622  
FXUS61 KRLX 230808  
AFDRLX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV  
408 AM EDT SAT MAY 23 2026  
   
WHAT HAS CHANGED  
 
THE FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 11 PM THIS EVENING. IN  
ADDITION, A FEW STRONG STORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND  
EVENING, PRIMARILY ACROSS THE MID-OHIO VALLEY. THE MAIN HAZARDS  
ARE STRONG WINDS AND/OR AN ISOLATED TORNADO.  
 
 
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- 1) A WAFFLING FRONT IN / NEAR THE AREA AND MID-LEVEL WAVES  
WILL KEEP CLOUDS, SHOWERS, AND THE CHANCE FOR MAINLY AFTERNOON  
AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS, AROUND THROUGH THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND.  
RAINFALL COULD BE LOCALLY HEAVY AT TIMES LEADING TO FLOODING  
CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS THAT HAVE RECENTLY RECEIVED  
HEAVY RAINFALL. A FLOOD WATCH FOR FLASH FLOODING IS NOW IN  
EFFECT FOR THE MID-OHIO VALLEY UNTIL 11 PM THIS EVENING.  
 
- 2) THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES FOR THE  
START OF THE NEW WORK WEEK, WITH SOME DRYING POSSIBLE LATER IN  
THE WEEK.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
KEY MESSAGE 1...  
 
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE, CURRENTLY POSITIONED WEST OF THE AREA  
ACROSS THE CENTRAL OHIO VALLEY, WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE  
UNSETTLED WEATHER TO THE REGION THROUGHOUT TODAY AS IT  
PROGRESSES NORTH OF THE CWA. AN ASSOCIATED WARM FRONT WILL  
GRADUALLY LIFT NORTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA TODAY, WITH THE  
ATTENDING COLD FRONT NOT FAR BEHIND TO THE WEST, HOWEVER,  
MORE/LESS STALLING AS IT GETS INTO THE FAR WESTERN CWA LATER  
TONIGHT. THIS ALL TRANSLATES TO CONTINUED SCATTERED SHOWERS  
THROUGH THIS MORNING, FOLLOWED BY A MORE ACTIVE AFTERNOON AND  
EVENING GIVEN MODEST ANTICIPATED DESTABILIZATION (MIXED-LAYER  
CAPE OF ~ 500-1000 J/KG) IN THE WARM SECTOR BETWEEN THE TWO  
FRONTS. CAMS DEPICT A WAVE OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS  
GRADUALLY SHIFTING EAST ACROSS THE WESTERN/CENTRAL FORECAST AREA  
GIVEN THE RELATIVELY LIGHT STEERING FLOW. WITH A CONTINUED GULF  
MOISTURE FEED, LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL ONCE AGAIN BE POSSIBLE  
OVER THE SAME AREAS AS ON FRIDAY, BUT WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR  
HIGHER RAINFALL RATES GIVEN THE CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL. WITH SOME  
CREEKS/RIVERS IN ACTION STAGE AT PRESENT, AND SEVERELY  
COMPROMISED FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE, HAVE DECIDED TO EXTEND THE  
FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 11 PM THIS EVENING AFTER COLLABORATING WITH  
NEIGHBORING OFFICES, WITH THE FORECAST ZONES INCLUDED REMAINING  
UNCHANGED.  
 
THE OTHER ASPECT OF THE FORECAST TODAY WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED  
THUNDERSTORMS IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS  
DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING, PRIMARILY ACROSS THE MID-OHIO  
VALLEY, WITH STRONG WINDS AND/OR AN ISOLATED TORNADO BEING THE  
HAZARDS. HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL NEAR THAT OF NORMAL, WITH  
MID 70S PROGGED ACROSS THE LOWLANDS AMID STEADY SOUTH TO  
SOUTHEAST SURFACE FLOW.  
 
ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF SHOWERS/STORMS ARE THEN EXPECTED ON SUNDAY  
AND MONDAY DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND,  
ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS, AS THE  
SURFACE BOUNDARY AND UPPER WAVES CONTINUE TO LINGER/IMPACT THE  
FORECAST AREA. ADDITIONAL HYDRO CONCERNS REMAIN POSSIBLE, WITH  
WPC HAVING MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA UNDER A MARGINAL RISK FOR  
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL. TEMPERATURES WILL WARM TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE  
NORMAL VALUES ON BOTH DAYS.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 2...  
 
FOR THE SHORT WORK WEEK TO FOLLOW, UNSETTLED WEATHER IN THE FORM  
OF SHOWERS/STORMS IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ON TUESDAY AND  
WEDNESDAY AS THE SURFACE BOUNDARY VERY SLOWLY ATTEMPTS TO MOVE  
SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA, WITH PRECIPITATION MOST LIKELY DURING THE  
AFTERNOON/EVENING HOURS. THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN WILL BE  
ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE CWA. THE FRONT  
MAY SLIP FAR ENOUGH SOUTHWEST THURSDAY AND ESPECIALLY FRIDAY TO  
ALLOW FOR MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA, BUT  
OVERALL CONFIDENCE REMAINS MEDIUM ON THIS. HYDRO CONCERNS MAY  
CONTINUE TO BE A LINGERING ISSUE. HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE PROGGED  
TO REMAIN SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /06Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/  
 
SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT  
INTO SATURDAY MORNING, WITH A BRIEF REPRIEVE EXPECTED LATE  
SATURDAY MORNING. FOLLOWING THIS, SCATTERED SHOWERS AND  
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND  
EVENING, MOVING WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA. SOME STORMS COULD  
BE ON THE HEAVY SIDE WITH GUSTY WINDS. ACTIVITY SHOULD BEGIN TO  
DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. BRIEF MVFR/IFR VSBY IS POSSIBLE WITH ANY  
HEAVIER SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. MAINLY VFR CIGS ARE EXPECTED  
WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS - IFR/LIFR ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE  
MOUNTAINS (BKW), WHILE MVFR WILL BE POSSIBLE AT TIMES ACROSS THE  
MID-OHIO VALLEY (HTS/PKB).  
 
SE/S SURFACE FLOW IS EXPECTED THROUGH THIS TAF PERIOD (UNTIL 6Z  
SUNDAY). BREEZY WINDS OF 15-25 KTS ARE EXPECTED AT TIMES,  
ESPECIALLY IN THE TYPICAL DOWNSLOPE AREAS OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN.  
 
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND ALTERNATE SCENARIOS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY...  
 
FORECAST CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM.  
 
ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: CIGS AND/OR VSBY MAY OSCILLATE FROM THE  
FORECAST THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD DEPENDING ON RAINFALL AND WIND  
DIRECTION. BRIEF MVFR CIGS COULD OCCUR AT CKB/CRW/EKN.  
 
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 SAT 05/23/26  
UTC 1HRLY 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17  
EDT 1HRLY 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13  
CRW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H  
HTS CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H L L  
BKW CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H H H  
EKN CONSISTENCY M M M M M M M M M M M M  
PKB CONSISTENCY H H H H M M M H H H H H  
CKB CONSISTENCY H H H H H H H H H H M M  
 
AFTER 06Z SUNDAY...  
IFR REMAINS POSSIBLE AT TIMES FROM SUNDAY MORNING INTO AT LEAST  
EARLY NEXT WEEK, WITH MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS  
AND/OR THUNDERSTORMS, AS WELL AS OVERNIGHT FOG AND/OR LOW  
STRATUS.  
 
 
   
RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
WV...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 8 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR WVZ005>011-017-019.  
OH...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 8 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR OHZ066-067-075-076-  
083>087.  
KY...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 8 AM EDT THIS MORNING FOR KYZ101>103-105.  
VA...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...GW  
AVIATION...GW  
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