000
FXUS61 KOKX 160059
AFDOKX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service New York NY
759 PM EST Thu Feb 15 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
Offshore high pressure giving way to an approaching low pressure
tonight that will strengthen and pass northeast of the region
late tonight into Friday. Region will be in between lows
Friday, the next one is moving into the Appalachians. This low
approaches Friday night and moves southeast of Long Island
Saturday. This coastal low will continue to head away from the
area Saturday night. Another low will pass to the north Sunday
night. High pressure then builds in Monday and remains in
control through mid-week.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING/...
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Light precipitation is moving through the region, mainly as snow across the Lower Hudson Valley and southern Connecticut, though it is having a hard time reaching the ground in many spots as the precipitation has to overcome some dry air in the lower to middle levels. Radar shows more showery conditions across northeast NJ, NYC, and Long Island. Previous discussion follows. Low pressure passing to the north tonight will send a frontal system across the area. Some snow shower activity will precede the system this evening. There is a chance at the coast for even some rain to mix in with any shower activity. Light snow amounts are forecast up to near a half inch to 1 inch. Highest amounts relatively speaking will be across the interior sections of the region. Little to no snow accumulation expected along the coast. With low pressure deepening to the north, the pressure gradient steepens tonight, resulting in a strengthening westerly flow. Following the cold frontal passage, strong cold air advection also will occur. WNW gusts develop behind the cold front, but become more frequent towards daybreak Friday. Forecast model BUFKIT soundings indicate most gusts 35-40 mph but some occasional higher gusts will be possible up to near 45 to 50 mph. Higher elevations across the interior may also see relatively higher gusts. Coverage both temporally and spatially of gusts above 45 mph is too low to warrant any wind advisories at this time. These winds will mix the boundary layer and keep less spatial range of lows, mainly upper 20s to lower 30s. Sky conditions lower overnight with dry conditions as mid level negative vorticity advection enters.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 AM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY/... On Friday, the low moves farther out into the Atlantic with steep pressure gradient remaining. Gusty winds will remain in the morning and then lessen into the afternoon as the low moves farther away and the pressure gradient relaxes. Gusts near 40 to 45 mph early will lessen to 30 to 35 mph in the afternoon. The dry conditions continue along with mostly sunny sky conditions Friday with some slight ridging aloft. High temperatures forecast are in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Large scale numerical weather prediction model guidances depicts some variations of track with the wave of low pressure Friday night into Saturday. 12Z model runs convey a remarkable difference where the NAM and GFS models have the low east of Virginia by 12Z Saturday whereas the Canadian and ECMWF models have the low east of Maryland and Delaware by 12Z Saturday. 18Z NAM has shifted farther north compared to its 12Z run. The vertical forcing for precipitation comes from these upper level features. In the mid levels, a longwave trough approaches with its embedded higher positive vorticity advection traversing the area early Saturday. In the upper levels, a strong westerly jet streak ( around 190 kt at 250mb) will be south of the area with its left front quad near the region during the day Saturday. Current forecasts have for Lower Hudson Valley and Southern Connecticut up near 1 inch snow with snow in the 1 to 2 inch range to the south across the remainder of the forecast region. The forecast for this snow is low to medium confidence. Subsequent model runs may show more northward trends and as eluded to in the SREF with some of its members, there is a chance (currently a low chance) that snowfall totals for this event could end up in the advisory range with snowfall totals near 3 to 4 inches. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Generally a quiet period in the long term with an upper level trough over the Northeast Saturday night and a departing coastal storm at the surface. Surface ridging will build into the area behind the coastal storm. For Sunday, a weakening area of low pressure at the surface approaching New England from the Great Lakes. This low passes north of the area Sunday night. With much of the dynamics remaining north of the area, no precipitation is expected with this low. However, it will send a weak, dry cold front through the area late Sunday night into early Monday morning. The upper level trough exits the region on Monday, being replaced with near zonal flow through Tuesday night. A weak upper level shortwave approaches from the west late Tuesday night into Wednesday, inducing a coastal storm off the Southeast Coast. This storm is currently forecast to remain well offshore as the area remains protected by the surface high pressure that is expected to push off the New England coast Tuesday night. This high will extend along much of the eastern seaboard through the mid-week period. Temperatures will remain near or slightly below normal through Tuesday, then as the high pushes off the New England Coast and a southerly flow develops, temperatures are expected to be slightly above normal Wednesday and Thursday. && .AVIATION /01Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... A fast moving frontal system will move through the area this evening, clearing the eastern terminals around or shortly after midnight. Brief MVFR possible in a snow shower along and ahead of the frontal system this evening, otherwise VFR. S-SSW winds around 10 kt or less to start, but should begin increasing ahead of the approaching system. There may be some gusts around 20 kt this evening. Behind the frontal passage, winds quickly shift to the W and then NW overnight. Speeds increase to 15-20 kt with gusts 25-30 kt. There is a chance a few gusts 35-40 kt 09-16z. NW winds should slowly weaken into Friday afternoon with gusts closer to 20 kt late in the day. ...NY Metro (KEWR/KLGA/KJFK/KTEB) TAF Uncertainty... Gusts this evening and following a cold frontal passage later tonight may be more occasional than frequent. Snow showers this evening may briefly mix with some rain. Timing of wind shift to the W and NW overnight may be off by 1-2 hours. OUTLOOK FOR 00Z SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... Friday Night-Saturday. MVFR or lower possible late Friday night into Saturday morning in light snow. VFR later Saturday with NW wind gusts 20 kt. Sunday: VFR. WSW wind gusts 25-30 kt. Monday-Tuesday. VFR. Detailed information, including hourly TAF wind component forecasts, can be found at: https:/www.weather.gov/zny/n90 && .MARINE... For the forecast waters short term marine forecast tonight through Saturday, the following is noted as stated below. Seas and winds ramp up quickly late this evening into overnight. SCA level wind gusts this evening will rise towards gales late this evening and more into gales overnight. The gales continue into Friday morning and wind gusts return to SCA levels Friday afternoon. Winds are forecast to drop below SCA levels Friday night and remain below SCA Saturday morning before rising to SCA levels for most waters Saturday afternoon. Ocean seas build to SCA levels tonight and remain at SCA levels Friday and eventually lower below SCA west to east on the ocean Friday night. Seas are below SCA for all forecast waters Saturday. Non- ocean waters are below SCA in the short term except for Long Island Sound lat VFR through early this evening. Snow showers, potentially mixed with some rain near the coast, are possible around 23/00z to 05/06z west to east. This precipitation may briefly lower conditions to MVFR with a low potential of IFR. VFR quickly returns after the snow showers end 03-06z. e tonight into Friday. Winds diminish Saturday night as a coastal storm moves away from the region. Though SCA gusts are still possible on the western ocean zone for the first half of Saturday night. Winds then increase to 25 to 30 kt on all waters Sunday as the pressure gradient increases thanks to an approaching low that will pass to the north into Monday night. Waves also quickly build on Sunday on the ocean waters to 5 to 10 ft. Winds diminish Sunday night, however the eastern sound and Peconic and Gardiner`s Bays along with the ocean waters will remain at or above 25 kt through Sunday night. Waves on the ocean diminish during this timeframe, but remain above 5 ft on the ocean. Sub-SCA conditions expected by Monday afternoon on all waters. Thereafter, conditions are expected to remain below SCA criteria on all waters through mid-week. && .HYDROLOGY... No issues expected through mid next week. && .OKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. NY...None. NJ...None. MARINE...Gale Warning until 1 PM EST Friday for ANZ331-332-335-338-340- 345-350-353-355. && $$ SYNOPSIS...JM/JP NEAR TERM...JM/JP SHORT TERM...JM LONG TERM...JP AVIATION...DW MARINE...JM/JP HYDROLOGY...JM/JP