808  
FXUS62 KRAH 161810  
AFDRAH  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC  
110 PM EST MON DEC 16 2024  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
HIGH PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED COLD AIR DAMMING WILL EXTEND ACROSS THE  
PIEDMONT OF THE CAROLINAS, WHILE GRADUALLY WEAKENING, THROUGH  
TUESDAY. A SERIES OF COLD FRONTS WILL PROGRESS ACROSS THE REGION  
WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY.  
 

 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/
 
 
AS OF 1000 AM MONDAY...  
 
ONLY MINOR TWEAKS WERE DONE WITH THE MID-MORNING UPDATE TO ACCOUNT  
FOR AN AREA OF LINGER DRIZZLE AND RAIN LIFTING THROUGH THE PIEDMONT  
AND NORTHERN COASTAL PLAIN FOR A COUPLE MORE HOURS. THE 12Z RAOBS  
FROM KRNK AND KGSO SHOW A VERY THICK 3,500 TO NEARLY 6,000 FT CLOUD  
LAYER WITHIN THE HEART OF THE HYBRID CAD REGIME. AVAILABLE NEW MODEL  
GUIDANCE SUGGEST A STEADY EROSION OF THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE WEDGE  
FRONT FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST. THE TRICKY PART OF THE FORECAST  
WILL BE HOW FAR NORTHWEST IT MAKES BEFORE SUNSET. 00Z HREF GUIDANCE  
SHOWS THE GREATEST TEMPERATURE VARIABILITY FROM CHARLOTTE TO  
FAYETTEVILLE AND EXTENDING TO THE TRIANGLE. THIS AREA WILL LIKELY BE  
WHERE THE BIGGEST TEMPERATURE BUSTS COULD BE TODAY. CURRENT FORECAST  
RETREATS THE WEDGE FRONT TO THE TRIANGLE AND THROUGH WADESBORO.  
EARLY CLEARING OF THE LOW OVERCAST OVER THE SANDHILLS INTO THE  
CENTRAL/SOUTHERN COASTAL PLAIN AND RISING LOW-LEVEL THICKNESSES  
ABOVE 1360M WILL SUPPORT TEMPERATURES CLIMBING INTO THE UPPER 60S TO  
PERHAPS EVEN ECLIPSING 70 DEGREES BY THIS AFTERNOON.  
 
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION AS OF 415 AM MONDAY...  
 
TONIGHT: VERY LIGHT FLOW WILL EXIST OVER THE CAROLINAS AND GA  
TONIGHT, AS A PIECE OF THE COLD AIR DAMMING HIGH SEPARATES THERE  
FROM ITS PARENT, TRANSITORY ONE THAT WILL MOVE WELL OFFSHORE AND  
ACROSS THE N. ATLANTIC. THE ASSOCIATED LIGHT FLOW REGIME AND  
RESIDUAL CAD STABILITY/RH WILL FAVOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF FOG AND  
VERY LOW OVERCAST TONIGHT. SOME MAY BE DENSE, ESPECIALLY AWAY FROM  
THE VA BORDER COUNTIES WHERE A MID-LEVEL CLOUD BAND AND  
VIRGA/ISOLATED SPRINKLES WILL MOVE OVERHEAD LATE. LOW TEMPERATURES  
TONIGHT WILL BE MOSTLY MID/UPR 40S.  
 
TUESDAY: HIGH PRESSURE AND THE RESIDUAL CAD AIRMASS WILL REMAIN OVER  
THE CAROLINAS AND GA. LOW OVERCAST AND FOG IN THE MORNING WILL LIFT  
AND DISPERSE MORE QUICKLY THAN ON MON, THOUGH SLOWEST OVER THE NW NC  
PIEDMONT WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL HOLD IN 50S THROUGH NOON, THEN  
REACH THE LWR-MID 60S BY MID-LATE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL  
INCREASE MORE QUICKLY AND INTO THE 60S ELSEWHERE, PEAKING IN THE LWR-  
MID 70S OVER SERN NC, INCLUDING IN THE ERN SANDHILLS AND SRN-CNTL  
COASTAL PLAIN. CONTINUED LIGHT FLOW AND RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF THE CAD  
AIRMASS WILL LIKELY RESULT IN THE REDEVELOPMENT OF AREAS OF FOG BY  
MID-EVENING, WITH SOME POSSIBLY AGAIN DENSE OVERNIGHT.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/
 
 
AS OF 305 AM MONDAY...  
 
BY TUESDAY NIGHT, LOW PRESSURE WILL BE ACROSS FAR EASTERN CANADA  
WITH A COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTH INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC THEN  
BACK TO THE SOUTHWEST ACROSS VIRGINIA AND TENNESSEE. ANOTHER WAVE OF  
LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AND MOVE NORTHEAST. THE  
ECMWF/EPS HAS REMAINED VERY CONSISTENT OVER THE LAST THREE DAYS  
DEVELOPING THE SYSTEM SLIGHTLY FARTHER TO THE SOUTHEAST THAN THE  
GFS/GEFS, WHICH BRINGS POPS INTO THE REGION MORE QUICKLY. DID DECIDE  
TO SLIGHTLY BACK OFF THE ARRIVAL OF CHANCE POPS TUESDAY NIGHT, AND  
MADE MINIMAL CHANGES TO POPS ON WEDNESDAY. MODELS ARE NOW BEGINNING  
TO SHOW A SPLIT IN PRECIPITATION WEDNESDAY NIGHT, WITH ONE AREA  
FOCUSED ALONG THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS AND A SECOND AREA FOCUSED  
ALONG THE GULF STREAM, POTENTIALLY SPLITTING THE CENTRAL PART OF THE  
STATE. HAVE EXPANDED LIKELY POPS TO ALL LOCATIONS, BUT RIGHT NOW  
THIS LOOKS LIKE A HIGH POP/LOW QPF SCENARIO, WHERE THERE IS A GOOD  
CHANCE OF RAIN WITH LOW OVERALL RAINFALL AMOUNTS. LOWS TUESDAY NIGHT  
WILL RANGE FROM THE MID 40S TO THE MID 50S. WEDNESDAY WILL BE  
ANOTHER WARM DAY WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW, AND HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM THE  
MID 60S TO THE MID 70S. AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH WEDNESDAY  
NIGHT, LOWS WILL FALL INTO THE 40S EVERYWHERE.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/
 
 
AS OF 305 AM MONDAY...  
 
MODELS CONTINUE TO SPEED UP THE DEPARTURE OF THE COLD FRONT, AND  
HAVE REMOVED ALL POPS ON THURSDAY. LOW PRESSURE ACROSS THE NORTHERN  
PLAINS ON THURSDAY WILL REACH THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY BY FRIDAY  
MORNING. THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY LOW WILL WEAKEN AS IT MOVES TO THE  
SOUTHEAST, BRINGING LITTLE MORE THAN SKY COVER AND NO CHANCE OF  
RAIN. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN DOMINATE THE FORECAST OVER THE  
WEEKEND, WITH THE CENTER DROPPING FROM MANITOBA ON SATURDAY INTO THE  
PLAINS ON SUNDAY. AFTER NEAR NORMAL HIGHS IN THE 50S THURSDAY AND  
FRIDAY, NORTHERLY FLOW WILL PLUNGE HIGHS INTO THE 40S ON SATURDAY  
AND INTO THE 30S/40S ON SUNDAY. LOWS WILL BE NEAR FREEZING THURSDAY  
AND FRIDAY NIGHTS, THEN DROP INTO THE UPPER TEENS AND 20S SATURDAY  
NIGHT.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /18Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/
 
 
AS OF 110 PM MONDAY...  
 
THE MORE SHALLOW CLOUD LAYER OVER FAY, RDU, AND RWI HAS STEADILY  
BEEN ERODING ON THE SOUTHEAST EDGE AND LIFTING GENERALLY NORTHWARD  
THROUGH THE LATE MORNING. A GENERAL IMPROVEMENT TO VFR IS EXPECTED  
OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS, LATEST AT RDU. THE HEART OF THE HYBRID  
CAD REGIME OVER THE NC FOOTHILLS INTO PORTIONS OF THE NORTHWEST  
PIEDMONT MAY SCATTER, MORE LIKELY AT GSO, BUT SHOULD QUICKLY FILL  
BACK IN WITH NOCTURNAL STABILIZATION AFTER SUNSET. IFR-LIFR  
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY BUILD BACK ACROSS THE AREA WITH  
THE CONTINUED COOL AND MOIST CAD REGIME STILL LINGERING OVER THE  
AREA. DENSE FOG, WITH VISIBILITY BELOW AIRPORT MINIMUMS, WILL BE  
MOST PROBABLE IN THE VICINITY OF FAY INTO EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.  
 
OUTLOOK: FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS AT INT/GSO WILL LIKELY FLUCTUATE  
BETWEEN IFR-MVFR BY DAY AND LIFR-IFR BY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY  
MORNING, AS COLD AIR DAMMING HOLDS OVER THE NW NC PIEDMONT.  
MEANWHILE TO THE EAST, FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS ARE LIKELY TO BE CONFINED  
MAINLY TO THE LATE NIGHT-MORNING HOURS THROUGH THE SAME TIME.  
 

 
   
RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
NONE.  
 

 
 

 
SYNOPSIS...MWS  
NEAR TERM...SWIGGETT/MWS  
SHORT TERM...GREEN  
LONG TERM...GREEN  
AVIATION...SWIGGETT/MWS  
 
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