


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Blacksburg, VA
Issued by NWS Blacksburg, VA
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269 FXUS61 KRNK 201031 AFDRNK Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Blacksburg VA 631 AM EDT Sun Apr 20 2025 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will dominate the weather pattern for the Mid- Atlantic with a warm southwesterly wind bringing well above average temperatures for today. The next chance of rain should come late Monday into Tuesday morning when a cold front crosses the area. The front is expected to stall to our south, keeping unsettled weather possible through the week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 300 AM EDT Sunday... Key Messages: 1) Warm Easter Sunday 2) A chance of precipitation Sunday night into Monday morning A cold front from the north will stall over the Mid-Atlantic today. Winds will be be relatively calm but are expected to pick up and shift more southeasterly by late Sunday night. It will still be considerably warm for this time of year with high temperatures in the 70s and 80s for Easter. A 500 mb ridge off the coast of East Florida will remain in place to keep the front from passing through. There is a low end chance for precipitation for the more northern counties where the front is expected to meander about. Timing of this precipitation is late Sunday night into early Monday morning. Some of these showers could produce up to 0.1" of rain. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy for the area Sunday into Monday morning. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... As of 300 AM EDT Sunday... Key messages: 1) Unseasonably warm Monday. 2)frontal boundary pushes through the area Monday night into Tuesday morning. Upper level ridging will continue to remain in place over the southeast as the 500mb ridge continues to stay quasi-stationary centered off the coast of Florida on Monday. This will keep temperatures well above normal for an additional day on Monday, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s for higher terrain locations, and low 80s for Piedmont locations. The approach of an upper level trough through the upper Mississippi valley and Great Lakes region on Monday will slowly start to flatten the ridge, and nudge is slightly further south off the coast of Florida throughout the day on Monday. By Monday evening, the axis of the upper level trough is expected to be centered over north central Michigan, which will keep much of the forcing for ascent well north of the region. The associated surface low, which will be in the process of occluding is expected to have a cold front draped across western New York to the southwest through Tennessee valley. As it approaches the region overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, a lack of upper level forcing for ascent combined with low PWATs pushing into the region ahead of the cold front over the region look to dissolve much of the precipitation along the leading edge of the front as it progresses east. Much of the area looks to receive around 0.10" or less through Tuesday morning. The exception to these values would be for areas that may see a thunderstorm that could produce higher totals over a short period of time. As the front passes through the area, it looks to set up in a east/west orientation across North Carolina and southern Tennessee on Tuesday. This will likely set up a linger chance for showers and thunderstorms across our North Carolina zones in NW North Carolina Tuesday afternoon and evening, and possibly into Wednesday depending on how this stationary front sets up. For the remainder of the region, rain chances look to remain rather low, with post frontal dry air remaining in place. Temperatures areawide will also be slightly cooler, with temperatures running in the low 70s west of the Blue Ridge, and upper 70s to low 80s east of the Blue Ridge. Lows Tuesday night look to drop into the upper 40s to low 50s west of the Blue Ridge, and mid 50s east of the Blue Ridge. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 300 AM EDT Sunday... Key message: 1) Warm temperatures continue with near daily rain chances The stalled front draped across North Carolina on Tuesday is expected to sag south across the NC/SC border on Wednesday. This should keep rain chances rather low (less than 30%) for the entire area. By this point, the frontal boundary will have cleared the entire area, which will keep high temperatures in the mid to upper 70s on Wednesday. The area looks to see rain chances potentially returning late in the week on Thursday through Sunday as embedded shortwaves in the primarily zonal flow across the southern Conus progress east. There is currently little consensus in the synoptic scale pattern, which is leading to some uncertainty in the evolution of these shortwaves as they are likely developing from convective systems across the central plains earlier in the week. Overall, rain chances are expected to remain low through the end of the period until confidence in the forecast increases. Temperatures look to remain above average during this time through the end of the week as above average 500mb heights remain over the region. This will lead to with upper 70s to low 80s forecast through the end of the work week. && .AVIATION /12Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 630 AM EDT Sunday... VFR conditions are expected to prevail through much of today, with near calm winds this morning becoming predominantly southeasterly at around 5-10 mph by this afternoon. Wind gusts look to be much more relaxed compared to Saturday, with wind gusts only up to 15 mph expected today. Overnight tonight, as high pressure slides east into southeast Canada, very weak wedging is expected to develop east of the Appalachians. This will lead to winds at ROA and LYH to become more easterly between 06-12 UTC Monday. All other terminals look to remain southerly/southeasterly through the overnight hours. Current CAM guidance suggests this wedge will develop IFR to LIFR conditions; however, the position of the wedge does not look favorable for these restrictions to develop, and have only included MVFR CIGs/restrictions for the time being for all terminals except BLF to start between the 04-08 UTC timeframe. These restrictions for LWB, BCB, ROA, LYH, and DAN will last through the remainder of the TAF period. Confidence in this forecast is average. .EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK... A cold front passes through Monday night with a surface high pressure to follow to bring VFR conditions back. This may be temporary as the passed cold front looks to stall in the southeast and its stall location may determine the spot and track of future storms. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...None. NC...None. WV...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...PM/EB NEAR TERM...CG SHORT TERM...EB LONG TERM...EB AVIATION...CG/EB