


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Sterling, VA
Issued by NWS Sterling, VA
739 FXUS61 KLWX 281835 AFDLWX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC 235 PM EDT Sat Jun 28 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A warm frontal boundary will continue to lift north of the area this afternoon leading to warmer temperatures, humid conditions, and scattered thunderstorm chances across the region. Additional showers and thunderstorms are likely Sunday as a weakening cold front drops southward into the area. Shower and thunderstorm chances continue Monday and Tuesday as a stronger cold front pushes through. Less humidity and drier conditions are expected late next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... The CAD wedge has eroded this afternoon with the warm front lifting into southeast PA. Some patchy low and mid-level clouds are leftover across central and northeast MD, but for the most part the cloud deck has lifted. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies are expected for the remainder of the afternoon with a bubbling CU field in the vicinity of the lee side trough east of the Alleghenies and along the departing warm front in south- central PA. Thunderstorm development has already taken place in this area (central/southern Shenandoah Valley) with hi-res CAMS showing a slow jog of convection eastward heading into the early evening. With the sunshine back in place and light south to southwesterly winds, temperatures have been allowed to climb back into upper 80s and low 90s. Mountain locations will be a touch cooler in the low 80s. Heat index values will hover close to 100 degrees east of US-15 with mid 90s further west. This will put us just shy of Heat Advisory criteria with fairly moist airmass (i.e dewpoints in the low to mid 70s) and limited dry air in the mid levels mixing down. Synoptically, high pressure will continue to push further out into the Atlantic allowing the warm front to work northward heading into mid-afternoon. Meanwhile, a surface trough will reside in the vicinity of the I-81 corridor as 850-925mb westerly downsloping flow ensues in the lee of Appalachians/Alleghenies. This trough will become the main focal point for convection this afternoon and evening (between 19-00Z/3-8pm). Convection appears to be loosely organized (i.e pulse or multicellular clusters/segments) feeding off of MUCAPE values of 2500-3500 j/kg and 0-6 km shear values of less than 25 kts. 0-1 SRH values are expected to hover between 15-30 m2/s2 with DCAPE hovering between 600-900 j/kg. This should allow for some movement with the storms today although locally damaging winds and isolated instances of flash flooding appear to be the primary concerns. PWATS will continue to remain high hovering between 1.7-2.3 inches yielding efficient rain rates of 1-2"+/hr. Showers and thunderstorms should initialize around I-81 between now-5pm before slowly drifting east toward the metros between 4-8pm tonight. An isolated shower or storm could pop further east along the river/bay breeze, but confidence in the evolution of this remains low at this time. Storms gradually diminish through the late evening hours (01-03z/9-11pm) with loss of daytime heating, with mainly dry conditions through the overnight hours. Some patchy fog can`t be ruled out late tonight, especially in locations that receive thunderstorms during the daylight hours. Overnight low temperatures will be in the upper 60s to the west of the Blue Ridge, and lower to middle 70s further east. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Additional shower and thunderstorm chances are possible for portions of the area Sunday as a decaying weak cold front drops southward into the region. Current 12z CAM/synoptic guidance place this boundary in the vicinity of the I-66/US-50 corridor or just south of it into central VA Sunday afternoon. The boundary will have little impact on temperatures with highs once again reaching back into the upper 80s and low 90s. Humidity may drop off a little bit especially for those the further north of I-66/US-50 where modeled PWAT values look to fall into the 1.1 to 1.4 inch range Sunday afternoon and evening. Areas south of I-66/US-50 will continue to deal with the rich moisture laden air with PWATS around 2 inches. This will be the primary area for convective development (south of I-66/US-50) Sunday afternoon. SPC continues to maintain a Marginal Risk for most of central and eastern VA during this timeframe with locally damaging winds from wet microbursts and instances of flash flooding as the primary threats. Storms will diminish with the loss of daytime heating Sunday night with lows once again falling back into the upper 60s and low 70s. More widespread shower and thunderstorm activity is possible Monday especially in northern parts of the forecast area as a washed out front sits nearby. At the same time, will monitor the progression of pre-frontal trough off to the west and encroaching strong cold front approaching from the Ohio River Valley Tuesday. A warm and humid airmass remains in between these two systems yielding ample instability and subtle shear for storms to feed off of especially during the peak heating period. SPC once again highlights the entire area for a Marginal Risk (Level 1 out of 5) for severe weather. Locally damaging winds and isolated instances of flooding will remain possible with CAPE values greater than 2000 j/kg, 0-6 km shear values less than 30 kts, and PWATS around or /above 2". Highs Monday will climb back into the upper 80s and low 90s with heat index values hovering close to 100 degrees. Lows Monday night will sit in the low to mid 70s. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... Potent shortwave-trough and accompanying sfc cold front will cross the area Tuesday afternoon and bring an organized threat of severe thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon into the evening. The main threat will be damaging winds given expected fast storm motions, ample shear. and strong instability. After trough axis passes Tuesday night, height rises and building high pressure will result in seasonable warm and dry/tranquil conditions through the remainder of the week. A reinforcing dry cool front will push through the area Fri bringing cooler and drier air mass for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend. && .AVIATION /19Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Pockets of MVFR conditions remain mainly north and east of KBWI and KNAK. This is in association with a warm front that continues to lift north and east of the region. VFR conditions are expected otherwise at all terminals with SCT-BKN ceilings hovering between 030-070 feet. Sub-VFR reductions are likely at times this afternoon and evening due in part to thunderstorm development along a lee side trough east of the Allegheny Mountains. Highest confidence of thunderstorms appears to be west of a line from KIAD-KCHO-KLYH with lesser confidence further east. Thunderstorms appear to be widely scattered with convective initiation around KMRB-KSHD between 18-21z/2-5pm before a slow advancement east toward KIAD-KCHO between 20- 23z/4-7pm. Areas further east into the corridor will likely see any residual convection fire thereafter 21-00z/5-8pm. Convection should be more isolated further east with the loss of daytime heating. Left PROB30s in to encompass this threat given the lower confidence going forward in time. Storms will pack a punch with locally damaging winds and heavy rainfall along with frequent lightning. Convection will slowly diminish between 01-03z/9-11pm this evening with perhaps a leftover shower along and east of the corridor. Areas of patchy fog are possible tonight with vsbys remaining MVFR or greater at most of the terminals outside of KCHO. Winds today will remain out of the south/southwest at less than 10kts. Additional showers and thunderstorms are possible Sunday afternoon and evening as a decaying cold front sags southward into the region. VFR conditions will prevail for most with sub-VFR reductions at times for terminals south of KIAD and KDCA. Highest coverage of thunderstorm activity looks to be down around KCHO-KSHD-KLYH-KRIC with limited to no coverage up toward KBWI-KMRB where slightly drier/stable air will push in. Winds will switch to the northwest at less than 10 kts. VFR conditions at all terminals Monday with exception to brief MVFR conditions in strong thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. Numerous showers and thunderstorms expected Tuesday afternoon, some possibly severe with damaging winds. Dry conditions expected Wednesday and Thursday. && .MARINE... Sub-SCA level winds are expected to continue through Monday morning. Winds will generally be out of the south and south west today before becoming light and variable Sunday. SOutherly winds return Monday with some channeling possible especially over the open and middle waters Monday afternoon and evening. Expect the chance of an SMW or two each afternoon and evening through Monday as a result of scattered showers and thunderstorms. SCA conditions expected late Monday night into Tuesday as the gradient tightens ahead of an approaching cold front from the Ohio River Valley. SCA conditions likely Tuesday-Tuesday night. Severe t-storms are likely Tuesday afternoon, which may require SMWs. && .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... DC...None. MD...None. VA...None. WV...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...EST NEAR TERM...EST SHORT TERM...EST LONG TERM...LFR AVIATION...LFR/EST MARINE...LFR/KJP/EST