FXUS61 KALY 231722 AFDALY AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 125 PM EDT SAT OCT 23 2004 .SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT)...CLOUDS THINNED OUT PRETTY QUICKLY THIS MORNING BUT THEN THE NEXT SURGE OF ATLANTIC MOISTURE PUSHED WEST. WITH INVERSION LOWERING TO 5 K FT AND WITH DEPTH OF GROUND BASED MIXED LAYER INCREASING WITH HEATING, MOISTURE LAYER THINNING. AS A RESULT AFTER MAKING A SURGE INTO EASTERN NEW YORK LOW CLOUDS HAVE THINNED EXCEPT ON UPSLOPE SIDE OF BERKSHIRES. BATCH OF CLOUDS TO THE WEST HAS STEADILY THINNED. GIVEN MOIST LAYER BECOMING VERY THIN FEEL CLOUDS WILL BE LIMITED TONIGHT...EXCEPT THIS EVENING ACROSS EXTREME EAST PORTION OF CWA. CAN'T RULE ANOTHER SURGE OF MOISTURE FROM EAST BUT WILL PLAY THAT DOWN. CLOUDS FROM EAST MAY MAKE MAKE ANOTHER RUN WEST INTO EAST PORTION OF CWA AND MODELS DEPICTING A DECENT SURGE OF MOISTURE WITH ATLANTIC LOW WRAPPING WESTWARD. FREEZE ADVISORY LAST NIGHT HIT IN A FEW AREAS EAST OF HUDSON RIVER WHERE SKIES DID CLEAR. WHERE SKIES REMAINED MOSTLY CLOUDY (WHICH WAS A MAJORITY OF THE AREA) TEMPERATURES HELD AROUND 40. FOR TONIGHT, AIRMASS HAS WARMED CONSIDERABLY AT 850 MB BUT SKIES WILL CLEARER TONIGHT AND COLDEST AIR IS SHALLOW AND BELOW 850. WOULD FORECAST TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN WHAT WE HAVE BUT WITH FREEZE WARNING ALREADY UP IN THOSE LAST AREAS SEMI-AGRICULTURALLY ACTIVE AREAS, NO CHANGES PLANNED. SPECIFIC ZONES LISTED BELOW. LATEST FIRST FREEZE IN THE FALL IN ALBANY WAS NOV 12 1883. THE LAST TIME THE FIRST FREEZE IN THE FALL OCCURRED THIS LATE IN THE SEASON WAS OCTOBER 26 1936. MODEL TIMING ON SYSTEM APPROACHING FROM THE WEST HAS GROWN CONSISTENT OVER PAST 2 DAYS, AND TREND THE SAME - SYSTEM WEAKENS AS BULK OF ENERGY SHEARS OFF TO THE SE AND N. MIDNIGHT FORECAST DROPPED SUNDAY NIGHT CHANCE POPS AND AM FINE WITH THAT SO LEFT THEM OUT. ANOTHER DISTURBANCE COMES THROUGH TUESDAY BUT IT IS EVEN WEAKER THAN SUNDAY NIGHT VERSION SO WILL KEEP WX DRY. AIR LAKE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIAL REACHES ONLY 11-12C AND FLOW NOT FAVORABLE FOR LAKE INFLUENCE FROM BOTH A DIRECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE AND ANTICYLONIC CURVATURE PERSPECTIVE. && .LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY)...SOME CHANGES FROM 24 HOURS AGO IN TERMS OF LONG RANGE WEATHER. 00Z AND 06Z GFS INDICATE THAT BLOCKY PATTERN THAT WAS FORECAST TO PERSIST THROUGH FRIDAY WILL BREAKDOWN SOONER. 00Z GFS SHOWS A SHOT OF WARM ADVECTION INDUCED PRECIP REACHING CWA BEFORE 00Z FRIDAY. 850 MB +12C INTO CENTRAL NY WITH SUBZERO LI'S INTO SOUTHERN ONTARIO. 06Z GFS A TAD SLOWER. 00Z ECMWF MUCH SLOWER WITH SURFACE STILL CENTERED OVER NY STATE AT 12Z FRI. DGEX IS EVEN FASTER THAN 00Z/06Z GFS BRINGING PRECIP AS EARLY AS 00Z THURSDAY. GFS MOS 24 POPS THU ARE AT THE HIGH END OF THE GFS MOS ENSEMBLE RANGE. 12Z GFS LOOKS LIKE DGEX...IE FAST. HAVE ADDED CHANCE POPS TO NORTH THURSDAY NIGHT, BLENDING WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES. TIMING MAY HAVE TO BE SPED UP LATER. MAY BE ONE BATCH OF SHOWERS WITH WARM ADVECTION AND ANOTHER WITH COLD FROPA FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. AFTER THAT AIR FORECAST TO DRY OUT SATURDAY. HOWEVER WITH 850 MB T DROPPING TO -2/-4, LAKE TEMP 13-14C, AND 280 DEGREE FLOW, SOME LAKE EFFECT POSSIBLE. GFS SOUNDINGS SHOW SHALLOW MIXED LAYER (5 K FT) SO ANY LAKE INDUCED PRECIP WOULD BE LIGHT AND CONFINED TO WNW PORTION CWA. WILL BEND TO CONSENSUS AS TO WHETHER TO INCLUDE. && .AVIATION... MAINLY VFR WITH LIGHT WIND NEXT 24 HOURS. SOME LOW CLOUDS/MVFR CIGS EXTREME EAST PORTION OF CWA. ISOLD IFR IN GROUND FOG NEAR SUNRISE SUNDAY. && .HYDROLOGY...DRY PERIOD COMING UP FOR THE NEXT WEEK WITH MINIMUM PRECIP. RIVER LEVELS WILL SLOWLY DROP. NO FLOOD PROBLEMS. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...NONE. MA...NONE. NY...FREEZE WARNING 3AM TO 9AM SUNDAY NYZ049-050-052-053-059-060-064>066. VT...NONE. && $$