Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI

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FXUS63 KDTX 232053
AFDDTX

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
353 PM EST MON NOV 23 2009

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT

HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES TO PULL AWAY FROM THE REGION AS A BROAD AREA
OF LOW PRESSURE ADVANCES FROM THE PLAINS. A SHORTWAVE LIFTING ACROSS
THE MIDWEST IS HELPING TO LIFT AN AREA OF DEEPER MOISTURE NORTH FROM
OHIO INTO ONTARIO...CLIPPING EXTREME SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN ON THE WAY.
LIGHT RADAR ECHOS HAVE BEEN MOVING NORTH ACROSS OHIO WITH SEVERAL
ASOS SITES REPORTING TRACE AMOUNTS ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL OHIO.
REPORTS ARE HARDER TO FIND UPSTREAM ACROSS NORTHWESTERN OHIO BUT
HAVE ADDED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS/SPRINKLES INTO THE
FORECAST THROUGH THIS EVENING WITH QPF OF .01 OR LESS.

THE FOG FORECAST IS CHALLENGING FOR TONIGHT AS THE DECK OF CLOUD
SPREADING NORTH WILL LIMIT COOLING DURING THE EVENING HOURS. HOWEVER
NAM/GFS SHOW THESE CLOUDS STARTING TO CLEAR OUT AFTER MIDNIGHT...
WHICH WOULD STILL LEAVE PLENTY OF TIME FOR LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO
COME IN OFF LAKE ERIE/HURON UNDER SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW. WILL STILL
EXPECT AREAS OF FOG TO DEVELOP LATE WITH PATCHY DENSE FOG POSSIBLE.
HAVE RAISED TEMPS A DEGREE OR SO FOR TONIGHT WITH LOWS IN THE UPPER
30S TO NEAR 40 EXPECTED.

&&

.LONG TERM...

INTERACTING/MERGING-CONSOLIDATING UPPER WAVES WILL LEAD TO LARGE
PV ANOMALY/UPPER LEVEL LOW DEVELOPING AND TRACKING THROUGH THE
SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES/OHIO VALLEY...SENDING TEMPERATURES BACK TO
NORMAL (IF NOT BELOW)...WITH SNOW POSSIBLE AS WE HEAD INTO
THANKSGIVING AND INTO FRIDAY.

THE FIRST SHORTWAVE/UPPER WAVE IS CURRENTLY MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL
PLAINS...AND WILL PROVIDE SOME GOOD LARGE SCALE/ISENTROPIC ASCENT
TUESDAY NIGHT WITH SURFACE LOW/REFLECTION MOVING OVER LAKE MICHIGAN.
THE CENTER OF THIS WAVE...AS SEEN ON GFS TROPOPAUSE MAP AND
INDICATED BY 12 HR 500 MB HEIGHT FALL CENTER...WILL MOVE THROUGH
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN ON WEDNESDAY....AS THIS SYSTEM CONTINUES TO HEAD
OFF TO THE NORTHEAST...OUTPACING THE NEXT UPSTREAM SYSTEM. THE
850-700 MB THETA-E RIDGE AXIS IS NARROW...BUT SHOULD PROVE
SUFFICIENT TO GENERATE RAIN TUESDAY NIGHT WITH THE WARM
FRONT/MOISTURE ADVECTION...AND HAVE RAMPED POPS TO HIGH LIKELY WITH
12Z UKMET/NAM/GFS ALL ON BOARD. COLD FRONT/FAIRLY STEEP MID LEVEL
LAPSE RATES ON WEDNESDAY WILL PROBABLY BE ENOUGH FOR A FEW SHOWERS.

THE MORE IMPRESSIVE UPPER WAVE/TROUGH IS CRASHING ASHORE BRITISH
COLUMBIA AND LOOKS TO BE DIGGING THROUGH THE PLAINS-MIDWEST AND INTO
THE OHIO VALLEY/SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES ON THURSDAY. THE CENTER OF THE
COLD CORE (-32 C AT 500 MB/-8 C AT 850 MB) LOOKS TO RESIDE OVER THE
NORTHERN OHIO VALLEY...WITH MATURE MID LEVEL DRY SLOT PUNCHING INTO
THE CWA...LIKELY LIMITING OUR PRECIPITATION CHANCES DURING THE
DAYTIME HOURS (PER 12Z GFS/EUROPEAN) OF THURSDAY. HOWEVER...IT
SHOULD BE NOTED...THE TIMING OF THE MERGING UPPER WAVES AND
SUBSEQUENT POSITION OF 500 MB LOW REMAIN IN PLAY...AS SECOND UPPER
WAVE DROPS SOUTH FROM ONTARIO PROVIDING AN ADDITIONAL COLD INFUSION
AS WE HEAD INTO FRIDAY. REGARDLESS...WITH THE 12Z UKMET/NAM BOTH
FASTER AND FARTHER NORTH WITH THE 500 MB LOW ON THANKSGIVING AND
COLDER (850 MB TEMPS OF -6 TO -7 C NEAR THE OHIO BORDER) IN THE LOW
LEVELS...FELT A LOW CHANCE OF BOTH SNOW AND RAIN SHOWERS WERE
JUSTIFIED OVER SOUTH TWO THIRDS OF THE CWA DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS.
MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION (LIKELY IN THE FORM OF SNOW)
THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY AS WRAP AROUND/DEFORMATION AXIS WORKS
THROUGH (WITH LAKE ENHANCEMENT). CLOUDS AND FURTHER LOW LEVEL COLD
ADVECTION DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY WILL MAKE 40 DEGREE MAXES
DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE. WITH RIDGE AXIS SETTLING OVER LOWER MICHIGAN
FRIDAY NIGHT...AND ASSUMING SKIES AT LEAST PARTIALLY CLEAR
OUT...LOWS IN THE 20S APPEAR TO BE A GOOD BET.

A MODEST WARMUP APPEARS ON TAP FOR THE WEEKEND AS RATHER FLAT UPPER
LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE GREAT LAKES DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE
WEEKEND. POTENTIAL NEXT STORM SYSTEM MAY IMPACT THE AREA SUNDAY OR
EARLY NEXT WEEK. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITH MEDIUM RANGE
MODELS...AS EUROPEAN STILL ADVERTISING MORE OF A SPLIT FLOW
PATTERN. NONE-THE-LESS...WITH 12Z UKMET/EUROPEAN AND GFS ALL SHOWING
SOME SEMBLANCE OF LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM/SHORTWAVE TRAVERSING THROUGH
THE AREA ON SUNDAY...WILL INTRODUCE CHANCE POPS.

&&

.MARINE...

SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE AS HIGH PRESSURE EXITS TO THE EAST
COAST AND A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM SLOWLY APPROACHES FROM THE PLAINS.
SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS ON THE OPEN
WATERS ON WEDNESDAY AS THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHES...WITH
THE POSSIBILITY FOR SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS
WINDS VEER AROUND TO THE WEST. WAVES SHOULD INCREASE TO 3 TO 5 FEET
ON THE SAGINAW BAY ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT BUT WILL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO
HOLD OFF ON ANY SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ELSEWHERE UNTIL THE PASSAGE
OF A STRONGER COLD FRONT ON FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING COOLER
TEMPERATURES WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS
BY THURSDAY.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED 1251 PM EST MON NOV 23 2009

AVIATION...

MVFR STRATUS REMAINS ACROSS THE SAGINAW VALLEY WITH REDUCED
VISIBILITIES HOLDING ON IN THIS AREA. THE VISIBILITIES SHOULD
CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THIS AFTERNOON AS STRATUS BECOMES BROKEN
DURING THE AFTERNOON. ANOTHER AREA OF WIDESPREAD LOW AND MID
CLOUDS COVERING OHIO CONTINUES TO STEADILY ADVANCE NORTH TOWARDS
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. THIS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA WITH CEILINGS
REMAINING AOB 2000 FEET INTO THIS EVENING.

WINDS WILL REMAIN OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST AGAIN TONIGHT WHICH WILL
ALLOW LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO COME INLAND OFF LAKE ERIE AGAIN. THE
OVERCAST SKIES MAY HELP TO KEEP AN ACTUAL FOG FROM DEVELOPING UNTIL
VERY LATE WHEN MODELS SHOW THE 2000 FOOT DECK EXCITING THE AREA.
THIS COULD ALLOW CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES TO QUICKLY CRATER AND
REMAIN LOW INTO TUESDAY MORNING. THE TAFS SHOW A LOW STRATUS
DEVELOPING AROUND 8-9Z AND WILL MONITOR FOR DENSE FOG POTENTIAL
OVERNIGHT. A FEW SPRINKLES MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE BUT CONFIDENCE WAS
NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO INCLUDE IN THE TAFS AT THIS TIME. SOME
IMPROVEMENT CAN BE EXPECTED BY LATE MORNING ON TUESDAY BUT MVFR
CLOUDS WILL LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

&&

.DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MI...NONE.
LAKE HURON...NONE.
LAKE ST CLAIR...NONE.
MI WATERS OF LAKE ERIE...NONE.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...KEC
LONG TERM....SF
MARINE.......KEC
AVIATION.....KEC


YOU CAN OBTAIN YOUR LATEST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS ONLINE
AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DETROIT (ALL LOWER CASE).






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  • Page last modified: Nov 10th, 2009 17:45 UTC
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