388  
FXUS62 KMHX 270010  
AFDMHX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC  
810 PM EDT FRI APR 26 2024  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN IN CONTROL WHILE GRADUALLY SLIDING  
OFFSHORE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. A FEW UPPER  
DISTURBANCES WILL BRING BETTER CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION LATE  
NEXT WEEK.  
 

 
   
NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/
 
 
AS OF 745 PM FRI...FORECAST ON TRACK AND ONLY MADE MINOR  
ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE EVENING UPDATE.  
 
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...LATEST ANALYSIS SHOWS STRONG 1033MB HIGH  
PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE NE US, RIDGING SOUTHWESTWARD INTO THE  
CAROLINAS. QUIET WEATHER CONTINUES TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE  
SLOWLY MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD. LOWS FALLING INTO THE UPPER 40S AND  
LOW 50S ACROSS THE AREA.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH 6 PM SATURDAY/
 
 
AS OF 220 PM FRI...UPPER RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD OVER THE  
SE US AS STRONG HIGH PRESSURE BECOMES CENTERED ALONG THE MID-  
ATLANTIC COAST. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO ANOTHER PLEASANT, DRY SPRING  
DAY WITH TEMPS A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL THANKS TO LOW LEVEL  
EASTERLY FLOW. HIGHS RANGING FROM THE 60S ALONG THE OUTER BANKS  
TO LOW TO MID 70S INLAND.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/
 
 
AS OF 300 AM FRIDAY...  
 
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TUESDAY-THURSDAY  
 
- THUNDERSTORM RISK MAY RETURN MID TO LATE-WEEK  
 
FORECAST DETAILS  
 
THE MOST PROMINENT FEATURE IN THE LONG-TERM PERIOD WILL BE AN  
AMPLIFIED UPPER LEVEL RIDGE FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER THE EASTERN  
U.S. THIS WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. BENEATH THE RIDGE,  
WARM/ABOVE NORMAL LOW-LEVEL THICKNESSES ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP.  
THERE MAY BE SOME MID-LEVEL CLOUDINESS AROUND OVER THE WEEKEND,  
BUT BY EARLY NEXT WEEK, THE COMBINATION OF MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES,  
WARM THICKNESSES, A REDUCED RISK OF PRECIPITATION, AND  
PERSISTENT SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW SHOULD SUPPORT A PERIOD OF WELL  
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOCUSED IN THE TUESDAY-THURSDAY  
TIMEFRAME. BOTH DETERMINISTIC AND ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE SUPPORT  
THIS, AND WITH THIS FORECAST UPDATE, I'VE BUMPED TEMPS UP  
TOWARDS THE 75TH PERCENTILE OF GUIDANCE. INLAND, THIS SUGGESTS  
HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO NEAR 90. ALONG THE COAST, THIS  
SUGGESTS MID TO UPPER 70S TO NEAR 80 DEGREES. WITH PERSISTENT  
SOUTHERLY FLOW, DEWPOINTS ARE FORECAST TO STEADILY INCREASE  
EARLY NEXT WEEK AS WELL, WHICH MAY ALLOW HEAT INDICES TO REACH  
THE 90S. WHILE NOT HEADLINE-WORTHY, IT'S STILL NOTEWORTHY AS  
THIS WOULD INCREASE THE RISK OF HEAT EXHAUSTION FOR THOSE WITH  
PROLONGED EXPOSURE.  
 
FROM MID TO LATE-WEEK, MODEL GUIDANCE BEGINS TO DIFFER, BUT THE  
GENERAL THEME IS FOR THE RIDGE TO BREAKDOWN. WHILE NOT  
IMMEDIATE, THE LACK OF RIDGING COULD EVENTUALLY OPEN THE DOOR TO  
AN INCREASE IN THE RISK OF CONVECTION, IF FOR NO OTHER REASON  
THAN THE DAILY SEABREEZE. SEVERAL SHORTWAVES ARE FORECAST TO  
PASS OVER, OR NEAR, THE CAROLINAS LATE IN THE WEEK, WHICH WOULD  
ALSO SUPPORT AN INCREASE IN THE RISK OF CONVECTION. OF NOTE,  
CIPS AND CSU SEVERE WEATHER GUIDANCE ARE SHOWING A MODEST SIGNAL  
FOR SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL LATE-WEEK, ALTHOUGH DETERMINISTIC  
GUIDANCE SHOW LESS OF A SIGNAL. DESPITE THE DIFFERENCES, IT'S  
SOMETHING TO WATCH AS WE MOVE INTO NEXT WEEK. FORECAST-WISE,  
WE'LL SHOW A LOW-END RISK OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY  
(10-30% CHANCE). WHILE STILL WARM, TEMPERATURES LATE IN THE WEEK  
SHOULD LOWER SOME COMPARED TO EARLY IN THE WEEK, ESPECIALLY  
WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORMS AND MORE CLOUDINESS AROUND  
AT TIMES.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /00Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
 
 
SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/...  
AS OF 745 PM FRI...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD.  
SOME HIGHER BASED 5-10K BASED CLOUDS WILL MOVE FROM THE WEST  
LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SAT. SIGNALS CONTINUE TO LOOK LOW FOR ANY  
FOG AND/OR STRATUS THREAT OVERNIGHT. HREF PROBS ARE HIGHEST  
OVER SOUTHERN LENOIR AND DUPLIN COUNTIES, THOUGH ONLY IN THE  
10-20% RANGE.  
 
LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...  
AS OF 200 AM FRIDAY...THE EXPECTED SYNOPTIC WEATHER PATTERN  
CARRIES A HIGH PROBABILITY OF VFR CONDITIONS INTO EARLY NEXT  
WEEK, WITH LITTLE TO NO AVIATION IMPACTS.  
 

 
   
MARINE
 
 
SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/...  
AS OF 8 PM FRI...LATEST OBS SHOW NE WINDS 10-20 KT WITH SEAS  
4-6 FT NORTH OF OCRACOKE AND 3-5 FT SOUTH. GUSTS HAVE DROPPED  
BELOW 25 KT AND WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH OVERNIGHT SO HAVE  
ALLOWED THE SCA TO EXPIRE SOUTH OF OCRACOKE AND THE PAMLICO  
SOUND. SCAS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH LATE TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY  
FOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WATERS. WINDS WILL GRAD VEER AND  
SLOWLY DIMINISH TO 10-15 KT OVERNIGHT. THOUGH ELEVATED SEAS WILL  
LINGER NORTH OF OCRACOKE. STRONG HIGH PRESSURE BECOMES CENTERED  
ALONG THE MID- ATLANTIC COAST SATURDAY, WITH WINDS BECOMING  
MORE EASTERLY. E WINDS 10-15 KT WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 20 KT  
EARLY. SEAS WILL CONTINUE TO GRAD DIMINISH TO 3-6 FT,  
POTENTIALLY LINGERING AT 6 FT ACROSS THE OUTER CENTRAL WATERS  
THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON.  
 
LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...  
AS OF 200 AM FRIDAY...  
 
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- GOOD BOATING CONDITIONS EXPECTED LATE-WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT  
WEEK  
 
FORECAST DETAILS  
 
HIGH PRESSURE OVERHEAD THIS WEEKEND WILL SHIFT OFFSHORE EARLY  
NEXT WEEK, WITH INLAND TROUGHING DEVELOPING IN THE LEE OF THE  
APPALACHIANS. WINDS WILL BE VERY LIGHT OVER THE WEEKEND, THEN  
WILL STEADILY INCREASE EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW  
OF 10-20KT COMMON. SEAS OF 3-5 FT WILL BE COMMON THROUGH EARLY  
NEXT WEEK, SETTING UP GOOD BOATING CONDITIONS FOR SEVERAL DAYS.  
THE ONE EXCEPTION IS EARLY THIS WEEKEND AS SEAS WILL REMAIN  
ELEVATED WITHIN THE NORTHEASTERLY BACKGROUND SWELL THAT HAS BEEN  
IMPACTING THE AREA FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS.  
 

 
   
MHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
NC...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING FOR NCZ203-  
205.  
MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EDT SATURDAY FOR AMZ150.  
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 2 PM EDT SATURDAY FOR AMZ152-154.  
 

 
 

 
SYNOPSIS...MHX  
NEAR TERM...CQD/SK  
SHORT TERM...CQD  
LONG TERM...DAG/RM  
AVIATION...RM/CQD/SK  
MARINE...RM/CQD/SK  
 
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