770 FXUS61 KAKQ 071933 AFDAKQAREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 333 PM EDT Tue Oct 7 2025
.SYNOPSIS... Seasonably warm and dry conditions continue today before a strong cold front crosses the area on Wednesday. This will bring scattered showers Wednesday. Much cooler temperatures arrive late this week behind the cold front. A coastal low may develop off the Southeast coast this weekend, potentially resulting in rain and breezy conditions for a portion of the local area.
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.NEAR TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 315 PM EDT Tuesday...
Key Messages:
- Scattered rain showers move into western and northwestern portions of the area tonight, progressing south/southeast through tomorrow evening.
- Lows tonight in the mid 60s. Highs tomorrow in the 70s.
High pressure has been pushed offshore by an approaching cold front, which was located over the OH valley as of latest analysis. Conditions outside are fairly pleasant with temps in the low 80s under partly sunny skies. It is starting to get a little breezy as the pressure gradient tightens ahead of the front with a few southerly wind gusts up to ~20mph observed.
As the front approaches tonight, will see cloud cover increasing from NW to SE. Also expecting scattered showers starting tonight in association with the front. Precip will be generally confined to northwestern areas through the first part of tonight, then gradually expanding in coverage and sliding SE late tonight into tomorrow. Models indicate that precip should be focused mostly on eastern portions of the area tomorrow morning with showers most widespread on the Eastern Shore. Scattered showers then shift to the S/SE as the front starts to move offshore tomorrow afternoon/evening. Could see a few rumbles of thunder in the SE as well. Regarding QPF, did see a downward trend for central VA with the 12z models. Now anticipating 0.1-0.2" or less. The MD Eastern Shore looks to get the most with QPF values between 0.5-0.75". The 12z HREF did key in on this area with low end probs for an inch of rain, so could certainly see some isolated spots of an inch or so. Other eastern counties have a QPF range of 0.25-0.5". Lows tonight will be in the mid 60s. Highs tomorrow will be in the low-mid 70s across the north and mid- upper 70s across the south, as high as the low 80s near the Albemarle Sound.
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.SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... As of 315 PM EDT Tuesday...
Key Messages:
- Much cooler weather arrives Thursday, with 30s across our NW counties Thursday night/Friday AM.
Will see clearing skies and gusty north winds behind the front Wed night into Thurs. Strong high pressure from the NW returns as an UL trough swings into the Mid-Atlantic. Lows Wed night will be in the mid to upper 40s N and W of Richmond and ranging through the 50s elsewhere. Much cooler Thurs with highs only in the mid to upper 60s. Northeast winds will be elevated Thurs afternoon with gusts up to 30mph at the SE coast, 20-25mph elsewhere. Chilly temps then expected Thurs night. Lows will be as cold as the upper 30s in the far NW, ranging through the 40s for other inland areas, and in the 50s in the SE/near the coast. Some of the statistical guidance did suggest temps as low as the mid 30s in the NW, which cannot be ruled out given decent radiational cooling conditions. Will need to keep an eye on this time frame for potential Frost Advisories.
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.LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... As of 315 PM EDT Tuesday...
Key Message:
- A coastal low is possible by this weekend and may bring rain and breezy conditions to the area.
Cool, dry conditions continue Friday as the center of the strong high slides through New England and offshore. Highs will be in the mid to upper 60s again and still a little breezy with onshore winds. Uncertainty increases going into the weekend as a coastal low is introduced off the Carolina coast. At this point, there is decent confidence in the low forming and the general location of formation, but details on impacts are still fuzzy. There is certainly the potential for heavy rain, as depicted in the 12z GFS and to a lesser extent the ECMWF. The Canadian, though, maintains that the low strays further offshore and takes its rain with it. Have maintained the NBM solution for the forecast due to uncertainty, which yields Chnc PoPs (highest east) starting Saturday afternoon and continuing into early Monday. Also expecting windy conditions to develop over the weekend, especially at the coast. Highs in the 60s continue through the weekend and on Monday. Lows will generally be in the upper 40s in the piedmont and in the 50s elsewhere through the long term period.
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.AVIATION /19Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 155 PM EDT Tuesday...
VFR conditions prevail across the terminals this afternoon as high pressure remains in control. This changes later tonight, though, when a cold front sweeps across the area. Partly cloudy skies this afternoon give way to overcast skies tonight. Showers associated with the front move into the area late this evening and likely do not impact terminals (RIC and SBY first) until early tomorrow morning. Kept the mention of showers in the RIC TAF, but will mention that morning high-res models trended down in precip coverage for central VA. Meanwhile, SBY could see moderate to heavy rainfall, which could impact vsbys. Expecting CIGs to drop to MVFR from NW to SE late tonight/early tomorrow morning. ECG does not look to drop to MVFR within the 18z TAF period, though. Did see some signal for IFR CIGs, but want to see some more consistency in the guidance before going too low with those. Winds switch around to the N behind the front, becoming breezy with gusts around 15kt tomorrow afternoon.
Outlook: Skies will clear out in the wake of the front Wednesday night, with a breezy NNE wind at the coast continuing into Thursday as a drier airmass moves in. Another period of sub-VFR CIGs are possible as we head into this weekend.
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.MARINE... As of 315 PM EDT Tuesday...
Key Messages:
- A Small Craft Advisory continues for the Chesapeake Bay north of Windmill Point this evening into tonight.
- A cold front crosses the waters Wednesday afternoon, brining elevated north to northeast winds and building seas. Unsettled conditions linger into Friday and Saturday for at least the offshore waters and southern Chesapeake Bay.
- Low pressure develops south of the area this weekend. While uncertainty remains, dangerous marine conditions likely develop later Saturday into early next week.
1024mb high pressure remains over the western Atlantic, ridging to the SW into GA and the Carolinas. Southerly winds across the waters are around 10 kt with gusts 10-15 kt. An upper trough and cold front are noted over the Midwest. The gradient tightens this evening ahead of these features with low-end SCA conditions likely for our northern Ches Bay zone (N Windmill Pt) with winds generally 10-15 kt for areas to the south. Offshore, winds will gust 20-25 kt over the northern coastal waters for a decent period tonight but seas are forecast to stay in the 3-4 ft range so no additional headlines have been issued for the overnight period.
The potent cold front is forecast to drop southward through the waters Wednesday (likely during the early to mid afternoon hours). An abrupt shift to the N is expected behind the boundary, along with a wind surge by the evening as cooler air quickly filters in and strong high pressure builds southward from the eastern Great Lakes vicinity. Strong Small Craft Advisory winds continue to be the most likely scenario with potential for a brief period of gale-force gusts during the 10PM-2AM period when it appears post-frontal pressure rises and cold/dry advection will be maximized. Local wind probs for gusts in excess of 34 kt remain below 20% for late Wednesday evening but warm local waters and incoming cold/dry air may allow stronger flow aloft to mix down to the surface. In the wake of the cold front, a compressed pressure gradient will prevail, especially for the southern half of the area with anomalously strong high pressure to our north and lower pressures offshore of the Carolinas. Therefore, there is high confidence that SCA conditions continue for the Atlantic waters, Currituck Sound, and Chesapeake Bay south of New Point Comfort. A reprieve from the wind is possible for the middle/upper bay and adjacent rivers from late Thursday into Saturday. Seas are forecast to build to 5-7 ft by Wednesday night and then 6-9 ft by Thursday.
Forecast uncertainty continues for this weekend. However, there is agreement across nearly all deterministic and ensemble model guidance that low pressure develops along the stalled front/coastal trough Saturday, drifting north or northeast near or just offshore of our coastline Sunday into Monday. The track and strength of the low show considerable variation among and within the global deterministic and ensemble solutions, respectively. The latest GFS and ECMWF show the low lifting north and strengthening on Sunday and doing some kind of pirouette near the coast as the low occludes on Monday. Either of these solutions would result in a prolonged period of significant marine impacts. The Canadian model continues to keep the low suppressed well offshore with fewer impacts to the local waters. Have increased the winds a bit with this forecast but not as much as the GFS would support. Strong Gale conditions are increasingly likely during the late Saturday into Monday timeframe with some potential for Storm conditions if the more aggressive guidance were to verify. Additionally, seas are forecast to build to at least 9-13+ ft with waves 6-9 ft near the mouth of the Chesapeake.
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.TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING... As of 315 PM EDT Tuesday...
No coastal flooding is expected through Wednesday night, other than nuisance flooding near Bishop`s Head, MD this afternoon and again tonight. Given the very high astronomical tides combined with moderately strong NE winds, minor flooding is possible in areas adjacent to the lower Ches Bay and tidal York/James on Thursday and Friday. Additional coastal flooding is possible this weekend, depending on the track and strength of coastal low pressure.
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.AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 7 AM EDT Wednesday for ANZ630.
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SYNOPSIS...AJB NEAR TERM...AC SHORT TERM...AC LONG TERM...AC AVIATION...AC MARINE...RHR/SW TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING...
NWS AKQ Office Area Forecast Discussion