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Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
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053 FXUS61 KBTV 141053 AFDBTV Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Burlington VT 653 AM EDT Wed Aug 14 2024 .SYNOPSIS... An isolated shower with areas of fog will dissipate by mid morning before additional widely scattered showers with embedded rumbles of thunder redevelop this afternoon and continue into the overnight hours. The areal coverage of precipitation will be limited today and again on Thursday with the highest potential in the mountains, but localized heavy downpours are possible. Temperatures warm into the upper 70s to mid 80s both days with lows in the mid 50s to mid 60s. Friday is looking dry and mild with temperatures in the 80s, before more showers and thunderstorms are possible for the upcoming weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... As of 632 AM EDT Wednesday...Widespread fog continues in climo favored areas for another 1 to 2 hours. Did delay dissipation of fog due to areal coverage and potential shading of sun from band of mid level smoke dropping south acrs northern VT this morning. Otherwise, similar to yesterday thinking smoke wl slowly drop south, but wl continue to cause filtered sunshine, especially this morning. Rest of fcst in good shape. Water vapor shows weak s/w moving acrs the SLV attm with pocket of mid level moisture/instability that has helped to fire off a few showers with even an embedded lightning strike or two. Edwards mesonet site measured a quick 0.31" in a brief shower. So have bumped pops into the 10-20% range to cover the isolated activity over northern NY thru early this morning. In addition, areas of patchy fog should lift by 9 AM. The forecast challenge this aftn into the overnight hours is the areal coverage of showers/storms associated with northerly flow aloft. CAM guidance continues to highlight the eastern Dacks for scattered activity this aftn after 18z with some potential acrs northern VT, including the NEK toward 00z. Soundings show a rather deep dry layer in place from 850 to 300mb, which wl limit areal coverage of precip to 15-30%, but slow storm motions of <15 knots could result in some isolated pockets of heavier rainfall footprints. The eastern Dacks wl need to be watched closely for this potential. The probability of svr is minimal today given 0-6km shear <20 knots, but CAPE profiles of 1200 to 1800 J/kg does suggest some robust convective updrafts are possible. Progged 925mb temps are a degree or two warmer today, so thinking upper 70s to mid 80s. For tonight have continued a 15-25% pop for most of the overnight hours, as soundings continue to support instability with CAPE values of 800-1200 J/kg. In addition, RAP and NAM both indicate better s/w energy arriving aft 06z, especially northern/eastern VT, so this forcing and instability results in some potential for showers/storms. Generally movement from north to south. Once again fog potential is challenging with clouds, but bl flow is weak and moisture should increase aft sunset, so thinking climo favored areas look likely for some fog development after midnight. Little change in the upper lvl pattern as mid/upper lvl trof remains anchored to our east, resulting in northerly flow with embedded s/w`s. Slightly better moisture/instability and dynamics are present on Thursday btwn 14-18z, especially northern/eastern VT, so have kept pops in the high chc range with less coverage in the SLV. Deep layer shear is once again <20 knots, so not looking at organized convection, but with CAPE values approaching 2000 J/kg a few stronger updrafts are likely, that could be capable of localized wind gusts to 40 mph, small hail, and frequent cloud to ground lightning. The cold pool aloft is still lingering acrs our central/eastern VT zones on Thurs, where progged 500mb temps are in the -16C to -17C, and hail CAPE of 700 J/kg, so thinking small hail is definitely possible in the stronger convective elements. Temps very similar to Weds with highs upper 70s to mid 80s. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... As of 355 AM EDT Wednesday...A narrow upper level ridge will crest over our region Friday morning and slide to our east through the rest of the day. At the same time, surface high pressure centered to our east will drift further northeast as a low pressure advances into the western Great Lakes through Friday night where it will slow to a crawl. Following another night with perhaps a few showers and river valley fog, expect seasonably warm and humid conditions to develop Friday. Expect this heat to mainly impact outdoor workers and exercise. Wet bulb globe temperatures (WBGT) may peak as high as the extreme level in portions of the northern Champlain Valley during the afternoon, tied to light winds and sunshine combining with temperatures in the mid 80s and dew points in the low to mid 60s. As the aforementioned low pressure area moves towards us Thursday night, so too will the associated trough. The combination of increasing upper level diffluence and moderately strong isentropic lift will bring increasing chances of showers. With dry air aloft, the low level moisture advection sweeping northeastward through the North Country and northern Vermont may only result in rainfall primarily in our western areas through daybreak Saturday. And even in those areas at this time there are mixed signals on the degree of moisture and instability, which is probably a timing difference more than anything else. Forecast soundings show elevated instability amidst deep warm cloud depths that could support some downpours. As such, a faster scenario would yield more rainfall than forecast, and a slower one could result in little or no rainfall through this period. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 355 AM EDT Wednesday...The long term period continues to look rather wet, with rain likely at times each day. The latest multi- model blend did trend towards slightly less rainfall based on probabilistic data including 72 hour precipitation median, 90th percentile, and probability of exceeding 2 inches of rainfall. That being said, as we have seen numerous times this summer, convective weather and anomalous precipitable water can combine for locally excessive rainfall regardless of large scale rainfall forecasts. So we will closely monitor the potential for heavy rain. Overall, ingredients for convection look higher in northern New York than Vermont over the weekend, then on Monday instability will probably increase farther east. As such, the current forecast shows chances of thunderstorms each day with the exception of portions of eastern and/or northeastern Vermont on Saturday and Sunday. One question will be how the depth of moisture will look, which could be a limiting factor on rainfall rates. All forecast scenarios show high relative humidity and southerly/south-southwesterly flow at 850 millibars, and somewhat drier southwesterly flow at 700 millibars, through the weekend. The associated 500 millibar moisture shows a lot more variability. Generally, without deep convection, we would not expect excessive rainfall over the weekend. Again, convective chances may increase Monday and/or Tuesday associated with a frontal passage or potential pre-frontal trough. That will be something to monitor as we move forward, along with the return of cooler and drier air next week. && .AVIATION /12Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Through 12Z Thursday...Any lingering fog and associated low cigs this morning wl lift by 13z with vfr conditions prevailing today at all 7 taf sites. Winds are light and terrain driven this morning, but become north/northwest 3 to 6 knots by this aftn. A few widely scattered showers/storms are possible after 18z, but confidence in impacting any one taf site is <10% so have not mentioned in fcst. Additional showers are possible overnight, especially northern VT, which could impact coverage of fog. However, with some breaks in the overcast, light winds, and increasing sfc dwpts, feel areas of fog are possible btwn 07-12z again. Highest probability of fog is at MPV/SLK and EFK, with less than 20% probability at RUT/MSS. Have hinted at fog with 4SM BR and VCFG SCT002 for now. Outlook... Thursday: VFR. Chance SHRA, Chance TSRA. Thursday Night: VFR. NO SIG WX. Friday: VFR. NO SIG WX. Friday Night: VFR. Slight chance SHRA. Saturday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Chance SHRA, Chance TSRA. Saturday Night: Mainly MVFR, with areas VFR possible. Likely SHRA. Sunday: Mainly MVFR, with local IFR possible. Likely SHRA, Chance TSRA. && .BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VT...None. NY...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Taber NEAR TERM...Taber SHORT TERM...Kutikoff LONG TERM...Kutikoff AVIATION...Taber