769 FXUS61 KAKQ 080833 AFDAKQAREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Wakefield VA 433 AM EDT Mon Sep 8 2025
.SYNOPSIS... Autumnal conditions prevail as high pressure builds in behind a cold front. Mostly cloudy, breezy, and cooler conditions expected through mid week along the coast with more sun and less wind farther inland. Sunnier and slightly warmer to end the week.
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.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 210 AM EDT Monday...
Key Messages:
- Mostly sunny and pleasant inland, overcast and breezy at the coast. Highs in the mid 70s.
The cold front that impacted the area over the weekend has hung up offshore and a coastal trough is developing along it. Meanwhile, high pressure centered over the Midwest is building into the local area. High pressure will slide E into New England today as the inverted trough amplifies just offshore. This set up likely remains more or less in place through mid week.
Overcast skies persist along and SE of a line from Mecklenburg to Dorchester counties early this morning. Gradual clearing from NW to SE will continue through the morning, but only it will remain cloudier near the coast through tonight. Most of the area should have pleasant weather today, albeit a bit breezy. Highs are in the mid 70s and dewpoints will drop to around 50. Not quite so nice in the SE and along the coast. While it will not be particularly chilly, there will be elevated onshore winds with gusts of 20-25mph. Winds will diminish tonight, but still breezy by the water. Between the clouds and wind, overnight lows will be relatively mild in the mid-upper 60s. A lot cooler inland where lows will be in the upper 40s-mid 50s (coolest NW).
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.SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... As of 210 AM EDT Monday...
Key Messages:
- Autumnal weather remains in the area with highs in the mid 70s and drier air moving back in.
- Low end chance for showers near the coast
The inverted trough retrogrades back toward the coast Tues and Wed and a closed area of weak low pressure forms somewhere off the Carolina coast. High pressure remains anchored over the Northeast and ridging down the east coast. Clouds builds back into the area from the E on Tues and much of the FA will be under mostly cloudy or overcast skies through Wed. There is also the potential for light showers and/or drizzly conditions for areas E of I-95 Tuesday afternoon into Wed. How much rain and how far west it goes will depend on where that sfc low forms and how close to the shore it stays. The ECMWF and Canadian keep it further offshore and therefore keeping most of the area dry. Meanwhile, the GFS is the wettest of the models and actually brings a decent amount of rain to the coast. Highs on both days will be in the mid 70s and lows will be in the 50s inland, 60s at the coast.
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.LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 210 AM EDT Monday...
Key Messages:
- Dry, mostly sunny, and highs in the upper 70s-around 80
The end of the week and the weekend do not look quite so dreary. An upper level trough axis swings over the east coast and the sfc high pressure to the N strengthens, kicking the coastal trough further offshore. Highs pressure and the UL then remain in control through the weekend. The period overall looks very pleasant with highs in the upper 70s to around 80 each day Thurs-Sun. This will be a dry period as well with dew points in the 50s and no chances for rain. Lows each night will be in the mid 50s-low 60s.
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.AVIATION /08Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 135 AM EDT Monday...
VFR prevails across the terminals for the 06z TAF period. Skies are overcast over the terminals as of latest obs, but gradual clearing from the NW will continue through the morning. The cloud deck over most of the terminals should at least scatter out by this afternoon if not clear completely. However, BKN skies likely linger over ECG. Have seen a few obs in the piedmont show fog, so cannot completely rule out brief vsby reductions at RIC, but confidence is too low for inclusion in the TAF at this time. NE winds become elevated today with highest winds in the SE, gusting to 25kt. Winds diminish overnight.
High pressure remains centered N of the region much of the week with a front stalled offshore. A wave of low pressure along the boundary may bring some lower cigs and a chc of showers across SE VA and NE NC Tuesday night and Wednesday. Otherwise, mainly dry and VFR farther inland, and then dry and VFR for all terminals Thursday and Friday.
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.MARINE... As of 400 AM EDT Monday...
Key Messages:
- Small Craft Advisories are in effect for the Chesapeake Bay, lower James River, coastal waters, and Currituck Sound into Wed. Seas also build considerably to 6-8 ft on the coastal waters by late tonight/Tuesday.
- High pressure settles in from the NW Thu-Fri, allowing for probably sub-SCA conditions, though winds/waves remain elevated. Another round of potential SCAs could develop next weekend.
N/NE winds are increasing this morning, and will persist into Wednesday, generally highest across the lower Bay and Ocean from Cape Charles S to Corolla. This is in response to a sharpening coastal trough along the Gulf stream from northern FL to off the Carolina coast, with strong high pressure across the eastern Great Lakes (today) building to New England (Tuesday), which will act to progressively tighten the pressure gradient over the local waters. NE winds will average 15-25 kt across the entire bay and coastal waters today, with frequent gusts to 25-30 kt also expected, especially for the lower Bay and southern coastal waters. The strongest winds are expected late tonight into Tuesday as the trough lifts northward. A weak low could also develop by later Tuesday along this trough, but there is low confidence in this scenario. If this were to occur, there would be some potential for higher wind gusts approaching gale force. The current forecast depicts an extended period of 15-25 kt winds (20-25 kt on the coastal waters and lower Bay) from tonight through Wednesday morning. Frequent gusts to 25-30 kt are also expected, with intermittent gusts of 30-35 kt across the southern coastal waters (especially S of Cape Charles). Regarding headlines, SCAs have been extended through Wed aftn for most of the local waters for these wind. The upper rivers will will likely be added at some point, but it is more marginal. Seas will build to 5-7 ft S (and 4-5 ft N) later today/tonight, increasing to 6-8 ft Tuesday, though these peak values could be higher in our southern ocean zones based on climatology. Winds and seas begin to gradually subside later Wednesday into Thursday, but Small Craft Advisories are very likely to continue on the coastal waters into early Thursday due to seas greater than 5 ft. The next area of high pressure off to our W looks to build in Thu-Fri, enough to relax the pressure to some extent with mainly sub-SCA conditions expected (though winds stay elevated at 10-20kt). Onshore northeast winds may potentially increase again by next weekend with occasional periods of SCA conditions possible.
Rip Currents: A high risk is expected for VA Beach and the NC OBX today, with a moderate risk for northern beaches. All area beaches will have a high risk Tuesday and Wednesday with dangerous swimming conditions.
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.TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING... As of 430 AM EDT Monday...
A prolonged period of onshore flow and high seas offshore will lead to increasing water levels over the next few tide cycles. No tidal flooding is expected today, though a few sites may get into action stage by the high tide cycle late this evening and overnight. The forecast remains fairly similar, with good model agreement at reaching into Minor flooding with the high tide cycle that starts Tuesday morning in the lower Bay, and SE VA/NE NC zones along the Ocean (And occurs by late morning/early aftn farther up the James River. Still a little early to issue any Coastal Flood Advisories so will hold off one more cycle to see how water levels react today, but it appears that the subsequent high tides Tue night and Wed will continue to slowly rise a bit higher so an Advisory will likely be issued later today for these zones, lasting through Wednesday. Farther north, departures will take longer to increase, but are forecast to slowly rise with the potential for seeing minor flooding by late Tuesday night or Wednesday. There does not look to be anything more than perhaps some localized low- end moderate flooding Late Tuesday/Wed in the lower Bay/lower James and Va Beach to NC OBX, so Coastal Flood Watches/Warnings are not anticipated. Water levels remain elevated with prolonged onshore flow through the end of the week, though departures likely drop off a bit by Thursday.
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.AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MD...None. NC...None. VA...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 1 PM EDT Wednesday for ANZ630-631. Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM EDT Wednesday for ANZ632>634- 656-658. Small Craft Advisory until 1 PM EDT Wednesday for ANZ638. Small Craft Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 6 PM EDT Wednesday for ANZ650-652-654.
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SYNOPSIS...AJZ/AC NEAR TERM...AC SHORT TERM...AC LONG TERM...AC AVIATION...AC MARINE...LKB/SW TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING...
NWS AKQ Office Area Forecast Discussion