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FXUS61 KOKX 160349
AFDOKX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service New York NY
1049 PM EST Thu Feb 15 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
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Deepening low pressure passing to the north tonight will drag a cold front through the area. The area will then 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.
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&& .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING/...
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Main area of snow showers ahead of warm front has passed to the east of the area with lingering flurries possible over the next couple of hours ahead of the cold front. The front passes through quickly over the next few hours, passing eastern LI/Se CT shortly after midnight. Following the cold frontal passage, strong cold air advection will occur with gusty WNW winds, becoming more frequent towards daybreak. 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 /04Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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A fast moving frontal system will clear the terminals over the next few hours, clearing KGON around or shortly after midnight. Mainly VFR for the remainder of the night with a brief snow shower or flurry possible. Winds will be SSW around 10 kt with occasional G20-25kt ahead of the cold front the next few hours. Behind the front, 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. 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
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&& .MARINE...
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Gale Warnings in effect for all waters tonight through 1 PM EST Friday. 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 late 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.
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&& .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. && $$ UPDATE...DW