898  
FXUS61 KRLX 200733  
AFDRLX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV  
233 AM EST FRI DEC 20 2024  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
QUICK HITTING CLIPPER WITH RAIN/SNOW TODAY, UPSLOPE SNOW  
CONTINUING TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY. TURNING DRY SUNDAY AND  
MONDAY. NEXT RAIN CHANCES ARRIVE TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.  
 
 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/  
 
AS OF 230 AM FRIDAY...  
 
ASCENT ASSOCIATED WITH AN APPROACHING MID-LEVEL WAVE (CURRENTLY  
SPAWNING SOME VIRGA OVER SE OH) WILL MOVE ATOP AN INVERTED SURFACE  
TROUGH NEAR THE MOUNTAINS EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS IS EXPECTED TO  
PRODUCE A BRIEF BURST OF SNOW (OR PERHAPS SOME VERY PATCHY  
FREEZING DRIZZLE WHERE CLOUD ICE COULD BE LOST) IN THE VICINITY  
OF THE NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS JUST BEFORE DAYBREAK.  
 
OTHERWISE, MAINLY PRECIPITATION FREE THROUGH LATE MORNING WHEN A  
QUICK HITTING CLIPPER SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE REGION FROM WEST TO  
EAST. WETBULB TEMPERATURES GENERALLY ABOVE FREEZING SHOULD YIELD A  
MAINLY RAIN OR RAIN SNOW MIX ACROSS MUCH THE LOWER ELEVATIONS WITH  
THIS ACTIVITY THROUGH LATE THIS AFTERNOON, WITH A BIT MORE SNOW  
MIXED IN ACROSS THE SOUTHERN COALFIELDS WHERE DEW POINTS ARE  
MARGINALLY LOWER. WITH CRITICAL THICKNESS LEVELS ALL GENERALLY SOUTH  
OF US AFTER ONSET OF SYNOPTIC PRECIPITATION, WOULD EXPECT ONLY  
A RAIN OR SNOW EVENT.  
 
ALL ELEVATIONS SHOULD TRANSITION OVER TO SNOW BY EARLY THIS EVENING  
AS THE SYNOPTIC PORTION OF THIS EVENT EXITS EAST. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS  
FOR THE THE CLIPPER ITSELF GENERALLY NOTHING TO TRACE ACROSS THE  
NORTHERN LOWLANDS, A DUSTING TO AN INCH OR TWO ACROSS THE SOUTHERN  
COALFIELDS AND ONE TO THREE INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. AS  
NORTHWESTERLY FLOW BECOMES ESTABLISHED TONIGHT, ADDITIONAL  
LAKE/UPSLOPE ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WITH  
PERHAPS AN ADDITIONAL DUSTING ACROSS THE NORTHERN LOWLANDS, TRACE TO  
1 INCH ACROSS THE SOUTHERN COALFIELDS AND A COUPLE INCHES IN THE  
MOUNTAINS.  
 
EXISTING WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS APPEAR REASONABLE, PERHAPS A  
LITTLE UNDER TRADITIONAL CRITERIA OUTSIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS; NO  
CHANGES ARE PLANNED AT THIS TIME.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/  
 
AS OF 115 AM FRIDAY...  
 
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ON ITS WAY OUT WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL  
ACCUMULATIONS IN THE AMOUNT OF UP TO HALF AN INCH ALONG THE  
HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND ALONG THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH SATURDAY  
AFTERNOON ALONG WITH SOME GUSTY CONDITIONS OF 25-35MPH INTO THE  
EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE THEN BUILDS IN TO GIVE THE AREA A BREAK  
BUT THIS HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BE TRAILING OFF TOWARD THE  
EAST BY MONDAY.  
 
UPON EXITING, THE AFOREMENTIONED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BE  
FOLLOWED BY VERY COLD AIR WITH TEMPERATURES AROUND -8C AT 850MB.  
THIS WILL TRANSLATE TO MUCH LOWER THAN SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES  
FOR THE OVERNIGHT LOWS INTO SUNDAY MORNING. FOR SUNDAY, MOST  
LOCATIONS WILL STRUGGLE TO BREACH THE FREEZING MARK WITH  
OVERNIGHT LOWS MUCH LOWER THAN SEASONABLE AS WELL.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/  
 
AS OF 115 AM FRIDAY...  
 
BY TUESDAY, FLEETING HIGH PRESSURE ALLOWS ANOTHER CLIPPER TYPE  
SYSTEM TO RACE PAST THE AREA TOWARD THE NORTH. LOOKS LIKE THIS  
FEATURE LOSES ITS ENERGY FAIRLY QUICKLY AND MAY NOT EVEN PROVIDE  
PRECIPITATION ACROSS OUR NORTHERN PERIPHERY.  
 
WE ALSO HAVE A WARM FRONT LIFTING ACROSS THE AREA FROM SOUTH TO  
NORTH COURTESY OF A SYSTEM OUT WEST. THIS FEATURE MAY PROVIDE  
PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF RAIN ALONG WITH CHANCES OF  
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY, HOWEVER THEY ARE BOTH VERY LOW CHANCES.  
THIS SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO EVENTUALLY MAKE ITS  
WAY INTO THE AREA BY THURSDAY ALTHOUGH CENTRAL GUIDANCE DOES NOT  
SEEM TO BE CONFIDENT ON THIS FEATURE WITH ONLY PROVIDING LOW  
END CHANCE POPS.  
 
TEMPERATURES START TO MODERATE SLOWLY BY MONDAY AND THEN A  
SLIGHT WARMING TREND COMMENCES THROUGH THE REST OF THIS PERIOD  
WHERE BY TUESDAY MOSTLY RAIN IN THE LOWLANDS AND SNOW IN THE  
MOUNTAINS AND THEN BY THURSDAY AN ALL RAIN REGIME IS LIKELY.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /08Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/  
 
AS OF 100 AM FRIDAY...  
 
LARGELY MVFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THIS MORNING WITH THE  
EXCEPTION OF SOME LIGHT SNOW THAT COULD YIELD IFR CONDITIONS NEAR  
THE NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS FROM AROUND 8 TO 12Z. ADDITIONAL  
WIDEPSREAD PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH A QUICK HITTING  
CLIPPER WILL CROSS FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE LATE  
MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON - MAINLY RAIN OR A RAIN/SNOW MIX ACROSS  
THE LOWER ELEVATIONS THROUGH THIS EVENING, THEN TRANSITIONING TO  
FLURRIES TONIGHT. ACCUMULATING UPSLOPE ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS  
WILL LINGER IN THE MOUNTAINS WELL INTO SATURDAY.  
 
WINDS LIGHT AND SOUTHERLY THIS MORNING, TRANSITIONING TO WESTERLY 5-  
10KTS THIS AFTERNOON.  
 
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY...  
 
FORECAST CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM.  
 
ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: SNOW NEAR EKN THIS MORNING MAY NOT MAKE IT  
TO THE TERMINAL. PRECIPITATION TYPE THIS AFTERNOON COULD VARY  
BETWEEN RAIN, RAIN/SNOW MIX AND SNOW.  
 
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 FRI 12/20/24  
UTC 1HRLY 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18  
EST 1HRLY 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13  
CRW CONSISTENCY H H H M H H H H H H H H  
HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H M M M M H H M M  
BKW CONSISTENCY H H M M H L H H H H H H  
EKN CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H  
PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H  
CKB CONSISTENCY M H H H H H H H H H H H  
 
AFTER 06Z SATURDAY...  
IFR POSSIBLE SNOW SHOWERS AND STRATUS SATURDAY MORNING.  
 
 
   
RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
WV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM EST  
SATURDAY FOR WVZ024>026-033-034-515-517-519.  
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 1 PM EST  
SATURDAY FOR WVZ516-518-520>523-525-526.  
OH...NONE.  
KY...NONE.  
VA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM EST  
SATURDAY FOR VAZ003-004.  
 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS...JP/JZ  
NEAR TERM...JP  
SHORT TERM...JZ  
LONG TERM...JZ  
AVIATION...JP  
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