Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Mt. Holly, NJ
Issued by NWS Mt. Holly, NJ
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196 FXUS61 KPHI 081732 AFDPHI Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 1232 PM EST Fri Nov 8 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A dry cold front moves through late today or this evening, then high pressure builds in during Saturday before shifting offshore into Sunday. A warm front lifts into or north of our area later Sunday, then a cold front crosses our region during Monday. High pressure builds in for Tuesday into Wednesday, followed by a warm front and cold front approaching on Thursday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Forecast remains on track. RH values have dropped to 30% or less with widespread wind gusts over 20 mph early this afternoon. Low pressure over central Canada will dive towards the Canadian Maritimes later today, and this will drag a cold front through the region tonight. Meanwhile, high pressure will strengthen over the Central Plains and Midwest late tonight. Sunny skies on tap for today along with dry conditions. Highs will be some 7 to 10 degrees cooler today compared to Wednesday, topping off in the upper 60s to low 70s. A brisk northwest flow will develop, with winds this afternoon increasing to 15 to 20 mph with 25 to 30 mph gusts. Winds diminish this evening after sunset, however, winds will still be a bit gusty, ranging from 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 20 mph for most of tonight. Lows tonight will range from the 30s to low 40s. A Red Flag Warning is in effect for today. See the Fire Weather section below. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... Temperatures near average as strong high pressure builds in from the west and northwest. As an upper-level trough lifts across the central to northern Plains during Sunday, a downstream ridge builds and shifts eastward into our area. This will support strong surface high pressure building into our area from the west and northeast during the day Saturday before settling right over our area Saturday night. This will deliver a much cooler air mass and also a very dry air mass. A lingering pressure gradient ahead of the incoming surface high will result in a northerly breeze, however this should be most notable during the first half of the day as the winds should diminish in the afternoon and especially early in the evening. As mentioned, a very dry air mass is forecast to be in place with dew points down into the upper teens to low 20s for much of the region during the day. Despite the cooler temperatures, dew points this low will drive down the relative humidity. See the fire weather section below for more on the fire danger risk. While the wind at the surface should decouple nearly everywhere at night as the surface high settles right over us, the flow just above the surface while light starts to turn out of the southeast. This will result in the surface dew points starting to recover some especially across the coastal plain. The main arrival of increasing low-level moisture however looks delayed until during Sunday. Mostly some high level clouds will start to increase at night, however probably late and thin enough to get temperatures to drop into the 30s for most locations. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Summary...Temperatures closer to average, although much above average on Monday. Some much needed rain later Sunday into early Monday, then another chance Wednesday night and Thursday. Synoptic Overview...The axis of an upper-level ridge is forecast to slide offshore of the East Coast to start Sunday. As this is occurs, an upper-level trough or even a closed low is forecast to lift across the Plains to the Midwest through Sunday and then slide across the Northeast on Monday. Some cyclonic flow is forecast to remain in place Tuesday before some upper-level ridging arrives into Wednesday. The next upper-level trough is forecast to approach late Wednesday and/or Thursday. At the surface, high pressure is forecast to be centered offshore Sunday and this assists in more of a return flow. A warm front lifts into or north of our area later Sunday, then a cold front moves through during Monday. A secondary cold front may move through during Tuesday, then high pressure arrives for later Tuesday into Wednesday. A warm front arrives Wednesday night with a cold front approaching from the west during Thursday. For Sunday and Monday...An upper-level trough or closed low tracks from the Central Plains to the Midwest through Sunday then it continues to lift northeastward across the Northeast through Monday. Surface low pressure associated with it is forecast to track to our north with a cold front crossing our area Monday. At least some mid to high level moisture from Hurricane Rafael in the Gulf of Mexico may get drawn into this system. Despite this there continues to be increased chances for widespread shower activity later Sunday into early Monday, which will bring much needed rain to the our region. The amount of rain will not break the ongoing drought however 0.25- 0.50 inches of rain is certainly something and this will end the lengthy consecutive days of no measurable rain. Some guidance is a bit faster with the onset of showers during the day Sunday, however initially some lingering dry low-level air should delay these at least some. Therefore, showers look to start during the second half of Sunday, especially at night, with the arrival of a warm front. An upper-level jet approaching with some added forcing and with a low- level jet at 850 mb results in a period of strengthening warm air advection. All of this is expected to produce a period of forcing for ascent and result in the air mass moistening and therefore showers. The PoPs continue to increase to the 70-80 percent range. Instability looks very minimal as the air mass will be recovering from the initially rather dry low to mid level environment and therefore no thunder included in the forecast. Temperatures are forecast to be much closer to average Sunday given the cloud cover and the incoming showers, then well above average Monday with a lag in the cold air advection. Some clearing should take place from northwest to southeast Monday as drier air starts to overspread the area in the wake of the cold front. For Tuesday through Thursday...An upper-level trough is forecast to briefly amplify across the Northeast Tuesday before lifting out. Some ridging aloft then arrives from the west into Wednesday. This will drive surface high pressure into our area during this time, although its center may become more shifted to our north into Wednesday. The next upper-level trough across the Plains and Midwest will drive surface low pressure across the Midwest and Great Lakes during Wednesday and Thursday. An associated warm front will arrive Thursday with a cold front then approaching later Thursday. There are some timing differences within the guidance, with some much slower and therefore keeping any showers well removed from our area even through Thursday. Given the uncertainty, went with mainly the NBM PoPs (slight chance to chance) for Wednesday night and Thursday. && .AVIATION /18Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... The following discussion is for KPHL, KPNE, KTTN, KABE, KRDG, KILG, KMIV, KACY and surrounding areas. Rest of today (through 00Z)...VFR/SKC-SCT250. W-NW winds 10 to 15 kt with 20 to 25 kt gusts. High confidence. Tonight...VFR/SKC. NW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt, diminishing to around 10 kt after 06Z. High confidence. Saturday...VFR. Northerly winds around 10 knots. Terminals around I-95 could gust to 15kts in the morning before diminishing later in the afternoon and especially at night. High confidence. Outlook... Saturday...VFR. Northerly winds 8-12 knots, diminishing later in the afternoon and especially at night. Sunday and Monday...A period of sub-VFR conditions probable along with showers, mainly later Sunday into early Monday morning. Tuesday...VFR. && .MARINE... NW winds around 10 kt will ramp up to 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt this afternoon. Tonight, winds increase to 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt. Seas on the ocean will build to around 5 feet. A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for all waters tonight. Outlook... Saturday...Small Craft Advisory conditions mostly on the ocean zones, mainly due to wind gusts to 25-30 knots in the morning. Sunday and Monday...A period of Small Craft Advisory conditions possible, especially wind gusts, Sunday night into Monday. Tuesday...The conditions should be mostly below Small Craft Advisory criteria. && .FIRE WEATHER... Sunny and dry today with a gusty west to northwest flow developing. MinRH values will range from 25 to 35 percent during the day along with west to northwest winds increasing to 15 to 20 mph with 25 to 30 mph gusts. With a lack of rain over the last month or so, very dry fuels are in place. The combination of these dry fuels, along with the gusty winds and low humidity values result in a Red Flag Warning in place for the whole forecast area. For Saturday, a very dry air mass will be in place with dew points down into the upper teens to lower 20s. Daytime minimum relative humidity values are forecast to be in the 20-30 percent range. Northerly winds 10-15 mph should diminish some during the afternoon. Although the winds are lighter compared to Friday, the conditions continue to be very dry and thus an elevated risk for fire spread remains. Showers are forecast to result in a wetting rain (0.25-0.50 inches currently forecast) later Sunday, especially at night, into Monday morning. Continue to follow burn restrictions and check with your state and local fire officials for more information. && .CLIMATE... Record stretch (consecutive days) without measurable precipitation: CURRENT SITE RECORD RECORD DATES THRU 11/7 AC Airport (ACY) 34 days Aug-Sep 1995 36 days AC Marina (55N) 39 days Aug-Sep 1995 37 days Georgetown (GED) 34 days Oct-Nov 2001 41 days Philadelphia (PHL) 29 days Oct-Nov 1874 40 days Trenton (TTN) 38 days Apr-May 1903 40 days Wilmington (ILG) 34 days Jan-Feb 1909 40 days && .PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...Red Flag Warning until 6 PM EST this evening for PAZ054-055- 060>062-070-071-101>106. NJ...Red Flag Warning until 6 PM EST this evening for NJZ001- 007>010-012>027. DE...Red Flag Warning until 6 PM EST this evening for DEZ001>004. MD...Red Flag Warning until 6 PM EST this evening for MDZ012-015- 019-020. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 7 AM EST Saturday for ANZ430-431. Small Craft Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 9 AM EST Saturday for ANZ450>455. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Gorse NEAR TERM...MPS SHORT TERM...Gorse LONG TERM...Gorse AVIATION...Gorse/MJL/MPS MARINE...Gorse/MPS FIRE WEATHER... CLIMATE...