288  
FXUS61 KRNK 020155  
AFDRNK  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA  
955 PM EDT TUE APR 1 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
A WARM FRONT WILL ARRIVE ON WEDNESDAY, WHICH WILL BRING  
INCREASING CLOUDS AND CHANCES OF RAIN INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT.  
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES SHOULD CONTINUE FOR THE REST OF THE  
WEEK WITH A FEW SHOWERS WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS DUE TO A FRONTAL  
BOUNDARY THAT WILL STALL ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY.  
 

 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
 
 
AS OF 955 PM EDT TUESDAY...  
 
KEY MESSAGES:  
 
1) CONFIDENCE IS HIGH FOR WINDS INCREASING FROM THE SOUTHEAST  
ACROSS PORTIONS OF WEST VIRGINIA AND FAR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.  
 
2) CLOUDS WILL INCREASE ON WEDNESDAY, AND CHANCES OF RAIN SHOULD  
ALSO STEADILY RISE AS A WARM FRONT APPROACHES.  
 
TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WERE TWEAKED DOWNWARD IN THIS UPDATE AS  
THEY ARE DROPPING DUE TO MAINLY CLEAR SKIES. AS HIGH PRESSURE  
CROSSES THE NEW ENGLAND STATES TONIGHT, THE FLOW SHOULD SWING  
TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST. MEANWHILE, A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM  
WILL CROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS, WHICH WILL CAUSE A PRESSURE  
GRADIENT ACROSS THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS. A SOUTHEAST WIND  
COULD GUST UP TO 40 MPH ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA  
AND FAR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA BY WEDNESDAY. CLOUDS WILL INCREASE AS  
THIS MOIST AND COOL AIR FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN WEDGES AGAINST  
THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE BLUE RIDGE. THE WARM FRONT FROM THE  
AFOREMENTIONED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE MID  
ATLANTIC BY WEDNESDAY EVENING.  
 
AS A RESULT OF THIS PATTERN, TEMPERATURES WERE LOWERED EVEN  
FURTHER WITH HIGHS ON WEDNESDAY NOT CLIMBING OUT OF THE 50S FOR  
A MAJORITY OF LOCATIONS. SOME MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS MAY NOT ESCAPE  
THE 40S ON WEDNESDAY GIVEN HOW TEMPERATURES ARE DROPPING  
TONIGHT AND WILL NOT HAVE MUCH OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE  
AFTERWARD. CHANCES OF RAIN WILL EMERGE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BLUE  
RIDGE ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AND SPREAD NORTHWARD BY WEDNESDAY  
EVENING. RAINFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD STAY LIGHT AND MAY JUST BE  
SPRINKLES OR DRIZZLE UNTIL THE WARM FRONT APPROACHES TO BRING  
ADDITIONAL LIFT. PATCHY FOG MAY OCCUR ALONG THE CREST OF THE  
SOUTHERN BLUE RIDGE AS THE UPSLOPE MOISTURE INCREASES ON  
WEDNESDAY, ESPECIALLY NEAR INTERSTATE 77 AND FANCY GAP.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/
 
 
AS OF 1015 AM EDT TUESDAY...  
 
KEY MESSAGE:  
 
1) HIGH CONFIDENCE IN WARMING TEMPERATURES AND INCREASING  
CLOUDS AND CHANCES FOR RAIN IN THE SHORT TERM FORECAST.  
 
WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE END OF THE WORK WEEK WE WILL STILL  
BE MOSTLY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF BERMUDA HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT.  
A FRONTAL FRACTURE/EXTENDED BAROCLINIC ZONE WILL BE SITUATED  
ROUGHLY FROM TX TO PA TO ME AND GRADUALLY SHIFT INTO NORTHERN  
SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA LATE IN THE PERIOD.  
 
SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL HELP KEEP MOISTURE ELEVATED WEDNESDAY NIGHT  
THROUGH FRIDAY, AND SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE  
EACH DAY, MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOONS WHEN HEATING IS GREATEST,  
AND MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, HIGH  
TEMPERATURES WILL BE A GOOD 15-20 DEGREES WARMER THAN ON  
WEDNESDAY. HAVE GONE A FEW DEGREES BELOW GUIDANCE HOWEVER DUE TO  
SHOWERS AND CLOUDS.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
 
 
AS OF 1010 AM EDT TUESDAY...  
 
KEY MESSAGES:  
 
1) COLD FRONT FINALLY MOVES THROUGH OVER THE WEEKEND.  
 
2) MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
SATURDAY WILL BE ANOTHER WARM DAY UNDER CLOUD COVER AND MOUNTAIN  
SHOWERS WITH A POSSIBLE BACKDOOR FRONT SITUATION AS PART OF  
THE BOUNDARY SHIFTS SOUTH. FINALLY BY SUNDAY, A STRONG SHORT  
WAVE WILL EJECT OUT OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND WILL BE ABSORBED  
BY THE LARGER MEAN TROUGH TO OUR WEST. THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH  
FORCING TO KICK A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE AREA, BRINGING  
WIDESPREAD MODERATE RAIN ALONG WITH THUNDERSTORMS.  
 
THE COLD FRONT WILL USHER IN MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES BY NEXT  
MONDAY AND TUESDAY, WITH HIGHS IN THE 40S AND 50S FOR THE  
MOUNTAINS, AND IN THE 60S FOR THE PIEDMONT, AND LOWS AREAWIDE IN  
THE 30S.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /02Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/
 
 
AS OF 955 PM EDT TUESDAY...  
 
CONFIDENCE IS HIGH FOR VFR CONDITIONS EARLY TONIGHT. SCATTERED  
CIRRUS WILL SPREAD OVERHEAD AND INCREASE IN COVERAGE OVERNIGHT.  
ALTHOUGH THE FLOW BEGINS AS LIGHT AND VARIABLE TONIGHT, IT  
SHOULD SWING TOWARDS THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST BEFORE DAYBREAK ON  
WEDNESDAY. THE SOUTHEAST FLOW SHOULD ACCELERATE WEST OF THE BLUE  
RIDGE ON WEDNESDAY WITH GUSTS UP TO 25-30 KNOTS AT BLF AND  
15-20 KNOTS AT BCB AND LWB. IN ADDITION, THE INCREASING MOISTURE  
WILL CAUSE A LAYER OF IFR TO MVFR STRATUS TO DEVELOP. MODEL  
SOUNDINGS SHOW A HIGH PROBABILITY OF CEILINGS FALLING LOWER BY  
SUNSET ON WEDNESDAY WITH LIGHT RAIN ARRIVING DUE TO AN  
APPROACHING WARM FRONT.  
   
EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK
 
 
 
POOR FLYING CONDITIONS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY LIKELY ON  
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS A WARM FRONT CROSSES THE MID ATLANTIC. MODELS  
ARE DEPICTING A GROWING THREAT FOR LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR FROM THE  
SOUTH THAT COULD EXCEED 40 KNOTS, ESPECIALLY WEST OF THE BLUE  
RIDGE. RAIN COVERAGE WILL INCREASE, WHILE CEILINGS AND  
VISIBILITIES COULD DROP TO IFR OR PERHAPS LOWER. A COLD FRONT  
MAY STALL ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY DURING THE REMAINDER OF  
THE WEEK AND INTO THE WEEKEND. CHANCES OF RAIN AND MVFR  
CONDITIONS REMAIN POSSIBLE FOR THURSDAY THOUGH SUNDAY AS THE  
FLOW TURNS MORE TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST.  
 

 
   
RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
VA...NONE.  
NC...NONE.  
WV...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
SYNOPSIS...PW  
NEAR TERM...PW  
SHORT TERM...SH  
LONG TERM...SH  
AVIATION...PW  
 
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