979  
FXUS61 KRLX 151028  
AFDRLX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV  
528 AM EST SUN DEC 15 2024  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
STOUT HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NORTHEAST WITH LOW PRESSURE TO THE  
WEST SETS UP A WINTRY PRECIPITATION EVENT IN THE MOUNTAINS  
TODAY. ALL RAIN EXPECTED IN THE LOWLANDS. MORE RAIN MONDAY.  
 
 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/  
 
AS OF 527 AM SUNDAY...  
 
ISSUED AN SPS FOR THE COUNTIES OF TYLER, DODDRIDGE, LEWIS,  
HARRISON, TAYLOR, UPSHUR, BARBOUR, AND NORTHWESTERN RANDOLPH FOR  
POCKETS OF FREEZING PRECIPITATION. LACK OF CLOUD COVER OVERNIGHT  
HAS ALLOWED SOME LOCATIONS IN THESE COUNTIES TO DROP AROUND OR  
BELOW FREEZING THIS MORNING. RAIN IS MOVING INTO THESE COUNTIES  
SO SPOTTY FREEZING RAIN ACCRETION IS POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY ON  
ELEVATED SURFACES. TEMPERATURES ARE PROJECTED TO RISE THROUGH  
THE MORNING, BUT INITIAL FREEZING PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE  
UNTIL ABOUT 7AM TO 8AM. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR TEMPERATURES  
ACROSS THESE AREAS TO ASSESS THE NEED FOR FURTHER HEADLINES.  
 
AS OF 309 AM SUNDAY...  
 
STALLED WARM FRONT CURRENTLY BISECTS THE AREA WITH A DEEPENING  
LOW PRESSURE CENTER APPROACHING FROM OUR WEST REINTRODUCES  
PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA. STOUT HIGH PRESSURE DOME OVER QUEBEC  
SPAWNS RIDGING DOWN THE SPINE OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS,  
WITH COOL ENE FLOW CREATING COLD-AIR DAMMING EAST OF THE  
MOUNTAIN CHAIN.  
 
THE LOWLANDS WILL SEE A SOAKING RAIN WITH THIS EVENT, BUT  
WINTRY PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF SNOW, SLEET AND FREEZING  
RAIN WILL BE OBSERVED ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS, MOSTLY FOR  
ELEVATIONS ABOVE 2,500 FEET. A TROUBLESOME WARM NOSE IS PRESENT  
ON NAM12 SOUNDINGS FOR BECKLEY, LEWISBURG AND SNOWSHOE.  
 
TEMPERATURES WILL BE COLD ENOUGH ABOVE 2,500 FEET TO KEEP A MIX  
OF SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN THROUGHOUT THIS EVENT, DEPENDING ON  
THE STRENGTH OF THE WARM NOSE. MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS BELOW 2,500  
FEET WILL SEE TEMPERATURES WARMING THROUGHOUT THE DAY LEADING  
TO A BRIEF PERIOD OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION EARLY THIS MORNING  
BEFORE A CHANGE OVER TO RAIN. SPECIFICALLY, LOW TEMPERATURES IN  
POCAHONTAS COUNTY AND THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF RANDOLPH COUNTY  
WILL BE IN THE 20S; LOW TO MID 30S ARE EXPECTED ELSEWHERE ACROSS  
THE MOUNTAINS. LOCATIONS LIKE BECKLEY AND ELKINS WILL BE RIGHT  
ON THE LINE BETWEEN 32F AND 33F, SO THERE MAY BE A BRIEF PERIOD  
OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION EARLY THIS MORNING BEFORE TEMPERATURES  
WARM UP. THIS MAY LEAD TO A FEW SLICK SURFACES. A CHANGE OVER TO  
ALL RAIN LOOKS TO OCCUR LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING.  
 
ICE ACCRETION WILL BE MOSTLY ELEVATION BASED WITH ELEVATIONS  
ABOVE 3,500 FEET SEEING BETWEEN 0.10" AND 0.20" INCHES OF  
ACCUMULATION. ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4,000 FEET COULD SEE AROUND A A  
QUARTER OF AN INCH OF ICE OR HIGHER. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL  
MOSTLY BE CONFINED TO POCAHONTAS COUNTY AND THE HIGHER  
ELEVATIONS OF RANDOLPH COUNTY WHERE THE COLDEST AIR WILL REMAIN  
TRAPPED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. AMOUNTS LOOK TO REMAIN LIGHT WITH  
1-3" INCHES EXPECTED. THE HIGHER END OF THE RANGE WILL LIKELY BE  
OBSERVED ABOVE 3,500 FEET. WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES  
HAVE BEEN HOISTED IN RESPONSE.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/  
 
AS OF 145 AM SUNDAY...  
 
AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL CAUSE SHOWERS TO MOVE INTO THE AREA  
ON MONDAY, LASTING INTO MONDAY NIGHT WHEN THE WEAK FRONT PUSHES  
THROUGH.  
 
A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL THEN BUILD IN ON TUESDAY, PROVIDING  
A BRIEF BREAK IN THE PRECIPITATION.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/  
 
AS OF 150 AM SUNDAY...  
 
YET ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY  
NIGHT, PUSHING A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE AREA. DEPENDING ON THE  
TIME OF ARRIVAL OF CLOUDS TUESDAY NIGHT AND PRECIPITATION  
WEDNESDAY MORNING, SOME POCKETS OF FREEZING RAIN COULD ONCE  
AGAIN BE POSSIBLE IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UPSLOPE AREAS. MODELS  
STILL DISAGREE WITH THE AMOUNT OF COLD AIR ARRIVING BEHIND THE  
COLD FRONT WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY, WITH SOME MODELS  
SHOWING A WEAK UPSLOPE SNOW EVENT.  
 
MODEL DIFFERENCES CONTINUE WITH THE TIMING AND STRENGTH OF THE NEXT  
SYSTEM LATE IN THE WORK WEEK, ALTHOUGH MODELS ARE STARTING TO  
AGREE THAT THE SYSTEM WILL PUSH THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES REGION  
WITH A TRAILING COLD FRONT EFFECTING OUR AREA. MUCH COLDER AIR  
CAN BE EXPECTED BEHIND THAT FRONT FOR THE WEEKEND.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /12Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/  
 
AS OF 143 AM SUNDAY...  
 
MOSTLY VFR CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE AREA UNTIL ABOUT  
~10Z-12Z. A DISTURBANCE APPROACHES FROM THE WEST WITH PRECIPITATION  
CHANCES INCREASING THIS MORNING AHEAD OF IT. MOST LOCATIONS WILL  
ONLY SEE RAIN, BUT LOCATIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS, MOSTLY ABOVE  
2,500 FEET ELEVATION, WILL LIKELY SEE FZRA AND SN. BKW AND EKN  
WILL LIKELY BE TOO WARM, BUT A BRIEF PERIOD OF FZRA, PL OR SN  
COULD OCCUR BETWEEN ~10Z AND ~12Z WHEN TEMPERATURES WOULD BE  
AROUND FREEZING. MVFR AND IFR VIS RESTRICTIONS ARE LIKELY WITH  
PRECIPITATION, ESPECIALLY HEAVIER PRECIPITATION.  
 
MVFR CIGS FILTER INTO THE OHIO VALLEY AND ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS  
BY ABOUT ~09Z. ELSEWHERE, MVFR CIGS WILL MOVE IN BY ABOUT ~16Z  
WITH THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION. THE MOUNTAINS WILL LIKELY SEE  
IFR CIGS OR LOWER FORM ABOUT THE SAME TIME. THE CENTRAL  
LOWLANDS, INCLUDING CRW, WILL LIKELY KEEP VFR CIGS CONDITIONS  
THROUGH THE PERIOD.  
 
WINDS WILL MOSTLY BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE EARLY THIS MORNING,  
EXCEPT ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS WHERE SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW COULD BE  
BREEZY OR GUSTY AT TIMES. SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE  
ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY TODAY WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 20KTS  
AND 30KTS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS.  
 
LLWS IS EXPECTED AT MOST SITES FROM ~06Z THROUGH ~20Z.  
EXPECTING A SSE LLWS COMPONENT ALOFT DURING THE PERIOD WITH  
SPEEDS BETWEEN 40KTS AND 50KTS.  
 
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 12Z MONDAY...  
 
FORECAST CONFIDENCE: HIGH.  
 
ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: TIMING, LOCATION AND INTENSITY OF RAIN AND  
WINTRY PRECIPITATION MAY VARY FROM FORECAST. TIMING AND  
INTENSITY OF DETERIORATING CIGS AND VIS MAY ALSO VARY. WIND  
SPEEDS AND LLWS COULD VARY.  
 
EXPERIMENTAL TABLE OF FLIGHT CATEGORY OBJECTIVELY SHOWS CONSISTENCY  
OF WFO FORECAST TO AVAILABLE MODEL INFORMATION:  
H = HIGH: TAF CONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL.  
M = MEDIUM: TAF HAS VARYING LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY WITH MODELS.  
L = LOW: TAF INCONSISTENT WITH ALL MODELS OR ALL BUT ONE MODEL.  
 
DATE SUN 12/15/24  
UTC 1HRLY 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20  
EST 1HRLY 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15  
CRW CONSISTENCY H H M L L M L H H H H H  
HTS CONSISTENCY M M M L M H H L H H H H  
BKW CONSISTENCY M H M H H H H H H H H H  
EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H L M L L H H H  
PKB CONSISTENCY H H M M L L L M L H H H  
CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H M M M M L H H  
 
AFTER 12Z MONDAY...  
IFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE IN RAIN AND LOW CEILINGS LATE SUNDAY  
NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. IFR POSSIBLE IN SNOW SHOWERS  
WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY, MAINLY IN THE NORTHERN WEST  
VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS.  
 
 
   
RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
WV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR WVZ516-  
518-520-522.  
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 1 AM EST MONDAY FOR WVZ523-526.  
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 1 AM EST MONDAY FOR WVZ524.  
OH...NONE.  
KY...NONE.  
VA...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS...RPY/LTC  
NEAR TERM...LTC  
SHORT TERM...RPY  
LONG TERM...RPY  
AVIATION...LTC  
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