Richmond, Virginia 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

664
FXUS61 KAKQ 220511
AFDAKQ

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Wakefield VA
1211 AM EST Sat Feb 22 2025

.SYNOPSIS...
High pressure builds over the area overnight and early Saturday.
Dry weather persists this weekend, with temperatures slowly
moderating through the middle of next week. A clipper system
brings a slight chance for showers on Tuesday, with a better
chance of rain by late next week.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM THIS MORNING/...
As of 905 PM EST Friday...

Key Messages:

- Clear skies and light winds will lead to radiational cooling
  overnight, dropping lows into the teens to lower 20s.

Latest analysis reveals a broad area of cold 1037+mb sfc high
pressure centered over the mid-South this evening. The gradient
between this feature and a strong low east of Newfoundland is
driving our elevated winds that persist along the eastern shore.
The gradient will continue to slacken overnight, allowing winds
to relax. The aforementioned high will gradually shift eastward
and finally settle across our area overnight into early Saturday.
Low temperatures tonight will drop back into the teens to lower
20s under a mainly clear sky.

&&

.SHORT TERM /6 AM THIS MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...
As of 255 PM EST Friday...

Key Message:

- Cool with increased clouds Saturday afternoon; milder and
  sunnier Sunday.

High pressure will remain the dominant feature for a majority of the
day Saturday. Abundant sunshine will help temperatures reach the
lower to mid 40s during the day. These temperatures are still well
below normal, but will likely feel almost nice in comparison to the
past few days, especially with the lighter winds. A shortwave will
swing across our area Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning,
bringing increasing cloudiness overnight Saturday but no
precipitation. This cloud cover on Saturday night will lead to less
than optimal conditions for radiational cooling, so temperatures
will only drop into the upper 20s to lower 30s. Cloud cover will
quickly retreat to the east as this feature juts off the Carolina
Coast Sunday, leading to mostly clear skies and temperatures in the
50s for most areas, and upper 40s for the Eastern Shore. By Monday,
temperatures will moderate further with highs in the 50s to near 60
degrees.

&&

.LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
As of 255 PM EST Friday...

Key Message:

- Gradual warming trend through next week and mainly dry.
  Better chance for rain late in the week.

A relatively quiet and mild week of weather is on tap for the
forecast area through next week. The upper level pattern will
feature a strong, anomalous upper trough centered from northern
Quebec to Greenland, with an upper level ridge across the SW CONUS
into the early portion of next week. The surface high will be
suppressed southwards to the Gulf Coast region as a clipper system
moves ESE across Canada on Monday and Tuesday. As the clipper system
treks eastward on Tuesday, there may be just enough moisture by
Tuesday afternoon/evening mainly across the northern fringes of our
forecast area to produce a few showers. Have kept slight chance PoPs
for these areas, but MOS guidance has started to trend downwards on
the idea of showers Tuesday so this may change over the next few
forecast cycles if this trend continues. As for temperatures on
Tuesday, southerly flow will aid in propelling temperatures as high
as high as the mid to upper 60s. If there is any remaining snow
after this weekends moderating temperatures, it will surely be gone
after these above average temperatures. By Wednesday, winds will
have shifted to the northwest behind a weak frontal boundary
associated with the aforementioned clipper system. Drier air behind
this front will promote clear skies and with minimal CAA expected,
temperatures will be able climb into the upper 50s to lower 60s.

The best shot at precip comes when a longwave trough digs into the
Deep South by mid to late week. This low will drag a stronger, less
moisture-starved front across the forecast on Thursday, so have
maintained chance PoPs for Thursday. The 12Z GFS has come down
significantly on PoPs for Thursday, but have not trended too far
from the previous forecast at this time. The exact timing of the
front will determine just how high temperatures can get on Thursday.
Thereafter, drier, cooler air will filter in and temperatures will
drop back to near normal on Friday.

&&

.AVIATION /05Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
As of 1210 AM EST Saturday...

VFR conditions across area terminals will prevail through the
06z/23 TAF period. Light and variable winds tonight turn to the
S-SW this afternoon and evening. Clear skies expected to start
the forecast period, with gradually increasing mid-high clouds
expected after 18z or so this afternoon.

Outlook: High pressure moves into the area with VFR/dry conditions
expected through the weekend and into early to mid-next week.

&&

.MARINE...
As of 325 PM EST Friday...

Key Messages:

- Elevated N-NW winds continue through tonight, with Small Craft
  Advisories in effect overnight for the Bay and Ocean.

- Much quieter marine conditions this weekend and early next
  week.

Strong arctic high pressure is centered across the lower-mid MS
Valley this afternoon, with strong low pressure is centered
over Atlantic Canada. CAA is slowly weakening, but NW winds are
still averaging 15-20 kt with gusts to around 25 kt across the
Bay and Ocean. Seas are generally 4-5 ft, with 2-4 ft waves in
the Bay. SCAs remain in effect through 1 am Saturday for the Bay
and Ocean. Expect to see winds drop off a bit towards sunset,
but with another surge anticipated late in the evening.

Strong high pressure continues to build E into Saturday morning,
with gradient relaxing enough to allow winds to diminish to
10-15 kt by sunrise. Benign marine conditions are expected
this weekend into the middle of next week. High pressure builds
over the coast Saturday, before sliding offshore Saturday night
into Sunday. This will result in a 10-15kt NNW wind becoming SW
5-10kt Saturday night into Sunday (10- 15kt northern ocean zones
Saturday night). High pressure lingers offshore early next week
with a SSW wind generally 8-12kt. A weak cold front potentially
crosses the coast by Wednesday. Seas will mainly be 2-3 ft this
weekend into the middle of next week, with 1 foot to
occasionally 2ft waves in the Ches. Bay. Another low pressure
system is forecast to track NE up through the OH Valley or the
Great Lakes late Wed and Thursday, but there is significant
model spread with this feature. In general, southerly winds will
increase during this timeframe, possibly to SCA levels,
followed by a cold frontal passage and NW winds late Thursday
into Friday.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...
As of 905 PM EST Thursday...

A River Flood Warning remains in effect for the Nottoway River
near Sebrell. This point is seeing minor flooding, with water
levels expected to continue to drop over the next few days. See
water.noaa.gov/wfo/akq for the latest site-specific information.

&&

.AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...None.
NC...None.
VA...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 1 AM EST early this morning for
     ANZ630>632-634-650-652-654-656-658.

&&

$$

SYNOPSIS...MAM
NEAR TERM...MAM/NB
SHORT TERM...NB
LONG TERM...NB
AVIATION...SW
MARINE...AJZ/LKB
HYDROLOGY...