944 FXUS61 KCTP 061749 AFDCTPArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service State College PA 149 PM EDT Sat Sep 6 2025
.SYNOPSIS... * Strong to severe storms are possible in southeast PA this afternoon as a cold front approaches the region. * High pressure builds in for Sunday through next week, with abundant sunshine, morning fog, and dry conditions. * The potential for frost moves back into the picture for Monday and Tuesday mornings across the typical cold spots in northern PA.
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.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... At 18Z/2PM Saturday, a cold front extended from just east of Bedford northeast to Williamsport coincident with a weak line of showers, delineating the warm moist airmass with dewpoints into the upper 60s and 70s to the east from the coolder drier airmass to the north and west. This boundary has been parked over Central PA the last 48 hours or so and will finally move east of the region tonight.
Highs today will display a significant spread from West to East, and will only reach the low to mid 60s in the cloudy/rainy/post frontal airmass over NW PA, but should peak in the mid 80s ahead of the front and before storms enter the Lower Susquehanna Valley.
As the ongoing showers move eastward, they will encounter an increasingly unstable airmass enhanced by a surface low pressure system drifting northeast along the boundary. Effective bulk shear of 40 to 50kts will provide more than enough organization as storms tap into 1000 to 1500 J/kg of MLCAPE as they move east of I-83. The main limiting factor for storms today will be weak mid- level lapse rates, but a sufficient parameter space exists otherwise.
SPC continues to paint the southwestern edge the SLIGHT Risk area (and threat for locally svr TSRA) extends across about 1/2 of Lancaster County and into extreme southeast York County. Based on the latest CAM trends and the aforementioned environmental parameters, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been hoisted for York and Lancaster County until 8PM. After sunset, storms will weaken and the severe threat will cease. Latest guidance keeps rain showers in Lancaster County for much of the overnight hours, but rainfall amounts of 1 to 1.5 inches at most should preclude any noteworthy flash flood threat.
Farther northwest in the wake of the cold front, clouds will likely hang around for awhile as the moisture at mid-levels is a bit slower to clear. Lake effect rain showers will ramp up downwind of the lake as well thanks to west-northwest winds carrying cool air over the relatively warmer waters.
Valley fog is likely in the typical spots across the north and west on Sunday morning in the wake of the front where air-water temperature differences will be sufficiently high to promote dendritic fog formation. With lower dewpoints building in behind the front, lows in the upper 30s could be observed in far northwest PA and most spots will fall into the mid 40s to upper 50s farther southeast.
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.SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... The base of an upper trough will sweep through the Great Lakes on Sunday and lift out Sunday night as high pressure builds in at the surface. 850mb temps in the single digits C will provide enough instability over the relatively warmer Lake Erie waters to produce scattered lake effect rain showers during the day on Sunday. Showers should primarily stay northwest US-6, but a stray shower cannot be ruled out as far southeast as the I-80/I-99 corridor.
Mostly sunny skies are on tap for the rest of the Commonwealth as temperatures trend a bit below average for this time of year. A gusty west wind and refreshlingly low humidity will make for a perfect fall day.
High pressure will move directly overhead on Monday morning, bringing high confidence in river valley fog and frost across northern PA. A few spots could even experience their first freeze of the year. Frost Advisories will be needed for portions of northern PA. Lows on Monday morning will range from near freezing in McKean County to near 50 in the Lower Susquehanna Valley thanks to ideal radiational cooling conditions and a very dry airmass (10th percentile PWATs for this time of year).
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.LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... The fall-like pattern will continue through next week. The airmass moving overhead will be the coolest of the season so far. Highs in the 60s and 70s will pair with lows in the 30s to 50s. Frost conditions are possible again on Tuesday morning for the typical cool spots in northwest PA with river valley fog continuing each morning through the end of the week. Abundant sunshine and dry conditions are favored, with temperatures gradually increasing each day thanks to a building ridge aloft.
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.AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Scattered showers are beginning to develop over the Lower Susquehanna Valley ahead of a cold front. Additional showers and storms are expected to develop this afternoon and are most likely to impact MDT and LNS. Any thunderstorms will be capable of producing strong wind gusts and very heavy rainfall. While showers will be possible north and west of those sites as well, coverage is expected to be too limited to mention in the TAFs.
Most of the region will dry out overnight, but rain will likely continue at MDT and LNS into the morning. Patchy fog should develop north and west of UNV, but confidence on any restrictions at BFD, JST, and IPT is low. Cloud cover will increase over northwest PA towards sunrise and lake effect rain showers are expected at BFD during the day on Sunday. The rest of the region will be dry with VFR conditions.
Outlook...
Sun-Mon...Clearing with primarily VFR conditions. Breezy.
Tue-Wed...VFR.
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.CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None.
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SYNOPSIS...Banghoff NEAR TERM...Banghoff SHORT TERM...Banghoff LONG TERM...Banghoff AVIATION...Bauco
NWS CTP Office Area Forecast Discussion