191 FXUS62 KILM 230109 AFDILM Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 909 PM EDT Sun Jun 22 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A strong mid and upper ridge will build in over the eastern United States through midweek with a significant warming trend. Hot afternoon temperatures combined with high humidity will create dangerous heat through much of the upcoming week. Do not expect much in the way of relief from showers or thunderstorms during the week. && .UPDATE... Sfc and Upper High centered over the Mid-Appalachian Mountains will drive this forecast this period. Cirrus over the Eastern flank of the high, will swing onshore within the upper anticyclonic flow and across the FA overnight into daylight Mon. This moisture will continue to scour out as it moves to and across the FA leaving just FEW/SCT thin cirrus, with occasional opaque patches. GFSLAMP guidance not nearly as profound with low stratus and/or ground fog like the previous 2 nights. As a result, no changes needed to the wx and sky conditions overnight. Some tweaking of hrly temps/dewpoints but no categorical changes. Winds will become offshore in direction overnight, nearly a land breeze along the immediate coast, going into daylight Mon morning. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/... Deep, strong ridge over the Eastern US today will only get stronger Monday, with 500mb heights increasing to almost 600 dam centered over the Mid-Atlantic Monday afternoon. After near normal lows Monday morning in the low 70s, temperatures will soar into the mid to upper 90s Monday. There is a low chance (about 15%) that some areas near I-95 could reach 100F Monday afternoon. Combined with dewpoints around 70F, have issued a Heat Advisory for majority of the CWA starting Monday morning for forecasted heat indices around 105F during the day (with exception of Williamsburg and Georgetown counties as well as the immediate coastline). Monday will be the first day of a prolonged stretch of hot and humid weather (see short/long term discussions). Subsidence from the ridge will keep pops out of the near term forecast. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Hot weather will continue as strong ridging in the mid to upper levels continues to build over the region. ECMWF now shows the peak of heights in the mid levels at 599 dam just to our north late Mon. The one influence we will need to watch out for is an upper low which nudges westward from the Atlantic trying to push the ridge inland a bit more. This could help to lower H5 heights just enough to keep the temps a few degrees less hot heading into midweek. With that being said, that could influence the issuance of any extreme heat products, but overall, it will be a hot and humid week ahead with dangerous prolonged heat. The strong subsidence and dry air should keep convection at bay, but cannot rule out a stray shower. Looks like weak boundary tries to drop down late Mon into early Tues and could see some clouds or a brief wind shift associated with this and maybe this boundary will initiate some convection in central Carolinas, but not confident about this as we have such strong ridging and subsidence aloft. Overnight temps in the mid 70s will not provide much relief from the high heat expected during the day on Tues. The high heat with daytime highs well into the 90s to near 100 will combine with high humidity to produce heat index values greater than 105 and possibly pushing Extreme Heat Warning criteria of 110. For now, we have a Extreme Heat Watch in effect for midweek for the potential of extreme heat and high humidity. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Hot weather will continue but may see temps trending slowly downward as the mid to upper ridge weakens through the week. The center of the ridge aloft gets pushed slightly westward as an upper low tracks down the Southeast coast. The ECMWF shows it splitting the ridge in two over the region while the GFS shows it riding by to the south of the ridge but weakening the ridge overall. Exactly how this plays out will remain to be seen, but for now, expect continued warm and moist southerly flow around sfc high pressure over the Atlantic and limited convective potential most days. As the ridge weakens would expect the sea breeze to become a little more active. Overall, temps will run well above normal, into the 90s to near 100 inland on Wed with heat index values topping 105 in parts of the area. A slight trend downward in the heat will come Thurs into the weekend. && .AVIATION /01Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... High confidence in VFR conditions through the 00Z TAF cycle as high pressure sfc and aloft prevails. Atm column a bit drier than yesterday at this time along with a convective lid in place as subsidence aloft from the high suppresses any convection that tries to boil up from the FEW/SCT Cu this evening and again during daylight Mon, otherwise SCT250 from cirrus dropping down then onshore from the N thru NE. GFSLAMP guidance suggests a much rosier picture for the overnight, meaning the low stratus and/or ground fog will be much lower in coverage, if any at all. All terminals will observe southerly winds AOB 6 kt at the start, becoming W-NW AOB 5 kt by daybreak Mon. Will observe an active sea breeze develop around 16z with winds backing to S around 10 kt at the coastal terminals. Sea breeze will progress to the inland terminals by 22Z with winds backing to the S around 6 kt. Extended Outlook...Predominantly VFR through mid week as strong high pressure surface and aloft puts a lid on most convective development. && .MARINE... Through Monday...Strengthening ridge over the eastern US will maintain south-southwest winds around 10 kts over the local coastal waters through Monday (with sea breeze enhancement near the coast in the afternoon/evening). Seas around 2 ft from persisting 8 sec SE swell and weak wind wave mixed in. Monday night through Friday...Initially, southerly return flow will continue around sfc high off the Southeast coast. Winds may shift to a more W-NW direction Mon night into Tues or become more variable, as the high gets suppressed farther south and a weak sfc boundary drops south into the waters. By Wed, Bermuda high will dominate again with increasing and persistent southerly winds returning for several days ahead. Seas will be less than 3 ft to start, but should increase into next weekend in persistent and increasing southerly winds. A longer period SE swell will continue to mix in. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NC...Heat Advisory from 10 AM Monday to 10 AM EDT Tuesday for NCZ087-096-099-105-107-109. Extreme Heat Watch from Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening for NCZ087-096-099-105>110. SC...Heat Advisory from 10 AM Monday to 10 AM EDT Tuesday for SCZ017-023-024-032-033-058-059. Extreme Heat Watch from Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening for SCZ017-023-024-032-033-039-054>056-058-059. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...ILM UPDATE...DCH NEAR TERM...VAO SHORT TERM...RGZ LONG TERM...RGZ AVIATION...DCH MARINE...ILM/RGZ/VAO