Area forecast discussion National Weather Service Mount Holly New Jersey 933 PM EDT Sat may 25 2013 Synopsis... low pressure near the New England coast will lift gradually to the northeast through Sunday. Meanwhile, high pressure located near northwest Ontario will build to the south and east. A section of the high is forecast to pass over our region around Monday night before moving off the coast. A warm front approaching from the southwest is expected to arrive Tuesday night and Wednesday. High pressure is then anticipated to build into our region from the south for Thursday through Saturday. && Near term /until 6 am Sunday morning/... low pressure will remain near the coast of New England through tonight. This will continue to circulate a chilly airmass across our County Warning Area within a cyclonic flow. The flow above the surface will gradually lessen through the night, however the tightened pressure gradient will maintain at least some wind despite the boundary layer cooling. The depth of the mixing layer will shrink through the night however, which will lessen the surface winds/gusts. This has happened fairly quickly already this evening. There continues to be plenty of moisture wrapping around the surface system and also the closed upper-level low. At the same time, drier air is getting drawn in from the west and southwest. There will still be just enough lift grazing our far northern zones for awhile this evening to generate at least some sprinkles. Since this looks rather light and spotty, and radar returns are now weak we opted to carry sprinkles up north for the remainder of the evening. However, a more organized area of showers is rotating southward across eastern New York state. This appears to be with a short wave and deformation type feature. The latest hrrr shows this fairly well with it weakening as it rotates southeast and then east. This may get some showers into our far northern zones, therefore added some 20-30 probability of precipitation late this evening before lowering overnight. Based on a continuation of at last some wind overnight, the threat for any frost is rather low at this time. No major changes were made to the low temperatures at this time. The sky cover was adjusted which included a tighter gradient, with nearly a clear sky across the southern areas. There are some middle to high level clouds well to our southwest, however with the upper-level flow from the northwest these should generally dive to our south. The hourly temperature/dew point grids were adjusted starting with the latest observations, then some of the lamp/lav guidance was blended in. && Short term /6 am Sunday morning through 6 PM Sunday/... moderating trend expected as temperatures will run 5 to 10 degrees warmer than today. Northwest flow will continue over the region but winds will not be as strong. No precipitation expected and cloud cover generated by daytime heating will not be as widespread as today, so most areas will see quite a bit more sunshine than they did today. Previous forecast tracked very well, and high temperatures were left unchanged. && Long term /Sunday night through Saturday/... a middle level low is forecast to be located over New Brunswick, Canada on Sunday evening with a ridge axis extending from Texas to western Ontario. The low will lift to the northeast. The ridge will build to the east and it is expected to influence our region from the middle of the work week into next weekend. As a result, we are anticipating a warming trend along with increasing humidity. High pressure will continue to build into our region from the northwest for Sunday night and Monday. A mainly clear sky is anticipated for Sunday night and the wind should fall below 5 miles per hour at most locations. Temperatures are forecast to drop into the 40s in much of our region. Minimum readings may be in the lower 50s in highly urbanized areas. Some spots in the Poconos and in far northern New Jersey could drop into the middle and upper 30s and there may be some patchy frost from late Sunday night into early Monday morning. A light northwest to west flow on Monday will likely continue to bring dry air into our region. The dry air should warm efficiently and we are expecting a 30 plus degree diurnal temperature range at most locations. Afternoon readings are forecast to rise well into the 70s. Another cool dry night is expected for Monday night as surface high pressure passes through our region. The air mass will likely have modified a bit by that time and minimum temperatures should be about 5 to 7 degrees warmer than those on Sunday night. As the high passes off the coast on Tuesday, the surface flow should switch to the southeast and south and afternoon temperatures are forecast to get near 80 degrees in much of our region. A warm front approaching from the southwest may bring a slight chance of showers to our region beginning on Tuesday afternoon with a better chance of showers for Tuesday night into Wednesday. As conditions destabilize on Wednesday afternoon with increasing low level moisture and daytime heating we may see a few thunderstorms, as well. The warm front is anticipated to lift to our north for Thursday through Saturday. Warm and humid conditions are expected through the period. Daytime high temperatures are forecast to approach 90 except right along the coast and in the elevated terrain. Overnight minimum readings should be mostly in the 60s due to the increased humidity. && Aviation /02z Sunday through Thursday/... the following discussion is for kphl, kpne, kttn, kabe, krdg, kilg, kmiv, kacy and surrounding areas. Tonight...VFR, with ceilings around 7,000 feet from near kabe to kpne to kacy northward gradually thinning out. Northwest winds around 10 knots with some local gusts to near 20 knots this evening, then most terminals losing the gusts. Sunday...VFR. Northwest winds increasing to 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots by middle morning. Outlook... Sunday night through Tuesday...VFR. Tuesday night and Wednesday...conditions possibly lowering to MVFR as a warm front lifts through our region. There is a chance of showers and afternoon thunderstorms. Wednesday night and Thursday...mainly VFR with possible MVFR conditions in haze and fog during the late night and early morning hours. && Marine... the Gale Warning was cancelled from Little Egg Inlet, New Jersey on southward including Delaware Bay. A Small Craft Advisory was issued for these areas through the day Sunday. The winds have dropped off quite a bit this evening so far, and now it is a matter of how much mixing occurs. We believe the mixing will not be enough to allow gale force gusts to occur, and model guidance holds 35-40 knots of wind at 925 mb farther north. Therefore we held onto the Gale Warning across the northern two ocean zones through 06z tonight for now. Once this gets dropped, a Small Craft Advisory will need to be raised. On Sunday, the main gusts to around 25 knots may be more nearshore as the boundary layer warms more compared to today /Saturday/. Outlook... high pressure will influence the coastal waters of New Jersey and Delaware for Sunday night through Tuesday. A warm front is expected to lift through our region during Tuesday night and Wednesday followed by another area of high pressure for Thursday. Wind speeds and wave heights will likely remain below the Small Craft Advisory criteria through the period. && Phi watches/warnings/advisories... PA...none. New Jersey...none. Delaware...none. Maryland...none. Marine...Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM EDT Sunday for anz430-431- 452>455. Gale Warning until 2 am EDT Sunday for anz450-451. && $$ Synopsis...gorse/iovino near term...gorse short term...szatkowski long term...iovino aviation...gorse/szatkowski/iovino marine...gorse/szatkowski/iovino