West Hartford, Connecticut 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

989
FXUS61 KBOX 170637
AFDBOX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
137 AM EST Wed Dec 17 2025

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
High wind watch issued for Cape Cod and the Islands for Friday. The
risk for minor coastal flooding for the south coast during the
Friday morning high tide has diminished somewhat.

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
- Dry weather with mild temperatures continue through Thursday.
  Gusty winds 25-35 mph arrive this morning and linger through
  the evening.

- Widespread rain with strong to possibly damaging winds late
  Thursday night into Friday.

- The risk for minor coastal flooding for south-facing shores
  during the Friday morning high tide has diminished.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

KEY MESSAGE 1...Dry and milder through Thursday. Gusty winds
25-35 mph arrive this morning and linger through the evening.

SW-ly LLJ has already starting to build in, and surface winds are
beginning to respond... especially over the Cape/Islands and waters.
Will start to see those gusty winds 25-35 mph by mid-morning as
well. Will be a rather chilly start to the day with wind chills in
the teens to low 20s by daybreak. However, warmer temperatures will
begin to make their appearance today with afternoon highs in the low
to mid 40s. Expect to see winds drop off overnight tonight into
Thursday morning, with even warmer temperatures in the mid 40s to
low 50s.

KEY MESSAGE 2...Widespread rain with strong to possibly damaging
winds late Thursday night into Friday

Deep trough moves across the Gt Lakes and towards New England
Thursday night into Friday. Ahead of the trough an anomalous low
level jet 3-4SD above normal develops which advects PWATs 1-1.25"
northward into SNE. This is a strong signal for locally heavy
rainfall as a period of strong low level convergence acts on
anomalous moisture. However, what will likely prevent an excessive
rainfall event is it`s a fast moving system with bulk of heavy rain
likely limited to about a 6 hr period late Thu night into Fri from
west to east. Also, while a few t-storms can`t be ruled out
instability appears to be meager which should keep rainfall rates in
check. Overall, looking at widespread rainfall 0.50-1 inch with
locally 1-2 inches possible where more persistent downpours, which
is consistent with the 90th percentile of the global ensemble
guidance. The heavy rain may impact the morning commute Friday,
especially across CT valley as timing of low level jet appears to
favor western New Eng. Minor urban and poor drainage street flooding
is possible but not expecting significant impacts. The heavier rain
is expected to impact eastern New Eng later in the morning into
early afternoon. The cold front moves through during the afternoon
followed by strong drying so rain will taper off after the wind
shift, but scattered showers should develop in the afternoon/evening
as robust upper trough approaches from the west.

Regarding strong wind potential, core of the southerly low level jet
70-80 kt develops across SE New Eng Fri morning, potentially peaking
around 85 kt as it reaches the outer Cape/Islands by early afternoon
before moving offshore. The challenge with these southerly low level
jet events is always determining how much wind will mix down to the
surface. An examination of the forecast soundings reveal a neutral
temp profile for areas away from the immediate coast, while a fairly
strong inversion is present over the Cape/Islands. It looks like we
would need temps to reach 58-59 degrees to efficiently mix the
strongest winds to the surface, and it will be close as current
forecast has temps mid-upper 50s away from immediate south coast as
the low level jet is moving through. One factor which could help
enhance strong gusts is the strong pressure falls which develop
across eastern MA and adjacent waters. Using a conservative 50-60
percent of the low level jet would yield gusts to 45-55 mph,
strongest across SE MA, mostly during the morning into early
afternoon on the Cape/Islands. If the milder temps are realized,
gusts could reach 60+. This will have to be monitored closely, but
we decided to issue a high wind watch for Cape/Islands where 925 mb
winds peak around 85 kt with 850 mb winds exceeding 90 kt. Wind
advisories will likely eventually be needed for at least RI and
eastern MA.

Strong cold advection in the post-frontal environment will
yield strong west wind gusts Fri night. Soundings are well mixed
boundary layer with potential for 40-50 mph gusts across all
SNE.

KEY MESSAGE 3...The risk for minor coastal flooding for south-facing
shores during the Friday morning high tide has diminished

Latest guidance suggests the timing of the low level jet and highest
surge will occur a few hours after high tide Fri morning which would
likely preclude minor coastal flood impacts along the south coast.
The greatest risk would be for Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay,
but it would take a storm surge of 2.5 to 3 ft during high tide to
produce minor flooding. Latest guidance from the Stevens Institute
indicated a 2-2.5 ft surge for Providence but occurring after
high tide. The 95th percentile which represents a 5 percent
exceedance probability has Providence slightly exceeding the 7
ft flood stage but this is a very low probability at this time.
It would take more favorable timing of the strongest winds at
high tide and a worst case wind forecast to realize this
potential, which would yield just minor flooding impacts along
Narragansett and Buzzards Bay.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
Forecaster Confidence Levels...

Low - less than 30 percent.
Moderate - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

06z TAF Update: High confidence.

VFR through the TAF period. SW winds 10-15 kts with gusts
increasing to 25-35 kt this afternoon. 2kft 40-45 kts through
the late morning hours will yield areas of LLWS. Winds
gradually diminish Wednesday night.

KBOS Terminal...High confidence in TAF.

VFR. Windshear likely by sunrise as winds aloft increase to 35-40
knots, but surface winds should be able to catch up with winds aloft
by mid morning.

KBDL Terminal...High confidence in TAF.

VFR. Windshear likely by sunrise as winds aloft increase to
35-40 knots, but surface winds should be able to catch up with
winds aloft by mid morning.

Outlook /Thursday Night through Sunday/...

Thursday Night: MVFR/IFR conditions possible. Strong winds with
local gusts up to 40 kt. Chance RA.

Friday: Mainly MVFR, with local IFR possible. Strong winds with
gusts up to 45 kt. RA.

Friday Night: VFR. Strong winds with gusts up to 45 kt.

Saturday: VFR. Windy with local gusts up to 30 kt.

Saturday Night: VFR. Windy with areas of gusts up to 30 kt.
Slight chance RA, slight chance SN.

Sunday: VFR. Windy with local gusts up to 30 kt. Slight chance
RA.

&&

.MARINE...
Forecaster Confidence Levels...

Low - less than 30 percent.
Moderate - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

Today Through Thursday...High confidence.

Gale force wind gusts likely through Wednesday evening as a
southwesterly low level jet settles overhead. Seas increase to
8-10 feet in the southern waters, and 6-8 feet in the eastern
waters today. Winds decrease and seas subside briefly during the
day Thursday before ramping back up Thursday night.

Outlook /Thursday Night through Sunday/...

Thursday Night: Low risk for gale force winds with gusts up to
40 kt. Areas of rough seas. Chance of rain.

Friday: gale force winds with gusts up to 45 kt. Rough seas up
to 14 ft. Rain.

Friday Night: gale force winds with areas of gusts up to 45 kt.
Rough seas up to 14 ft. Chance of rain.

Saturday: Low risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up
to 30 kt. Rough seas up to 11 ft.

Saturday Night: Low risk for gale force winds with gusts up to
35 kt. Seas up to 5 ft. Slight chance of rain.

Sunday: Strong winds with gusts up to 35 kt. Areas of rough
seas. Slight chance of rain.

&&

.BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CT...None.
MA...High Wind Watch from Friday morning through Friday afternoon
     for MAZ022>024.
RI...None.
MARINE...Gale Warning from 7 AM this morning to 7 PM EST this evening
     for ANZ230-232>237.
     Gale Warning until 7 PM EST this evening for ANZ231-251.
     Gale Warning until 1 AM EST Thursday for ANZ250-254.
     Gale Warning from 7 AM this morning to 1 AM EST Thursday for
     ANZ255-256.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...KJC/McMinn
AVIATION...McMinn
MARINE...McMinn