Scientific Forecaster Discussion

NWS Discussion
			
				

Area forecast discussion 
National Weather Service Mount Holly New Jersey 
343 am EDT Thursday Jun 20 2013 


Synopsis... 
high pressure in place across the northeast and Middle Atlantic States 
will slowly progress east and offshore through today. This high 
pressure will remain nearby through Friday providing more pleasant 
weather. Over the weekend, an increasing southwesterly flow will 
develop across our region, bringing increasing heat and humidity 
into the middle of next week. 


&& 


Near term /until 6 PM this evening/... 
early this morning...fair weather...patchy high based SC. Patchy fog 
possible in the Countryside. Light wind. 


Today...a beautiful day with high based scattered SC... 6000-7000 feet. 
Cooling sea breezes. 50/50 blended 00z/20 NCEP GFS-NAM MOS 
guidance should verify maximum temperatures in the interior of the lower 80s. 
Dewpoints were primarily the warmer GFS MOS. Winds..Max g this 
afternoon 15 knots out of the south-southwest except southeast along the coast where sea 
breezes begin by late morning. 


&& 


Short term /6 PM this evening through 6 am Friday/... 
fair very nice weather continues with radiational cooling again. Low temperatures 
a tad milder than those of this early Thursday morning. Patchy 
fog possible toward dawn in the Countryside. 50/50 blended 00z/20 
NAM/GFS MOS guidance except mostly the warmer GFS dewpoints. Light 
south wind. 


&& 


Long term /Friday through Wednesday/... 
the start of the long term will feature quiet and dry weather as an 
area of high pressure is forecast to shift southeastward from Canada 
into our region during Friday, with a continued relatively zonal 
flow aloft. This set-up will keep ample sunshine in place for 
another day, with near average late June maximum temperatures and 
comfortable humidity levels, as dewpoints hold in the 50s. The 
trend, however, through the remainder of the long term will be for 
increasing warmth and humidity day-by-day across the middle Atlantic as 
surface high pressure gradually shifts southeast and offshore during 
Saturday, with middle-level ridging also taking shape. While Saturday 
will still be a fairly pleasant day overall, remaining precipitation-free 
with maximum temperatures still holding to the lower to middle 80s for 
much of the area, the return southwesterly flow around the periphery 
of the high pressure increases Sunday, as does the middle-level 
ridging. This will bring increasing low level moisture across the 
region, with dewpoints back into the middle and even upper 60s from 
Sunday through early next week. In addition, model guidance also 
shows several shortwaves progressing through the middle level flow 
aloft through this period which will yield a daily chance for a few 
scattered shwrs/T-storms. We have kept the precipitation potential at this 
point in the slight chance to low chance range, as the convective 
activity looks to be diurnal in nature and widely scattered at 
best. 


With regards to temperatures in the latter portion of the extended, 
we took a blend of wpc guidance with continuity, with above average 
temperatures expected Sunday through Wednesday. The warmest days at 
this time look to be Monday through Wednesday, with temperatures 
peaking from the upper 80s to low 90s for much of the region with a 
noticeable rise in humidity. While we do not anticipate reaching 
criteria for heat related headlines at this time, this will be a 
noticeable change in airmass by early next week across the region, 
and we have made a mention in our hazardous weather outlook. 


&& 


Aviation /08z Thursday through Monday/... 
the following discussion is for kphl, kpne, kttn, kabe, krdg, kilg, 
kmiv, kacy and surrounding areas. 


Through 12z...VFR patchy clouds near 7000 feet. Patchy fog in the 
Countryside near 10z New Jersey/de/E Maryland. Light wind. 


After 12z...VFR scattered clouds at or above 6000 feet. SW wind with any gusts under 
15kt except southeast sea-Bay breezes developing kacy-kmiv-kilg by afternoon. 


Tonight...VFR clear. Light south wind. Patchy fog possible in the 
Countryside after 06z/21. 


Outlook... 
Friday and Saturday...early morning MVFR possible in fog/haze, 
otherwise VFR conditions expected. 


Sunday and Monday...mostly VFR conditions; although, MVFR or lower 
is possible in early fog/haze or afternoon/evening shwrs/T-storms. 


&& 


Marine... 
no headlines through tonight. A persistent 2 feet southeast swell of 8 to 
10 second on the ocean waters. Mainly south wind g under 15kt. 


Outlook... 
surface high pressure remaining nearby from Friday into early next 
week will yield sub-Small Craft Advisory conditions for our coastal waters and 
Delaware Bay. Winds will mainly be southerly through the weekend, 
becoming more southwesterly by Monday. Seas are expected to be in 
the 2 to 3 foot range for our coastal waters, with 1 to 2 foot seas 
into Delaware Bay. 


&& 


Rip currents... 
water temperatures along our New Jersey and Delaware coasts are near or a 
bit above normal as of June 19. 


Risk rip current formation projection the next several days is 
generally low. If the swell increases to 3 feet on Friday as modeled 
by the 00z/20 GFS ww3...then we would see a moderate risk for the 
formation of rip currents. There is doubt whether the 2 feet southeast swell 
can build to a 3 feet swell. 


Even if we assign a low risk...that doesn't mean no risk. It just 
means that odds favor less than usual formation of dangerous rip 
currents. We still need to be wary and alert and have a safety 
plan in mind should a problem develop. 


Data into the projections at 430 am Thursday. 


&& 


Climate... 
it appears June temperatures will average above normal...departures 
increasing maybe a few tenths of a degree from where they were through 
June 18. This assessment was based only in the GFS statistical 
data from 12z/29 and 00z/20. We'll have a bit more information 
for Philadelphia at 5am. 


So while the excesses of Spring 2012 were not repeatable...we are 
still running a slightly warmer than normal April-June 2013. 


&& 


Equipment... 
tphl is ots and its rts will probably not occur prior to 12z/20. 


&& 


Phi watches/warnings/advisories... 
PA...none. 
New Jersey...none. 
Delaware...none. 
Maryland...none. 
Marine...none. 


&& 


$$ 
Synopsis...Kline 
near term...drag 
short term...drag 
long term...Kline 
aviation...drag/Kline 
marine...drag/Kline 
rip currents...drag 
climate...drag 
equipment...drag