FXUS61 KOKX 260541
AFDOKX

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
1241 AM EST SAT DEC 26 2009

.SYNOPSIS...
LOW PRESSURE MOVING NORTHEAST THROUGH THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS
WILL MOVE OFF THE US EAST COAST AND PASS NEAR THE REGION BY
SATURDAY NIGHT. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE RETURNS SUNDAY...AND IS
REINFORCED BY A STRONG ARCTIC COLD FRONT EARLY NEXT WEEK. COLD HIGH
PRESSURE BUILD IN FOR THE MID WEEK PERIOD. A STORM SYSTEM MAY
IMPACT THE AREA LATE IN THE WEEK.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM THIS MORNING/...
MASSIVE LOW PRESSURE OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST RETROGRADING WESTWARD
INTO THE DAKOTAS. SECONDARY...WEAKER LOW OVER THE CENTRAL
APPALACHIANS SPREADING PRECIPITATION NORTHWARD INTO THE MID-
ATLANTIC STATES.

HIGH PRESSURE OVER EASTERN CANADA MAINTAINING A NORTHEAST FLOW
OVER THE AREA...WHICH WILL INCREASE AS THE LOW APPROACHES.

PRECIPITATION CONTINUES TO SLOWLY MOVE NE ACROSS THE CWA AT 20
MPH. FORWARD PROGRESS INTO EASTERN ZONES EXPECTED TO SLOW AS BEST
FORCING REMAINS TO THE WEST. FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY REMAIN AS
IS...WITH MIXED PRECIP EXPECTED TO CHANGE TO FREEZING RAIN
OVERNIGHT AS WARM NOSE ALOFT INCREASES...BUT SURFACE TEMPS HOLD
RELATIVELY STEADY. COULD SEE A LIGHT SNOW ACCUM ACROSS HIGHER
ELEVATIONS OF ORANGE COUNTY BEFORE CHANGEOVER.

ELSEWHERE...BASED ON TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS ONLY EXPECTING PATCHY FREEZING
RAIN ACROSS HILLS OF
UNION/ESSEX/E.PASSAIC/BERGEN/S.WESTCHESTER/AND SOUTHERN
FAIRFIELD...SO HAVE ADDRESSED WITH SPS. LIKELY SAME PATCHY
SCENARIO PLAYS OUT ACROSS HILLS OF COASTAL SE CONNECTICUT LATER
TONIGHT. CITY/LONG ISLAND/IMMEDIATE COASTAL CONN SHOULD HOLD
MAINLY ABOVE FREEZING ONCE PRECIP STARTS.

TEMPS WILL FALL A BIT THIS EVENING WITH EVAP COOLING...THEN STAY
FAIRLY STEADY OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER WITH MANY AREAS LOOKING TO BE
RIGHT AROUND FREEZING...SOME ADJUSTMENT TO THE ADVISORY IS
POSSIBLE.

&&

.SHORT TERM /6 AM THIS MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...
COLD AIR DAMMING SIGNATURE LOOKS TO HOLD INTO THE MORNING
HOURS...WHICH MAKES THE CHANGEOVER TIMING VERY TRICKY. ENOUGH WARM
AIR SHOULD INFILTRATE BY MIDDAY TO HAVE ALL RAIN. 

AT THIS TIME...ONE HALF TO ABOUT AN INCH OF RAIN EXPECTED. WHILE
NUISANCE FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO BE THE MAIN THREAT...AREAS WITH
DEEP SNOWPACK...MAINLY EASTERN LONG ISLAND...MAY SEE SOME MORE
SIGNIFICANT FLOODING OF ROADWAYS. 

WINDS MAY APPROACH ADVISORY LEVELS AT TIMES SAT AFTERNOON THROUGH
SUNDAY WITH IMPRESSIVE 50-60KT LL JET...HOWEVER INVERSION SHOULD
KEEP STRONGEST WINDS FROM MIXING. GUSTS TO 45 MPH POSSIBLE..ESP
ALONG THE COAST.

TEMPS STAY STEADY OR RISE A BIT SAT NIGHT WITH ALL AREAS ABOVE
FREEZING. 

THE BACK EDGE OF THE PRECIP EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY
WITH WEAK HIGH PRESSURE ON ITS HEALS. TEMPS REMAIN AT OR ABOVE
NORMAL INTO MONDAY. A STRONG ARCTIC FRONT BARRELS THROUGH...WITH A
CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS/SQUALLS AND PLUMMETING TEMPERATURES INTO THE
EVENING.

&&

.LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
DEEP TROUGHING OVER THE REGION TO START THE PERIOD WITH WELL BELOW 
NORMAL TEMPS. ARCTIC COLD FRONT CROSSES THROUGH THE REGION MON NIGHT 
IN WAKE OF INITIAL COLD FRONT WITH CLIPPER SYSTEM. WINDS MAY BRIEFLY 
GUST CLOSE TO WIND ADVISORY WITH TEMPS FALLING INTO THE TEENS AND 
LOWER 20S AREAWIDE. WIND CHILLS FALLING INTO THE LOWER SINGLE 
DIGITS CITY/COAST AND SINGLE DIGITS BELOW ZERO INTERIOR. A FEW SNOW 
SHOWERS POSSIBLE BEHIND THE ARCTIC FRONT.

WINDY AND COLD TEMPS TUES WITH TEMPS LIKELY NOT GETTING OUT OF THE 
20S AREAWIDE.

HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE REGION TUES NIGHT WITH GOOD 
RADIATIONAL COOLING CONDS LIKELY.

SLOW MODERATION THROUGH MID WEEK AS UPPER FLOW BECOMES MORE ZONAL 
AND HIGH PRESSURE SLIDES OFFSHORE...BUT STILL BELOW SEASONABLE. THEN 
WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON POSSIBLE PHASING OF NORTHERN AND 
SOUTHERN STREAM ENERGY ACROSS THE CENTRAL US ON THURS...WHICH WOULD 
HAVE IMPLICATIONS OF A POSSIBLE COASTAL STORM TO END THE WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
LOW PRES NEAR KILM WILL TRACK NEWD AND REACH A POINT NEAR KJFK 06Z
SUN. PCPN WILL CONTINUE TO OVERSPREAD THE REGION FROM THE SW TNGT. 
CIGS LWR TO IFR. BREAKS IN PCPN ARE EXPECTED PER RADAR 
RETURNS...HOWEVER OBS ACROSS NJ INDICATE THAT IFR CIGS WILL HOLD.  
ENE WINDS VEER SLOWLY TO THE ESE SAT AFTN. SPEEDS GRADUALLY INCREASE 
THRU THE PERIOD. AS THE LOW REACHES THE METRO...WINDS BECOME LGT AND 
VRB...THEN SHIFT TO THE W BEHIND THE LOW. COULD BE A PERIOD OF VLIFR 
FOG WITH THE LGT WINDS. ATTM W WINDS BEGIN ACROSS KEWR/KJFK/KLGA 
10-12Z SUN. 

MAIN PCPN TYPE WILL BE RA ACROSS THE METRO AND COASTS...INCLUDING
KHPN. KSWF HOWEVER WILL HAVE AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF -FZRA. RETAINED
-FZRA TIL 17Z.

OUTLOOK 12Z SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
WINDS SHIFT TO THE W AS THE LOW TRACKS EWD SUN MRNG. VFR ACROSS THE 
W 12-15Z SUN SPREADING EWD WITH VFR ALL AREAS BY 18Z. CDFNT MON WILL 
PRODUCE SHSN. A BAND OF LGT ACCUMS IS POSSIBLE. W WINDS 15-25KT. NW 
WINDS 20-30KT WITH HIGHER GUSTS TUE WITH VFR. HIGH PRES AND VFR WED. 
THU...POTENTIAL FOR LOW PRES TO IMPACT THE AREA LATE.

&&

.MARINE...
A BIT OF UNCERTAINTY AS TO WHETHER NY HARBOR AND WESTERN LI SOUND
WILL REACH GALE FORCE WINDS ON SAT. STRONGEST WINDS ALOFT SHOULD
HAVE TROUBLE MIXING AND MAY NOT REACH MORE THAN 30 KTS ON THESE
WATERS. REMAINING WATERS A BETTER BET WITH BETTER DYNAMICS ALOFT.
WILL DECIDE ABOUT UPGRADING THE GALE WATCH TONIGHT.

WINDS SHOULD BUILD SEAS TO 9 TO 14 FT ON THE OCEAN...HIGHEST
EASTERN ZONES...AND 3 TO 6 FT ON THE SOUND.

SLOW DECREASE IN WAVE HEIGHT ON THE OCEAN SUNDAY MAY RESULT IN SCA
CONDITIONS. 

INCREASING W WINDS SUN NIGHT-MONDAY BECOMING NW LATE MONDAY AND INTO 
TUESDAY BEHIND AN ARCTIC FRONT. GALE CONDS LIKELY ON THE OCEAN
WATERS AND POSSIBLE ALL WATERS MON NIGHT IN WAKE OF CLIPPER
SYSTEM AND ARCTIC FRONT WITH GRADUALLY IMPROVING CONDS TUES/TUES
NIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION. SUB SCA CONDS
EXPECTED ON WED AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE REGION.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...
POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR AROUND AN INCH OF LIQUID EQUIVALENT 
QPF...MAINLY FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. THIS 
POTENTIAL QPF FALLS ON TOP OF SNOW PACK WITH A WATER EQUIVALENT 
RANGING FROM 1/2 TO 1 INCH FROM NYC NORTH AND WEST TO UP TO 3 INCHES 
OVER EASTERN LI AND SE CT. THE COMBINATION OF THE SNOW PACK AND 
MODERATE RAIN WILL LIKELY LEAD TO URBAN FLOODING. RIVER AND STREAM 
FLOODING NORTH AND WEST OF NYC IS LESS LIKELY TO OCCUR DUE TO LESS 
OF A SNOW PACK. SOME ICING EXPECTED AS WELL NORTH AND WEST.

&&

.OKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CT...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY UNTIL NOON EST TODAY FOR CTZ005>008.
NY...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY UNTIL NOON EST TODAY FOR NYZ067>070.
NJ...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY UNTIL NOON EST TODAY FOR NJZ002.
MARINE...GALE WATCH FROM 6 AM EST THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON 
     FOR ANZ335-338-345.
     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM EST EARLY THIS MORNING FOR 
     ANZ335-338-345.
     GALE WARNING UNTIL 6 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR ANZ330-340-350-
     353-355.

&&

$$
SYNOPSIS...
NEAR TERM...
SHORT TERM...
LONG TERM...
AVIATION...JMC
MARINE...
HYDROLOGY...