Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Key West, FL
Issued by NWS Key West, FL
325 FXUS62 KKEY 230321 AFDKEY Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Key West FL 1021 PM EST Sat Feb 22 2025 ...New DISCUSSION, MARINE, AVIATION... .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1030 PM EST Sat Feb 22 2025 Currently - A weakening and falling apart surface ridge continues to push east southeastward off the southeastern United States and further out into the Atlantic. This is pushing the swath of tight pressure gradient and stronger winds southwards and out of our area. Winds have come down quite a bit through the afternoon and evening and are now 10 to 15 mph in Key West, and weaker further east. Meanwhile, deep layered moisture is rather high as a weak mid and upper level trough migrates eastward through the eastern United States. This is contributing to considerable cloud cover, much of it in the mid and upper levels. Despite the moisture, surface dew points are unimpressive in the lower 60s. This along with inhibition likely based well below 900 mb has prevented any surface based convection on local radars. There are patches of rain present over the distant Florida Straits. Short Term Update - Winds will continue to slacken out of the east northeast as the high pushes further east southeastwards and continues to disintegrate. This would often setup potential radiational cooling. However, this will be hampered by the copious cloud cover lingering across the area through much of the night. As a result, expect overnight lows to range in the upper 60s with dew points holding in the lower 60s. Rain chances will remain slim due to no surface forcing and all mid level debris, thus far, remaining well away from the island chain. && .MARINE... Issued at 1030 PM EST Sat Feb 22 2025 A messy surface high will continue to push east southeastward out of the southeastern United States and further into the Atlantic and the trade . As a result, the fresh tradewind belt will continue to shift southward and further out of Keys waters. Expect winds northeast to easterly breezes to continue to trend downwards on Keys waters overnight. A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for the Florida Straits for residual seas. This will come down by morning. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 1030 PM EST Sat Feb 22 2025 VFR conditions will prevail at the island terminals overnight. There will be considerable cloud cover, almost entirely based well in VFR range. Surface winds will be light to gentle out of the northeast to east. && .KEY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...None. GM...Small Craft Advisory for GMZ052>055-072>075. && $$ Public/Marine/Fire...11 Aviation/Nowcasts....11 Data Acquisition.....AJP Visit us on the web at weather.gov/key Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at: www.facebook.com/nwskeywest www.twitter.com/nwskeywest