


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
Issued by NWS Buffalo, NY
341 FXUS61 KBUF 071722 AFDBUF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Buffalo NY 122 PM EDT Mon Jul 7 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A slow-moving cold front will cross the area this afternoon and evening...while generating showers and thunderstorms capable of producing localized heavy rainfall and gusty winds. In the wake of the front...high pressure and drier/somewhat cooler air will build across the region tonight through Wednesday...before more unsettled conditions return later on in the week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/... Latest satellite imagery shows ongoing convective initiation primarily focused along lake breeze boundaries east of Lake Erie and south of Lake Ontario early this afternoon. Latest RAP analysis highlights a mid-level shortwave passing through southern Canada with the cold front stretching from the surface low in southern Quebec back southwest across western Lake Ontario and portions of Lake Erie. Continued convergence ahead of the front with 1000-1500 J/kg of MLCAPE within a warm, moist environment will support additional thunderstorm development through this afternoon across western NY and eventually north-central NY with heavy rainfall and gusty winds being the main hazards (more details below). Behind the frontal passage, drier weather is expected headed into Tuesday with temperatures 5-10 degF cooler than Monday, especially across the southern Lake Ontario shoreline where Heat Advisories were in effect. Morning fog will be present across the Southern Tier along with a few light showers extending into the Finger Lakes region as the frontal boundary stalls just to the southeast of the CWA. High pressure will build across western NY through the afternoon. Heat: Heat Advisories remain in effect for much of the Southern Lake Ontario shoreline and Finger Lakes region through early Monday evening. "Feels Like" temperatures are currently climbing into the mid-90s and will remain in place at least through the early afternoon. With storms expected later this afternoon and the frontal passage by early this evening, overnight relief from the heat will be provided along with cooler temperatures and lower humidity Tuesday. Thunderstorms and Heavy Rainfall: The 12z KBUF sounding highlighted moistening low-levels up through 600mb with a PW of 1.76" which is above the climatological 90th percentile value. Deeper moisture is expected to continue to advect eastward as PW values approach the 2.0" mark along with long skinny CAPE profiles off forecast soundings and deep warm cloud layers (>10 kft) that would be supportive of heavy rainfall with afternoon thunderstorms. Mean 850- 300mb cloud layer winds oriented to the northeast will be parallel to the prefrontal trough and lake breeze boundary off Lake Erie. This would lead to training storm motions that will need to be monitored through this afternoon for excessive rainfall and the potential for localized flash flooding, especially in areas of hilly or complex terrain from the Southern Tier across to the Finger Lakes region. Latest CAMs continue to track these storms across western NY through 5 PM and remaining across portions of north-central NY through 7 PM, however this hi-res guidance is a little more conservative with QPF totals remaining well below FFG. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... Zonal flow in the base of the general longwave troughing pattern overhead Tuesday night will give way to the next shortwave trough diving southeast across the Great Lakes. This shortwave will cause the troughing pattern to gradually shift east, passing across the lower Great Lakes Wednesday and Thursday before trudging further eastward into the Northeast Friday and into the weekend. Translating this pattern down to the surface, surface high pressure will remain overhead of the lower Great Lakes Tuesday night and the first half of Wednesday, supporting a period of mainly dry weather to persist. Meanwhile, to the south a wavy stationary front will lie across Pennsylvania and into the Ohio Valley. As the aforementioned shortwave crosses the Great Lakes, a weak wave will traverse the frontal boundary and lift it northward towards the western Southern Tier, and ultimately ensuing southerly flow across the region. With this being said, warm air will be advected into the area under the southerly flow and spark a risk for some afternoon and early evening diurnally driven convection. The axis of the upper level trough will lie across the area Thursday and Friday will support periods of rain showers with chances for thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon hours each day due to diurnal effects. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Brief mid-level ridging will pass across the central Great Lakes Friday night and into Saturday morning. Meanwhile, the next trough will be in the middle of passing across the Northern Plains and into the upper Great Lakes Saturday before lifting northeast into the northern portions of the Ontario province Sunday night and Monday. Overall after a dry night Friday, the next chances for a few showers and thunderstorm will arrive into the start of the weekend and last into Monday. While there is a chance for rain each day, should mention that no days look to be complete washouts. Additionally, with the brief ridge and the exit branch of the trough to the west of the region, temperatures will gradually warm into the mid to upper 80s for late in the week and into the weekend. && .AVIATION /17Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Showers and thunderstorms have developed over western NY early this afternoon, but remain fairly scattered at this time. Storms will continue to develop and move east through this afternoon across western NY and into north-central NY where terminals could see brief reductions to visibility in heavy rainfall and gusty winds in the vicinity of storms. Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail with SCT-BKN cloud cover with bases around 5 kft. Winds will shift this evening to out of the north with a cold frontal passage that will also bring lower ceilings and likely MVFR/IFR conditions to most area terminals through Tuesday morning. Fog development is also possible across the Southern Tier and around the Tug Hill that could see KJHW and KART drop to LIFR visibility/ceiling with moist low-levels and cooling temperatures. Improvement to VFR conditions will slowly occur through late Tuesday morning. Outlook... Tuesday night and Wednesday...Mainly VFR. Thursday through Saturday...A chance of showers and thunderstorms with MVFR restrictions possible. && .MARINE... While winds will likely remain below SCA levels today and into this evening...there will be the threat of showers and thunderstorms in association with the approach and passage of a slow-moving cold front. In its wake...winds will become northerly to northwesterly while remaining at light to modest levels into early Tuesday, with generally light winds and sub-advisory conditions then expected to continue through the rest of the week. && .BUF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NY...Heat Advisory until 6 PM EDT this evening for NYZ003>006-013- 014. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...JJR NEAR TERM...Brothers SHORT TERM...EAJ LONG TERM...EAJ AVIATION...Brothers MARINE...JJR