375
FXUS61 KOKX 121153
AFDOKX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service New York NY
653 AM EST Thu Dec 12 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
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Strong high pressure will gradually build in today and settle over the region Friday into Saturday. After the high moves east on Sunday, a weakening frontal system will approach Sunday night and pass through on Monday. A stronger frontal system will move across on Tuesday, followed by high pressure on Wednesday.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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Cold advection well underway early this morning with temperatures mostly in the lower and mid 30s. An anomalously deep upper trough and closed low will dominate the weather pattern over the Northeast through tonight. The Tri-State area will lie between building high pressure across the Plains down to the southeast and strong low pressure over eastern Canada. Cold advection will continue through the day along with a fairly tight pressure gradient. This will lead to westerly winds 15-25 mph gusting to 30-35 mph, strongest from late morning into the afternoon. Partly cloudy skies are expected with highs in the upper 30s and lower 40s. The pressure gradient relaxes tonight as the high builds toward the area. Winds will be much weaker, but it will be difficult for the boundary layer to completely decouple with the core of the high still to our west. Cold advection should allow temperatures to bottom out from the upper teens to mid 20s.
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&& .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/...
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The upper trough begins to lift northeastward on Friday with its axis likely moving over the Canadian Maritimes Friday night. A shortwave ridge will then build overhead Saturday into Saturday night. This pattern allows the surface high to strengthen as it settles over the northeast through Saturday and remaining dominant Saturday night. The modeling continues to signal an anomalously strong high pressure with central pressures ranging from 1047-1050 mb centered over the northeast. The combination of the shortwave ridging and strong confluence left behind the departing upper trough are some of the factors contributing to the strengthening high pressure. The potential high sea level pressure (SLP) is close to the highest observed across the northeast in December and in any month based on data from WPC. The highest observed SLP in the northeast ranges from 1052-1054 mb, which occurred on February 13, 1981. The highest observed SLP at Central Park was 1052.5 mb, which also occurred on February 13, 1981. The highest observed SLP in the northeast for December ranges from around 1049-1053 mb (1051.8 mb at Central Park), which occurred on December 25, 1949. The result of the strong high pressure will be cold and dry conditions Friday and Saturday. Winds continue to weaken Friday and should be light on Saturday with the high pressure overhead. Temperatures on Friday may struggle to rise above freezing. The NBM deterministic lies at the top (warmest) of the full NBM ensemble distribution. A blend of MOS is closer to the 50th percentile of the NBM distribution for most spots. This yields highs in the lower to middle 30s, highest in the NYC metro and near the coast. The coldest night of December so far appears likely Friday night with nearly ideal radiational cooling conditions. Lows bottom out in the middle and upper teens inland and lower 20s closer to the coast. Saturday will be a few degrees warmer, but still cold with highs in the middle 30s. Lows Saturday night range from the upper teens inland to the lower and middle 20s elsewhere.
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&& .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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As a longwave upper ridge slides across the eastern CONUS Sunday into Monday, a weakening shortwave closed low will move through the ridge across the Great Lakes on Sunday, then across NY into New England on Monday. The departing strong sfc high should keep daytime Sunday dry, but skies should become mostly cloudy as low level moisture increases in onshore flow and as high/mid level clouds stream across from the west. Precip chances increase Sunday night into Mon as the wave aloft and an associated sfc warm front approach. Partial thicknesses and fcst sfc wet-bulb temps support the idea of a period of mixed wintry precip at the onset especially inland, changing to all rain fairly quickly for NYC metro and coastal areas, and inland by early Mon morning. The warm front is unlikely to lift through until daytime Tue, when the longwave ridge and embedded shortwave trough both exist east, and a stronger upper trough approaches on Tue with a light to moderate rainfall. A trailing cold front should then move across Tue night, with high pressure sfc/aloft building in its wake for Wed. Temps near normal on Sunday will transition to above normal for the rest of the fcst period especially on Tue, after a warm frontal passage when highs could be well into the 50s for the NYC metro and coastal areas.
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&& .AVIATION /12Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
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VFR as strong low pressure moves north across eastern Canada, and high pressure builds eastward from the Plains states. W to WSW winds should increase to just over 20 kt with gusts just over 30 kt at KJFK/KEWR/KLGA, and to 15-20 kt with gusts 25-30 elsewhere. Winds gradually diminish this evening, then should settle in either side of 10 kt overnight. ...NY Metro (KEWR/KLGA/KJFK/KTEB)TAF Uncertainty... No unscheduled AMD expected. Ocnl G35kt possible this afternoon. OUTLOOK FOR 12Z FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY... Saturday: VFR. Sunday: BKN MVFR cigs possible along the coast in the afternoon. Sunday night: Chance of MFR or lower cond mainly after midnight. Precip type snow at KSWF, a rain/snow/sleet mix at KHPN/KBDR/KGON, and mainly rain at the NYC metros/KISP. Monday: MVFR cond possible in light rain. Wintry mix possible at KSWF early. 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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Gales will continue on the ocean through this afternoon and have extended the gale warning there until 6 PM. SCA remains in effect for the non ocean waters for prevailing gusts up to 30 kt, and an occasional gale force gust up to 35 kt. Seas will remain high today, 8-13 ft on the ocean, and 4-6 ft on the Sound. However, seas will begin subsiding more rapidly tonight as the winds weaken considerably. It appears ocean seas will fall below 5 ft Friday morning. A weak pressure gradient over the waters Friday afternoon through the weekend will lead to conditions below SCA levels. Longer term: For the non ocean waters, sub SCA conds expected Mon and Tue. For the ocean waters, a fairly long fetch onshore flow increasing to 15-20 kt could build seas to 5 ft as early as Mon afternoon, and more likely Mon night into Tue.
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&& .HYDROLOGY...
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Rainfall of 1/2 to 3/4 inch is possible via a pair of frontal systems moving across early next week. This rainfall will be light/moderate in intensity and also beneficial, so no hydrologic impacts anticipated.
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&& .OKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. NY...None. NJ...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 10 PM EST this evening for ANZ331- 332-335-338-340-345. Gale Warning until 6 PM EST this evening for ANZ350-353-355. && $$ SYNOPSIS...BG/DS NEAR TERM...DS SHORT TERM...DS LONG TERM...BG AVIATION...BG MARINE...BG/DS HYDROLOGY...BG/DS