805 FXUS61 KAKQ 151738 AFDAKQAREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 138 PM EDT Wed Oct 15 2025
.SYNOPSIS... Dry and seasonable weather prevails today, ahead of a dry cold front passing through the region tonight. Cool and dry conditions are expected Thursday and Friday as high pressure settles across the region. A warming trend is expected by the weekend as the high slides offshore. The next chance for rain is late Sunday into early Monday with the next cold front.
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.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 1050 AM EDT Wednesday...
Key Message:
- Clouds linger across the eastern 1/2 of the CWA through midday, then becoming mostly clear all areas later today and tonight.
The latest WX analysis depicts NW flow aloft as the local area is located in between a deep trough well off the coast and an upper level ridge across the south central CONUS. At the surface, low pressure is well offshore co-located with the upper low, with an expansive strong high (~1030 mb) building across the upper Midwest and western Ontario region near Lake Superior. The gradient between these two features continues to bring elevated winds closer to the coast this morning. Lingering low level moisture and low clouds persist across the eastern 1/2 of the CWA, while a mostly clear sky is in place along and W of the I-95 corridor. Temperatures currently range from the lower 60s near the coast where it is cloudy (and breezy), to as warm as the upper 60s in the piedmont with clear skies.
Northwest flow aloft will remain across the area today, and as the low offshore continues to move farther away from the region, drier air should eventually win out by the aftn, allowing clouds along the coast to finally scatter out. High temperatures will range from the upper 60s to lower 70s near the coast, with mid 70s well inland. Late this aftn/evening, the next upper trough and associated shortwave will dive SE across Quebec and New England, pushing a dry cold front through the mid-Atlantic tonight. Lows tonight into Thursday morning will be cool, generally in the 40s inland and in the 50s near the coast in SE VA/NE NC where a gusty N wind off the water keeps it milder.
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.SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... As of 315 AM EDT Wednesday...
Key Messages:
- Remaining dry, but turning cooler Thursday-Friday.
- At least patchy frost will be possible late Thursday night/Fri AM W of I-95 with lows as cold as the mid 30s.
Temperatures Thursday will be cooler with highs ranging from the the low- mid 60s closer to the coast and in the mid-upper 60s farther inland. A very dry airmass will result in deep mixing and have undercut NBM dew pts by several degrees in collaboration w/ neighboring offices. Not really expecting significant Fire Wx concerns, but do anticipate seeing min RH values down near 30% along and W of I-95 with breezy N winds. The 00Z/15 model suite continues to show good agreement that surface high pressure will move SE Thursday night, but will not become centered over the local area until during the day on Friday. The setup Thursday night into Friday morning looks favorable for decoupling in the piedmont, but with more uncertainty elsewhere due to the location. Given this, blended in NBM10th percentile, as well as the MAV values for the piedmont, but made only minor adjustments to the NBM for areas E of I-95. Expect to see lows in the mid- upper 30s for many piedmont locations (along with at least patchy frost in sheltered areas), with areas along the I-95 corridor generally in the upper 30s to lower 40s. The chance for a freeze is very minimal, but a Frost Advisory could eventually be issued in the far west depending on how things evolve. Near the coast, it will be significantly warmer given mixing, with lows in the mid 40s to lower 50s.
By Friday afternoon, model consensus places an upper level ridge from the Gulf coast region northward to the Great Lakes, with sfc high pressure becoming centered over the local area underneath the confluent NW flow aloft. Dry and cool weather will prevail with full sun and highs in the low-mid 60s. The high lingers across the SE VA and NC coastal plain Fri night, so have undercut NBM (blended w/ NBM10th) along and E of I-95. Lows will mainly be 40-45F areawide (with some local upper 30s possible).
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.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 330 AM EDT Wednesday...
Key Messages:
- Warmer temperatures for the weekend.
- The next chance for rain is late Sunday into early Monday.
Good model consensus that the upper level ridge amplifies and shifts east to the coast Saturday, and off the coast by Sunday morning. This consensus is slightly slower than what the models had shown yesterday, so the low level flow on Saturday will tend to be lighter (and could even allow for light onshore flow near the coast). It will be mainly sunny, but staying a bit cooler along the coast with highs in the upper 60s, as inland zones rise into the lower 70s. A large upper trough moves in from the W late Sunday, with strong low pressure ejecting NNE across the Great Lakes. A cold front will approach from the W on Sunday, and advance across the area later Sun night. Increasing southerly flow should help temperatures rise well into the 70s, potentially into the upper 70s across the SE. Will note there is still a bit of uncertainty as to how much moisture makes it E of the Appalachians with the core of the upper low across the Great Lakes and OH Valley, potentially taking on a negative tilt (which sometimes leads to the precip pattern splitting E of the mountains). The 00Z/15 EPS is showing ~50% chc for seeing 0.50"+ of QPF for the event for areas E of I-95 and lower chance west, while GEFS is much drier with only ~10% for seeing that amount for areas along the coast. Will have chc PoPs, in the 30 to 50% range late Sunday, and high chc (50%) to likely (60%) PoPs Sun night (highest N). Generally drying out Monday from SW to NE, with highs in the 60s to around 70F, and dry with seasonable temperatures Tuesday.
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.AVIATION /18Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 140 PM EDT Wednesday...
Mostly clear conditions outside of the MVFR cloud deck over SE VA/NE NC this afternoon. The clouds continue to move farther SE away from the area with now only ORF and ECG remaining under MVFR CIGs. The cloud deck will move out of the area this afternoon by 20z at the latest in the far southeast (ORF will likely clear within the next hour). VFR conditions are now seen elsewhere, with mostly sunny skies and will prevail into Thursday evening. Elevated winds continue as low pressure lingers offshore at ~10 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. A cold front will move through the region late tonight and early Thursday, which will then increase the winds more during the day Thursday to 10-15 kt with gusts up to 25 kt.
Outlook: VFR and dry conditions are expected through the end of the week. Lighter winds will return Friday and Saturday. An approaching cold front will bring a chance for showers late Sunday into early Monday with possible flight restrictions.
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.MARINE... As of 300 AM EDT Wednesday...
Key Messages:
- Relative lull in wind speeds expected today before winds increase again from tonight through the first half of Friday.
- High pressure builds over the waters Friday into Saturday before moving offshore ahead of the next cold front.
Morning analysis shows surface low pressure now well offshore with 1030mb high pressure centered near Lake Superior. Winds are generally N 15-20 kt with gusts to 25 kt in the eastern Ches Bay and offshore with lower winds observed along the western side of the bay and into the tidal rivers. Waves are 2-3 ft in the bay with seas offshore 5-8 ft (highest S).
The pressure gradient briefly relaxes today ahead of a few surges of cold/dry advection expected to overspread the waters tonight into Thursday and again Thursday evening into the first half of Friday. Will maintain SCA headlines in the bay through the lull rather than canceling and reissuing. The SCA for the lower James has been canceled with winds averaging 10-15 kt. Additional SCA headlines will likely be required for the rivers and Currituck Sound tonight into late week. Winds increase to 20-25 kt with gusts to 30 kt tonight and linger in that range into Friday morning as additional waves of cold advection move across the waters. Wind probs have backed off on the potential for low-end Gales with these surges but will continue to monitor obs and the latest guidance as mixing of stronger flow aloft is very efficient in cold/dry advection this time of year. High pressure finally builds over the area Friday through Saturday with much improved marine conditions. Flow become southerly by late Saturday as high pressure translates offshore ahead of the next cold front.
SCAs have been extended into early Thursday evening for the bay and coastal waters. Winds and seas will remain above thresholds well into Friday in the bay and early Saturday for the offshore zones as seas will be slow to subside.
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.AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 PM EDT Friday for ANZ630>632. Small Craft Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 4 PM EDT Friday for ANZ633. Small Craft Advisory until 7 PM EDT Friday for ANZ634-650-652- 654-656-658. Small Craft Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 7 PM EDT Thursday for ANZ635>637. Small Craft Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 10 AM EDT Friday for ANZ638.
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SYNOPSIS...LKB NEAR TERM...KMC/LKB SHORT TERM...KMC/LKB LONG TERM...KMC/LKB AVIATION...KMC/LKB MARINE...RHR
NWS AKQ Office Area Forecast Discussion