783  
FXUS62 KRAH 220623  
AFDRAH  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC  
123 AM EST MON DEC 22 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
CHILLY HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS AND OFFSHORE THE SOUTHERN  
MIDDLE ATLANTIC THROUGH TONIGHT, THEN TO NEAR BERMUDA ON TUESDAY. ON  
ITS WESTERN PERIPHERY, A WARM FRONT WILL DEVELOP AND RETREAT NORTH  
ACROSS THE CAROLINAS ON TUESDAY. THE FRONT WILL THEN SETTLE BRIEFLY  
SOUTHWARD INTO THE SAVANNAH BASIN LATE WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY  
NIGHT, WHEN HIGH PRESSURE WILL MIGRATE ACROSS THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC.  
 
 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/  
 
AS OF 1230 PM SUNDAY...  
 
* A DRY COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THE AREA WITH CHILLY CONDITIONS  
TONIGHT.  
 
A LOW-AMPLITUDE SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND ACCOMPANYING DRY COLD FRONT  
WILL CROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE PASSING TROUGH WILL  
ADVECT A BAND OF OROGRAPHICALLY-ENHANCED CIRRUS, CURRENTLY BANKED  
ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL APPALACHIANS,  
SOUTH AND EAST ACROSS CENTRAL NC. IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT, A BRIEF  
PERIOD OF POST-FRONTAL GUSTINESS OF 15 TO 20 MPH CAN ALSO BE  
EXPECTED THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  
 
WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT AS THE  
PRESSURE GRADIENT RELAXES, WITH CLEARING PROGRESSING FROM NW TO SE.  
CAA WILL SUPPORT CHILLY OVERNIGHT LOWS RANGING FROM MID/UPPER 20S  
NORTH TO LOWER 30S SOUTH.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT/  
 
AS OF 1230 PM SUNDAY...  
 
* COOL AND DRY MONDAY BEFORE INCREASING CLOUDS AND SPRINKLES MONDAY  
NIGHT AS WARMER AIR BEGINS TO RETURN.  
 
A 1030 MB SURFACE HIGH CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC  
MONDAY MORNING WILL SHIFT OFFSHORE MONDAY EVENING INTO MONDAY NIGHT  
AS A WARM FRONT SKIRTS NORTH AND WEST OF THE AREA. MONDAY WILL BE  
THE ONE CHILLY DAY IN THE UPCOMING HOLIDAY WORK WEEK. CIRRUS WILL  
BEGIN TO STREAM ACROSS THE AREA BY THE AFTERNOON, BECOMING BROKEN  
ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES BY SUNSET. HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM UPPER  
40S NORTHEAST TO LOWER/MID 50S SOUTH.  
 
MONDAY NIGHT, WEAK MID-LEVEL PERTURBATIONS EMBEDDED IN THE WEST-  
NORTHWESTERLY FLOW, COMBINED WITH A STRENGTHENING WARM MOIST AIR  
REGIME, WILL RESULT IN AN EXPANDING DECK OF STRATUS AND ALTOSTRATUS  
BETWEEN 06 TO 12Z. EXPECT TO A GOOD BIT OF VIRGA STREAMING ACROSS  
THE AREA, WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SOME VERY LIGHT RAIN OR SPRINKLES  
MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH-NORTH EAST OF THE TRIANGLE. OVERNIGHT LOWS  
WILL OCCUR EARLY IN THE NIGHT, BEFORE THE CLOUD DECK ARRIVES, WITH  
TEMPERATURES GRADUALLY RISING THROUGH DAYBREAK. PRECIPITATION TYPE  
WILL BE RAIN WITH NO WINTER PRECIP-TYPE CONCERNS. LOWS WILL  
GENERALLY RANGE FROM 35 TO 40, WITH A FEW LOWER 30S POSSIBLE IN  
OUTLYING RURAL AREAS.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/  
 
AS OF 1230 PM SUNDAY...  
 
* AN OVERALL DRY WEEK WITH SEASONABLY MILD TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE  
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY.  
 
A WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH OF THE REGION ON TUE. MOST OF THE ENERGY  
TIED TO THE SYSTEM FOCUSES UP ACROSS VA, BUT ENOUGH ISENTROPIC  
ASCENT MOISTURE TRANSPORT IN THE LOW TO MID-LEVELS WILL PROMOTE A  
LOW-END CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN OR SPRINKLES, MAINLY ACROSS US-64  
NORTH. A LOOK AT FORECAST SOUNDINGS, HOWEVER, INDICATE THAT A VERY  
DRY LAYER EXISTS BELOW 850-MB, SUCH THAT MOST OF THE AREA MAY JUST  
SEE VIRGA. CLOUDS IN THE MORNING WILL CLEAR OUT BY LATE-AFTERNOON  
WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOW 60S.  
 
A STRETCH OF VERY MILD TEMPERATURES IS STILL FORECAST WED THROUGH  
FRI, INCLUDING THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY, WHERE WARM RIDGING OVER THE  
SOUTHERN PLAINS TO LOWER MS VALLEY WILL BRING WAA INTO THE REGION  
DURING THIS TIME. SPRINKLED IN THIS PERIOD WILL BE A FEW SYSTEMS  
PASSING THROUGH, NAMELY A BACKDOOR FRONT WED THAT LIFTS NORTH AS A  
WARM FRONT THU. MOST OF THE ENERGY ON THU STAYS TO OUR NORTH SUCH  
THAT WE ARE AGAIN DRY. OTHER THAN CLOUDS, THESE SYSTEMS WON'T IMPACT  
OUR ABILITY TO RISE INTO THE MID/UPPER 60S WED/THU AND LOW TO MAYBE  
MID 70S FRI.  
 
MODEL GUIDANCE SPREAD INCREASES LATE FRI INTO SUN WITH ANOTHER  
POSSIBLE COLD FRONT. SOME GUIDANCE BRINGS A STRONG FRONT THROUGH FRI  
NIGHT, WHILE OTHER GUIDANCE STALLS IT OFF TO OUR NORTH BEFORE  
ANOTHER FRONT ARRIVES LATE SUN. ALL THIS IS TO SAY THAT HIGHS  
SAT/SUN ARE MORE TRICKY. HIGHS COULD RANGE FROM THE UPPER 50S TO THE  
MID 70S SAT DEPENDING ON WHICH MODEL VERIFIES. IF THIS VERIFIES ON  
THE HIGHER END, WE COULD GET A FEW DEGREES CLOSE OF RECORD HIGHS  
FRI/SAT, SEE CLIMATE SECTION FOR THAT. WHILE A FEW SHOWER CHANCES  
ARE POSSIBLE LATE FRI AND SUN WITH THESE SYSTEMS, THE PATTERN IS  
PRESENTLY NOT TOO FAVORABLE FOR MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /06Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/  
 
AS OF 120 AM MONDAY...  
 
CONTINENTAL POLAR HIGH PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED VERY DRY AIR WILL  
FAVOR VFR CONDITIONS IN CNTL NC THROUGH 06Z TUE AND MAINLY LIGHT AND  
VEERING WINDS FROM NLY THIS MORNING TO ELY OR SELY THIS AFTERNOON.  
THE EXCEPTION TO THOSE LIGHT AND VEERING/VARIABLE WINDS WILL BE A  
SHORT PERIOD OF SLIGHTLY STRONGER NELY AND GUSTY ONES INTO THE TEENS  
KTS WITH HEATING/MIXING AND INITIAL DEEPENING OF THE BOUNDARY LAYER  
BETWEEN 13-16Z AT RWI AND FAY.  
 
OUTLOOK: SWLY RETURN FLOW WILL THEN DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN AROUND  
THE HIGH AS IT DRIFTS TO NEAR BERMUDA ON TUE, WHICH WILL PROMOTE  
CHANCES ON TUE OF LOW-LEVEL WIND SHEAR OVER THE PIEDMONT IN THE  
MORNING, MVFR RANGE CLOUD BASES AND POSSIBLE CEILINGS MORNING  
THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON, AND GUSTY SWLY WINDS INTO THE 20S KTS  
DURING THE AFTERNOON. A LITTLE LIGHT RAIN FROM VFR CEILINGS BETWEEN  
4-6 THOUSAND FT MAY ALSO RESULT FROM MID-LEVEL LIFT THAT WILL  
CONCURRENTLY OVERSPREAD NC. MVFR CEILINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE AGAIN  
EARLY THU, ESPECIALLY OVER THE WRN PIEDMONT.  
 
 
   
RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS...MWS  
NEAR TERM...CBL  
SHORT TERM...CBL  
LONG TERM...KREN  
AVIATION...MWS  
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