this morning with weaker bands elsewhere espcly around KLWB. Thus will include either a vicinity or tempo mention with perhaps a brief prevailing group of lower cigs/vsbys at these locations. Uncertainty continues with the degree of added convective coverage today with the upper low starting to retrograde while the occluded boundary to the west shifts east and starts to cutoff deeper moisture late. Models continue to focus showers and storms across the northwest corridor through midday, then along and north of a KLWB- KDAN line. Should see any IFR conditions slowly improve to MVFR/VFR by midday/early afternoon though think places like KROA/KLYH/KLWB will keep MVFR to the end of this taf period. Will include more showers and storms given decent probability during the afternoon in most locations with tapering of showers by the evening as the main corridor of deeper lift slides north. Extended aviation discussion... A deep upper low will finally shift farther to the north by Saturday and away from the region on Sunday. This should allow for a gradual improvement in cigs after early sub-VFR Saturday with widespread VFR Sunday as weak high pressure builds in. Looks like overall VFR to then prevail into early next week outside of some upslope low clouds Monday and perhaps along the Blue Ridge Tuesday as another weak wedge develops under high pressure to the north. && .HYDROLOGY... As of 330 AM EDT Friday... Overall convective bands have decreased in both coverage and intensity across the north early this morning so letting the watch go for now. Otherwise main concern again with the redevelopment of heavier bands from the south/southeast through the day as multiple areas of convergence pivot around the upper low to the west. Likely looking at another inch or so of rainfall on average across the north with locally higher amounts where deeper convection mixes in. Also some concern along the Blue Ridge through midday with possible very early morning redevelopment and training as seen a few models. Given now saturated soil conditions and elevated stream/creek levels will be easier for flooding or flash flooding to develop while still appears most mainstem rivers will stay below flood levels for now. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...None. NC...None. WV...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...AMS/JH NEAR TERM...JH SHORT TERM...JH LONG TERM...MBS AVIATION...AMS/JH/WP HYDROLOGY...WP
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
322 PM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 322pm MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Today and tomorrow a weak upper trough will be slowly moving east through the weak upper ridge over Colorado. The airmass over Colorado is quite moist (GJT was over 200 percent of average this morning) and there were numerous cloud levels over the mountains. There is some clearing seen in the higher clouds over Colorado... and we just now seeing lightning over the western mountains. At the surface a low pressure center resides over southeast Colorado...and an apparent front went through metro Denver this morning and is seen moving through the Pueblo radar at 20z. The boundary and the clouds resulted in slightly cooler temperatures today. New HRRR continues the idea of precipitation shifting to the southeast this evening. That is reflected in the forecast so no changes...scattered pops over the palmer divide this evening...then showers diminishing across the cwa by midnight. Tuesday will be similar...as the moisture will continue to reside over the mountains and the southwest flow will continue. There will be scattered showers and thunderstorms over mountains...with a much lower chance over the plains. temperatures will be only a degree or two higher than today. LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 322 PM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Saturday night the upper level trough will be centered over the Rocky Mountain Region...with a deep upper level low pressure trough just off the west coast of the United States. On Sunday...the upper ridge will shift eastward over the Central Plains as the upper level storm system deepens over northern California. This pattern should result in dry and warm weather across north central and northeastern Colorado through the weekend...with only isolated showers and storms in the mountains. On Monday...the upper trough deepens over the Great Basin...with a moderate to strong southwesterly flow aloft over Colorado. Models are showing a 100kt+ KT jet over western Colorado by Monday Afternoon. Some orographics and lift from the upper jet should produce scattered afternoon and evening showers and storms over the high country...with dry and warm weather east of the mountains. On Tuesday...the center of the upper low tracks north of Colorado. The GFS has it moving over Wyoming and the Dakotas...while the ECMWF moves it over Montana. The combination of the frontal passage and cold air advection from the upper trough will bring an end to the unseasonably warm temperature across the region. Temperatures on Tuesday should be 15 to 20 degrees colder than Monday`s readings. Cold advection behind the front...combined with the gradient between the upper high over the northern Rockies and higher pressure over Colorado should produce gusty winds over the foothills and portions of northeastern Colorado from early Tuesday morning through Tuesday afternoon. The Sangster Model suggests the potential for strong winds across the foothills. In addition...the northern mountains should see a good chance for snow due to cold air advection and orographic westerly flow. Wednesday should be the coolest day of the week on the plains due to increasing cloudiness and less downslope flow. We should still see scattered snow showers in the mountains due to a continued westerly orographic flow. The models also show an upper level disturbance moving across the region...which could produce isolated showers across the plains. Warmer and drier weather is expected by Friday as upper level high pressure rebuilds over the Rocky Mountain Region. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Friday night) Issued at 224 AM MDT Fri Sep 30 2016 showers continue to move north of the metro area...we still think there will be a transition to showers and possibly thunderstorms developing over and near the palmer divide this evening. Metro area airports will be VFR...but there could be spotty mvfr ceilings near showers. With a surface low in southeast Colorado the surface winds will remain northerly today...and most likely a westerly drainage wind tonight. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...RTG LONG TERM...Kalina AVIATION...RTG
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Duluth MN
306 PM CDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday) Issued at 306 PM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Summary: Persistent easterly flow from Lake Superior will maintain a similar weather pattern into Saturday. Marine stratus will surge back inland this evening and overnight, only to linger again Saturday morning before dissipating for inland areas Saturday afternoon, but remaining over the Lake. Low temperatures will again fall into the 40s tonight, and lower to middle 60s are expected Saturday afternoon. A large, vertically-stacked area of low pressure over Kentucky will wobble its way north to Indiana/Ohio by Saturday, while a ridge of surface high pressure will continue to extend from Quebec through northern Ontario into Minnesota. This pattern will maintain light easterly flow across the Northland, which will be relatively humid because of the moisture contribution from Lake Superior. The Northland saw stratus from Lake Superior spread to most of the Northland last night and early this morning, only to linger well into the day. The Lake is fairly warm, with a surface temperature in the low 50s, while temperatures inland fell into the 40s last night. The relatively warm and humid air from the lake easily clouded over as it ran over the cool air inland. The stratus gradually dissipated through today to result in most areas clearing, but it remained over Lake Superior and slightly inland downwind of the Lake, such as near the shores of the Twin Ports and Ashland. The overall weather pattern will not be changing to any significant degree into tomorrow, so it looks like the Northland is stuck in repeat mode. The HRRR has been handling the stratus the best amongst the models, and it has the marine stratus surging back inland this evening and overnight. Increased the cloud cover forecast for tonight and tomorrow with a heavy influence from the latest HRRR runs. Other models support/suggest the marine stratus moving back inland tonight for most areas, too, such as the 950 hpa RAP RH and the local WRF. The Northland saw visibilities come down overnight due to the stratus, but there were few observations meeting true fog (less than 1 mile). Tonight will likely be similar. However, there could be some spots with foggier conditions wherever the stratus is low enough, such as in higher terrain, so have patchy fog moving inland tonight. The model soundings are indicating a brief period of deepening stratus from near the Twin Ports into the Arrowhead, near and shortly after dawn tomorrow. The GFS even has a little precipitation. Added patchy drizzle for this area because it looks like the stratus layer might be deep enough to squeeze out a little moisture. Bands of cloud cover from the upper-level low will swing west into the southeast forecast area late today into early Saturday, and it might produce some very light rain for the far southeast forecast area, near Prentice and Ogema. .LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Friday) Issued at 306 PM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 The forecast area will remain positioned between low pressure rotating to our south near Chicago, and high pressure anchored to the north over Ontario into next week. The flow will turn southerly and strengthen through the beginning of next week as the next low pressure system advances into the Dakotas. Latest runs of the GFS/ECM are in surprisingly good agreement with the low that will impact the region next week considering its out on day 5 and beyond. The long wave trough, with closed 500hPa low, is projected make landfall on the western coast Sunday, then migrate east across the central US and into the Northern Plains by Wednesday. This track will allow for a warm front to lift over the region early in the week, bringing a surge of warm gulf air along with a chance for showers and thunderstorms with it. Once the low passes over the western Lake Superior region and cold air advection makes a return for the upcoming weekend, a much cooler airmass with 850hPa temps well below zero will dive into the Northland. This may be our first shot at light snow accumulations along the borderland. However, suspect overall timing of the long wave trough and associated stacked low/precipitation chances will be slower than currently in forecast. This is due to model bias of typically progressing closed systems too fast, as well as the impact of the tropical storm approaching the east coast during this time; which the GFS and ECM are showing large differences with. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon) Issued at 1249 PM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 The fog and LIFR ceilings slowly eroded through the morning, with only KINL still being impacted into this afternoon. Elsewhere vfr conditions with mostly sunny skies will prevail for remainder of the day. Expect low clouds and areas of fog to redevelop overnight. Wrap around mid level clouds, associated with an area of low pressure to our south, will also lift into the forecast area overnight and linger into Saturday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DLH 49 61 46 63 / 0 10 0 0 INL 44 66 47 69 / 0 0 0 0 BRD 48 65 46 69 / 0 0 0 0 HYR 49 66 45 66 / 0 0 0 0 ASX 49 61 47 64 / 0 0 0 0 && .DLH Watches/Warnings/Advisories... WI...None. MN...None. LS...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Grochocinski LONG TERM...Graning AVIATION...Graning
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Wichita KS
310 PM CDT FRI SEP 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday night) Issued at 310 PM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Forecast highlights: Fairly quiet weather through Monday, with shower/thunderstorm chances increasing Monday night- Wednesday night. Quiet weather again by late week and next weekend. Could see fog development later tonight into early Saturday morning over portions of east-central and southeast Kansas, due to light winds and clear skies atop surface ridge axis. RAP soundings indicate potential for dense fog amidst a moistening boundary layer, so evening shift will need to monitor. Cannot rule out a few showers/thunderstorms west of I-135 Saturday night into Sunday morning given increasing 850-700 warm advection and moisture transport. Forcing and elevated instability are weak, so not expecting widespread activity. Otherwise, daytime temperatures will steadily warm through Monday as southerly flow and atmospheric thickness gradually increase ahead of a deepening western CONUS trough. Readings by Monday should reach the 80s most areas, with stout/gusty south winds as lee trough strengthens over the High Plains. Expecting shower/thunderstorm chances to increase generally west of I-135 Monday night, as large scale ascent from deep western CONUS trough and associated cold front approach from the west. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Friday) Issued at 310 PM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Per medium range model consensus, shower/thunderstorm chances continue areawide Tuesday- Wednesday night, as the western CONUS longwave trough and associated cold front moves across Mid- America. Quite a bit of model spread regarding the evolution, magnitude, timing and placement of various synoptic features, so confidence on forecast specifics remains low. Despite moderate to strong forcing and decent deep layer shear, thinking overall threat for severe weather is on the low side throughout this event given limited moisture return and associated poor instability. Cooler and pleasant weather will return by late week in wake of the cold front, with upper ridging building from the west. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon) Issued at 1220 PM CDT Fri Sep 30 2016 VFR Weather is expected to persist during the TAF forecast valid period. Light/variable winds are forecast with a surface ridge continuing to stretch from Minnesota/Iowa to Eastern Kansas. Some High-level cloudiness will continue to spread over central Kansas from the west through Saturday morning. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Wichita-KICT 51 76 56 79 / 0 0 10 10 Hutchinson 50 76 54 78 / 0 0 10 10 Newton 50 74 54 77 / 0 0 10 10 ElDorado 51 75 54 78 / 0 0 10 10 Winfield-KWLD 51 77 55 80 / 0 0 10 10 Russell 49 76 53 79 / 0 10 20 20 Great Bend 50 77 53 79 / 0 10 20 20 Salina 49 76 54 79 / 0 0 10 10 McPherson 50 75 54 78 / 0 0 10 10 Coffeyville 50 77 53 80 / 0 0 0 0 Chanute 50 75 52 78 / 0 0 0 0 Iola 50 74 52 77 / 0 0 0 0 Parsons-KPPF 50 76 51 79 / 0 0 0 0 && .ICT Watches/Warnings/Advisories...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...ADK LONG TERM...ADK AVIATION...JMC
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Indianapolis IN
705 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .UPDATE... The Aviation section has been updated below. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 245 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 A strong upper low near Louisville will lift north across Indiana tonight and Saturday before moving into the eastern great lakes Sunday. This will result in more cool and showery weather through Sunday. Thunderstorms will also be possible early evening and Saturday and Saturday evening. High pressure will bring a return to dry weather to the area starting Sunday, and temperatures will warm to the 70s next week. Finally, shower chances will return by Wednesday night as a frontal system moves through from the west. && .NEAR TERM /Remainder of the afternoon and tonight/... Issued at 245 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Severe potential and pops are the main concerns through tonight as an upper low sends several lobes of vorticity across central Indiana. Models handle upper low slightly different regarding positioning, but all solutions and HRRR favor carrying good chance to likely pops through early evening with the best chances across the northeast as arcing band continues to spiral northeast across that area. After that, model time sections show some mid level drying which, along with loss of solar heating, favors lower pops after dark with chance looking good most areas. Models have a marginal risk of severe across areas our northeastern counties with the southwest border over northeastern Boone county, the northern border adjacent to IWX counties and the eastern border adjacent with ILN counties. With upper and surface lows around along with an occluded front, would not rule out brief isolated tornadoes along with and maginally large hail per SPC Day1 Outlook. The threat should be over by 8 pm as mentioned in the Hazardous Weather Outlook and Weather Story. Status and or fog will be an issue once again tonight per the SREF and GFS LAMP. For now, went with patchy fog. Wording may need to be stepped up for the evening update. Favor lows on the warmer side of MOS with clouds hanging around. && .SHORT TERM /Saturday and Saturday night/... Issued at 245 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Main challenge to the short term will be pops. Models have some difference, but a non-Canadian blend takes the upper low over northern Indiana on Saturday and into southeastern lower Michigan Saturday night. This blend is favored due to better clustering with the ensembles. This suggests high pops once again on Saturday and lower pops Saturday night with loss of heating and low pulling away. Will continue to keep thunder in for the daytime and early evening as has been the trend and par for the course for early fall systems. The GFS and NAM had most unstable CAPEs to 1000 j/kg at 18z Saturday and dropping off at 00z Sunday. Will stick with afternoon highs on the lower side and overnight lows on the warmer side of MOS due to extensive cloud cover. && LONG TERM /Sunday through Friday/... Issued at 238 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 Sunday will be a transitional day as the upper low over the eastern great lakes begins to move away from our region and high pressure builds in from the plains. Models indicate there could be a slight chance of showers most areas Sunday with the possible exception of the far west. Sunday night through Wednesday will be dry with a high pressure ridge across our region. A cold front which will be across the plains Wednesday will move to the Mississippi river Thursday morning and across Indiana Thursday night. The latest GFS...Canadian and European models indicate a few showers may reach western Indiana late Wednesday night and then scattered showers and a few thunderstorms Thursday and early Thursday night. This front may bring a few showers to eastern sections early Friday with dry and cooler weather after that. Concerning temperatures...models have trended a little cooler Sunday with highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Highs will be mostly in the 70s Monday through Thursday...but with some areas reaching the lower 80s Wednesday. Then highs Friday will be in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Lows will be in the lower 50s Monday morning warming to near 60 Wednesday and then cooling some days 6 and 7. Raised high tempertures slightly Monday through Wednesday with lots of sun and warm advection. Otherwise...stayed close to Super Blend temperatures most other periods. && .AVIATION /Discussion for the 01/00Z TAFs/... Issued at 705 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 VFR conditions will again deteriorate to MVFR or worse overnight. Upper low continues to spin over the region, bringing showers, isolated thunder, and widespread cloud cover. Expect ceilings to deteriorate again tonight, with fluctuations likely. Winds will be less than 10kt through the period, variable at times. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...MK NEAR TERM...MK SHORT TERM...MK LONG TERM...JH AVIATION...NIELD
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Jackson KY
340 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday night) Issued at 340 PM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 18z sfc analysis shows a broad area of low pressure through the Ohio Valley and Southern Appalachians. Most of East Kentucky is in the southwest quadrant of this system and pretty much dry slotted keeping the showers and any storms west and northeast of the CWA. Plenty of clouds and morning fog slowed the temperature rise through eastern Kentucky today, but with more clear breaks the sunshine is helping to send temperatures into the low and mid 60s. Meanwhile, dewpoints are running in the low 50s for most places with the winds light and variable. The models are in good agreement aloft with their handling of the fairly deep closed low wobbling over the Ohio Valley through the weekend. They all have the low tracking slowly due north with some minor divergence in solutions late in the short term. The GFS moves the low to the Great Lakes a notch quicker than the others, but strength is similar from all models. They all, also, have ample mid level energy rotating through the low over head. Given the agreement will favor a blended solution with the HRRR and NAM12 leaned toward in the near term. Sensible weather will feature another cool evening and overnight as the clouds partially break up. This will make for varying amounts of radiational cooling and better radiational fog formation at times overnight. The latest CONSShort guidance keeps the more extensive and thickest fog just to the west of the CWA tonight. For this reason, will allow some mainly valley fog in the grids toward midnight and through dawn with some locally dense patches in the deeper valleys toward 12z. The next pinwheel of energy aloft may bring some light showers to western parts of the CWA overnight and into Saturday morning, but most of the area should remain dry. Look for the fog to burn off Saturday morning and a bit more sunshine should allow for temps to reach the upper 60s to low 70s most places. Similar conditions are anticipated Saturday night with more valley centric patchy fog late. Also, a couple stray showers may move in late Saturday into Sunday morning as the upper low and sfc low start to move out. Again used the CONSShort and ShortBlend as a starting point for most grids into Saturday morning with the SuperBlend used thereafter. Made only minor changes to the T grids based on our terrain with the clouds around. As for PoPs - ended up on the low side of a MOS blend through Sunday morning. .LONG TERM...(Sunday through Friday) Issued at 248 PM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 The forecast for the extended should feature isolated rain showers moving across eastern Kentucky, as an area of low pressure aloft moves across the lower Ohio Valley region on Sunday, a period of dry and pleasant weather, and possibly another round of rain Thursday night into early Friday. A cold front would be the trigger for any rain we may see toward the end of next week. Temperatures during the period are expected to max out in the 70s each afternoon, and bottom out in the 50s each night. A few spots may reach or slightly exceed 80 degrees Tuesday through Thursday, mainly along and south of the Hal Rogers Parkway and Highway 80 corridor. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon) ISSUED AT 210 PM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 The lower cigs and last of the fog are clearing out of the TAF sites ATTM. Expect most locations will go VFR for a time into the early evening hours. However, we will see a round of shower activity move toward eastern Kentucky from the west this evening into tonight, but too much uncertainty remains in timing/spatial extent of this activity to warrant mention for the TAFs at this time. Cloud cover will remain variable through the forecast period with some lowering of cigs anticipated overnight, but still plenty of questions concerning the timing and occurrences of sub- VFR conditions. Fog, locally dense, looks to be a good bet in valleys tonight, but TAF sites will likely be limited to mainly MVFR vis restrictions, at worst, through 13z Saturday. Following this, anticipate improving conditions into Saturday afternoon with mostly VFR cig and vis values. Winds will remain light and variable through the period. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && $$ SHORT TERM...GREIF LONG TERM...AR AVIATION...GREIF
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Marquette MI
417 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2016 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday) Issued at 416 PM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 WV imagery and RAP analysis indicated a mid/upper level low over far srn Indiana and a ridge from the srn plains to the upper MS valley and nrn Great Lakes. Radars indicated rain over much of the srn half of lower MI associated with 700-300 mb qvector conv and 305-310k isentropic lift to the north of the low. Some light showers or sprinkles were also approaching MNM but had largely dissipated as they moved into drier air and away from the stronger forcing. Otherwise, mid clouds were gradually spreading into the srn cwa. Diurnal stratocu had also developed over the cntrl cwa. Tonight, expect light showers to continue to spread gradually to the northeast with the potential for sct/isold -shra/sprinkles over the srn cwa. With only weak forcing and a dry layer below 750 mb, confidence is low with how far north any measurable pcpn will develop. Increasing clouds will keep temps from falling off as much with min readings from the upper 40s to mid 50s, coldest inland west. Even though there is still enough low level moisture, afternoon dewpoints in the mid 50s, to support patchy fog development the clouds will reduce fog potential over the south and east. Saturday, with the mid level low drifting northward to far ne Indiana by 00z/Sun, showers potential will also expand across the se half of Upper Michigan. However, since the stronger forcing remains farther to the se, only chance pops were mentioned. Despite the thicker clouds over the area, high temps will remain above normal with highs in the low to mid 60s. .LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Friday) Issued at 334 PM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 Deep mstr arnd a slow moving closed lo pres in the Lower Lks could cause some showers over the se half of Upr MI on Sat ngt into Sun, but then an upr rdg shifting into the area wl bring dry wx into at least Wed. The biggest uncertainty wl be on sky cover/potential for lo clds during this time. As the cold fnt ahead of a deep, slow moving wrn trof moves toward the area, shower chcs wl return later in the week. Unseasonably warm air wl dominate the Upr Lks until late next week, bringing continued above normal temps to Upr MI. Sat ngt/Sun...Closed upr lo over far srn Lower MI on Sat evng is fcst to lift slowly to the ne and thru far se Ontario on Sun. Although the models are consistent showing a good deal of mstr extending into the Upr Lks within the deep cyc ne flow on the nw flank of this disturbance, the bulk of the larger scale deep lyr cnvgc is progged to remain mostly to the se closer to the track of the closed lo and impact only the ern portion of the cwa. Even this forcing is progged to exit to the e on Sun as the closed lo drifts in that direction away fm Upr MI. So the fcst wl continue to show no more than chc pops over the se half, hiest on Sat ngt toward the LOT/APX cwas and diminishing on Sun. Expect temps thru the weekend to remain above normal, especially on Sat ngt with lots of clds in the presence of h85 temps arnd 9C. The best chc for more sunshine on Sun wl be over the w closer to slowly aprchg hi pres rdg axis if lo clds associated with persistent near sfc mstr in that area do not linger. Max temps on Sun should run mainly in the 60s even though more persistent clds toward the e wl limit insolation. Sun ngt into Wed...As the upr rdg to the e of a deep wrn trof shifts into the wrn Great Lks early next week, a sfc rdg axis extending swwd fm a hi pres center drifting fm over Hudson Bay into Quebec wl dominate the Upr Lks. On Tue and Wed, this rdg wl shift the e, causing a tightening pres gradient/strengthening sly flow over the cwa to the e of falling mslp in the Plains associated with the slowly progressive wrn upr trof. While dry wx wl prevail during this time with larger scale subsidence under the upr rdg, some of the medium range models have hinted at some lo clds/fog under strengthening subsidence invrn with lgt ne winds off Lk Sup on Mon and then the sly flow off Lk MI on Tue/Wed at a time of the year dominated by lowering sun angle/diminished daytime mixing/longer nocturnal cooling. The potential for this lo cld cover is the biggest uncertainty during this period. Fcst h85 temps arnd 9C rising toward 12C on Wed wl ensure temps run abv normal during this time, but the presence or not of lo clds would alter the min/max temp anomalies and diurnal ranges. Best chc for anomalously warm daytime max temps wl be on Tue/Wed in the downslope areas near Lk Sup, where the prospect for more sunshine wl be greatest and could lift daytime max temps aoa 70. Wed thru Fri...Although there remain some timing differences on how quickly the wrn trof and cold fnt attendant to associated lo pres lifting into scntrl Canada wl move toward the cwa, shower chcs wl be on the incrs on Wed/Thu as this fnt/warm conveyor belt mstr ribbon aprch. Some of the longer term guidance generates a good deal of pcpn over the area, not out of the question considering pwats fcst to rise as hi as about 1.50 inches under the warm conveyor belt and relatively slow ewd progression of the features that would extend residence time of the stronger sly flow/deeper mstr. On the other hand, some of the models show the more sgnft hgt falls passing to the nw with lighter pcpn over the wrn Great Lks. Considering these important differences, ll not deviate fm the consensus fcst. Following the eventual cold fropa, looks like much cooler air wl invade the area late in the week. The 00Z ECMWF shows one of the coolest scenarios with h85 temps dipping blo 0C by late Fri and supporting some lk enhanced pcpn under lingering moist cyc nw flow. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon) Issued at 151 PM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 Expect VFR conditions will continue to prevail through this evening under the influence of dry high pres over nrn Ontario. Some radiationa fog will be possible late tonight at IWD. && .MARINE...(For the 4 PM Lake Superior forecast issuance) Issued at 416 PM EDT FRI SEP 30 2016 A weak pressure gradient across Lake Superior through the weekend and early next week will keep east to northeast winds at 20 kts or less. South-southeast winds may increase over 20 kts Tue into Wed ahead of front moving out the Northern Plains. Strongest winds would be over north central and eastern Lk Superior. && .MQT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Upper Michigan... None. Lake Superior... None. Lake Michigan... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...- None - LONG TERM...KC AVIATION...JLB MARINE...- None -