Weather alerts for the NWS Wakefield VA forecast area

000
FXUS61 KAKQ 281056
AFDAKQ

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
National Weather Service Wakefield VA
656 AM EDT Wed Oct 28 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
SPS for Fog has been issued through 9am for southern and interior southeast Virginia 
and interior NE North Carolina.

Small Craft Advisory has been issued for the nearshore NC
coastal waters through this evening.

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
1) Slightly cooler today then above normal temperatures return 
Thursday through Friday. Uncertainty remains for the potential 
for rain this weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
As of 335 AM EDT Wednesday...

KEY MESSAGE 1...Slightly cooler today then above normal temperatures return 
Thursday through Friday. Uncertainty remains for the potential 
for rain this weekend. 

Early morning weather analysis weak upper level ridge over west-
central Gulf coast to the Great Lakes and an upper trough over the 
NW CONUS. At the surface, a 1034mb high pressure sits over New 
England . The pressure gradient over the area remains weak allowing 
for weak onshore flow. Temperatures and dew points are much higher 
than the previous due to the onshore flow and are ranging between 
the upper 40s to low 50s. In addition, due to clear skies, higher 
dews, and light winds low stratus and patchy fog has developed 
across SE VA and NE NC. Through the rest of the morning the stratus 
and patchy fog will develop across the piedmont possibly causing 
reduced visibilities. An SPS has been issued at this time due 
to visibilities dropping below a mile across southern and 
interior southeast Virginia and interior NE North Carolina. 
However, if conditions worsen across the area through the early 
morning the SPS maybe expanded or Dense Fog may potentially be 
issued.


For today, the low stratus is expected to hang on across the piedmont 
as a CAD builds across the area. This will likely cause temperatures 
to struggle to get out of the middle to upper 60s as the SE the 
cloud cover is expected to break early allowing for temps to warm 
near 70. If the could deck across the piedmont breaks early a run 
near the 70s cannot be ruled out in the piedmont. However, the 
confidence is low as the NAM (handles CAD well) is holding onto 
much low temps. The high will then eventually anchor off the 
southern New England to Mid-Atlantic coast tonight and Thursday 
while low pressure remains suppressed well south near the Bahamas. 
With the high pressure offshore, SSW will allow for highs to 
potentially reach the the middle to upper 70s Thursday and Friday. 

Dry weather conditions are forecasted to prevail through the late 
weekend, as upper ridging builds over the region. By Friday and into 
the weekend, a northern stream shortwave traversing central Canada 
will flatten the upper pattern. Halloween continues to look dry 
pleasant, and mild with increasing clouds ahead of of a weak cold 
front allowing for optimal Trick-or-Treating conditions across the 
region. Looking Monday into early next week the potential for the 
pattern to become slightly unsettled continues to remain low. The 
latest 00z/28 ensembles continue to hint on a weak system moving 
across the area during the first couple days of November. However, 
at this time the ensembles continue to remain in  disagreement on 
amounts of precipitation and or if there will be any precip. The 
GEFS and Canadian ensembles have roughly 30-50% of rainfall greater 
than .1" while the GFS-AI, EURO-AI, and the EURO has little to no 
rain chances. With the disagreement this is continuing to lead to 
low confidence in any beneficial rainfall at the start of November 
and into early next week.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
As of 636 AM EDT Wednesday...

A mix of MVFR and IFR conditions have been noted across all
terminals early this morning. Low stratus and patchy fog has
developed primarily across VA and NC. These conditions are
forecasted to persist through the early morning hours and
possibly last a couple hours after 12z. By late morning the
patchy fog is likely to dissipate and the CIGS will increase. 
However, cloud cover will likely persist but will cloud bases 
will be VFR as the day progresses. Winds today will then 
increase out of the NE by late morning and be around 5-10kt. 

Outlook: Other than some potential for patchy AM fog, dry WX 
and VFR conditions returns each morning through Sunday. 
Remaining dry through most of the weekend, though some light 
rain will be possible later Sunday and Monday.

&&

.MARINE...
As of 530 AM EDT Wednesday...

Key Messages:

-  Onshore flow remains elevated today, have raised SCAs for NC
   coastal waters for 5 ft seas. 

- Light winds prevail tonight through Friday. A cold front 
  brings the potential for Small Craft Advisories Friday night 
  through Saturday.
   
Strong high pressure centered along the New England coast will 
gradually drift to the SE and become anchored off the northern 
md-Atlantic coast tonight and Thursday. Onshore flow, averaging 
10-15 kt prevails early this morning, with seas around 3 ft 
across the northern coastal waters, and ~4 ft to the south. The 
buoys in the 0-20 NM offshore NC waters are ~5 ft and may
increase further later today as E-NE swell in association with
low pressure over FL and the Bahamas continues. Have issued 
SCAs in NC through 7 PM (and this may persist through tonight
and need to be extended). 

Otherwise, winds will slowly diminish by tonight, and 
especially Thursday through Friday as the sfc high continues to 
weaken and become centered into the region. Low pressure lifts 
NE off the coast of Florida Thursday night into Friday, keeping 
seas at 3-4 ft for the southern ocean zones despite light winds.
It will be benign across the Bay and rivers with winds 5-10 kt 
or less Thursday and Friday. However, by late Friday night into 
Saturday morning, the next cold front is forecast to drop south 
through the local waters. The airmass is not particularly cold, 
but pressure rises are on the order 4-5 mb/6 hr as strong (>1030
mb) sfc high pressure builds SE from the Great Lakes. Probs for
18 kt sustained winds have increased and anticipate that these
may go up more as the addition of the high res guidance arrives
over the next few cycles. Have increased the N-NE winds during 
this time, and expect SCAs may be needed for at least the lower Bay
and southern coastal waters late Fri night into Saturday. 

&&

.AKQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...None.
NC...None.
VA...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 7 PM EDT this evening for ANZ658.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...HET/MAM
AVIATION...HET
MARINE...LKB