328  
FXUS61 KPBZ 010600  
AFDPBZ  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA  
200 AM EDT SAT AUG 1 2026  
   
WHAT HAS CHANGED  
 
NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE FORECAST. A CONDITIONAL  
POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUES  
FOR SUNDAY.  
 
 
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
1) CONTINUED DRY THROUGH MOST OF TODAY  
 
2) SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RETURN TONIGHT AND SUNDAY, WITH  
UNSETTLED WEATHER NEXT WEEK.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
KEY MESSAGE 1...  
SHORTWAVE RIDGING IS EXPECTED TO MAINTAIN DRY WEATHER FOR MOST  
OF THE DAY AS IT SLIDES EAST OF THE REGION. A SHORTWAVE TROUGH  
WAS ANALYZED ACROSS THE MIDWEST THIS MORNING. INCREASING  
MOISTURE AHEAD OF THIS WAVE WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN MID AND  
HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS STREAMING ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. SHOWER AND  
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE LATER THIS AFTERNOON  
ACROSS OHIO WEST OF I-77 AS A LEAD, INITIAL SHORTWAVE APPROACHES  
IN SW FLOW AHEAD OF THE MAIN TROUGH. HIGHS ARE EXPECTED TO BE  
NEAR SEASONABLE LEVELS.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 2...  
THE LEAD SHORTWAVE IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE REGION TONIGHT, WITH  
SOME SUPPORT FROM A RELATIVELY WEAK LOW LEVEL JET. ELEVATED  
INSTABILITY COULD MAINTAIN A COUPLE OF THUNDERSTORMS AS WELL.  
THE LATEST HREF PROBABILITIES FOR AM INCH OF RAIN OVERNIGHT ARE  
LESS THAN 10 PERCENT ACROSS THE REGION, THOUGH SOME SIGNAL FOR  
SOME HIGHER QPF IS SEEN ACROSS NW PA.  
 
SOME DECREASE IN COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS  
EXPECTED SUNDAY MORNING AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE INITIAL  
SHORTWAVE, AND AS THE LOW LEVEL JET WEAKENS. THE MAIN SHORTWAVE  
TROUGH IS PROGGED TO DEEPEN INTO A STACKED CLOSED LOW THROUGH  
THE DAY SUNDAY, AS IT DRIFTS ACROSS THE MIDWEST AND OHIO VALLEY  
REGION. MOST MODEL GUIDANCE INDICATES A POTENTIAL DRY SLOT  
BETWEEN THE INITIAL WAVE, AND THE MAIN TROUGH. IF SOME BREAKS IN  
THE CLOUD COVER DEVELOP, THIS COULD RESULT IN INCREASED DIURNAL  
INSTABILITY, WITH MORE CLOUD COVER RESULTING IN THE OPPOSITE.  
CURRENT ML CAPE PROJECTIONS GENERALLY RANGE FROM 500-1500 J/KG,  
DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS THAT OCCUR.  
0-6KM SHEAR IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 30-40KT, WITH THE HIGHER  
VALUES ACROSS OHIO. AT THE SAME TIME, A WEAK SURFACE COLD FRONT  
IS EXPECTED TO DRIFT ACROSS THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY REGION, WHICH  
COULD BE THE FOCUS FOR MORE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS  
IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  
 
THE SEVERE POTENTIAL WILL BE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE AMOUNT OF  
CLEARING AND DESTABILIZATION THAT OCCURS. THE REGION CONTINUES  
UNDER A MARGINAL RISK, OR LEVEL 1 OUT OF 5, FOR SEVERE STORMS  
SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THIS STILL APPEARS REASONABLE  
WITH THE AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY IN DIURNAL DESTABILIZATION. THE  
MAIN HAZARD IS EXPECTED TO BE DAMAGING WIND. PWATS ARE PROGGED  
TO RANGE FROM 1.6 TO 1.8, WHICH HAS TRENDED DOWNWARD SLIGHTLY IN  
THE MOST RECENT MODEL GUIDANCE. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS  
POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY WHERE ANY TRAINING WOULD OCCUR.  
 
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AS  
THE MAIN SHORTWAVE TROUGH DRIFTS ACROSS THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY  
REGION. THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL IS EXPECTED TO WANE WITH  
DIMINISHING INSTABILITY.  
 
ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE INDICATES THE UPPER LOW WILL PERSIST ACROSS  
THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY REGION AS IT WEAKENS THROUGH MIDWEEK. THE  
LOW/TROUGH SHOULD EXIT THE REGION BY LATE WEEK, THOUGH BROAD  
UPPER TROUGHING IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH  
LATE WEEK. THIS PATTERN SHOULD RESULT IN MAINLY DIURNALLY  
DRIVEN, DAILY SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /06Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/  
 
VFR IS EXPECTED THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES  
EAST OF THE REGION. MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS, AHEAD OF AN  
APPROACHING SHORTWAVE TROUGH, WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM ACROSS THE  
REGION THROUGH THE DAY. A LEAD DISTURBANCE AHEAD OF THE MAIN  
TROUGH SHOULD SPREAD SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE  
AREA TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. INCLUDED PREDOMINANT SHOWERS,  
WITH PROB30S FOR OVERNIGHT CONVECTION.  
 
A DECREASE IN SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED  
EARLY SUNDAY, THOUGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SHOULD RESULT IN SOME  
MVFR CIGS ACROSS THE AREA.  
 
OUTLOOK...  
PERIODIC RESTRICTIONS IN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND  
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ON SUNDAY, ESPECIALLY DURING THE  
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. PERIODIC SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES  
WILL CONTINUE, ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING,  
THROUGH MIDWEEK AS AN UPPER LOW/TROUGH LINGERS ACROSS THE UPPER  
OHIO VALLEY REGION. IN ADDITION, EARLY MORNING FOG AND STRATUS  
WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE.  
 
 
   
PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
PA...NONE.  
OH...NONE.  
WV...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...WM  
AVIATION...WM  
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