FNUS71 KRNK 221005 FWSRNK SPOT FORECAST FOR SANDSTONE RX...NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 605 AM EDT THU MAR 22 2012 FORECAST IS BASED ON IGNITION TIME OF 1000 EDT ON MARCH 22. IF CONDITIONS BECOME UNREPRESENTATIVE...CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. .DISCUSSION... AN UPPER LEVEL AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHEAST AND OFFSHORE OF THE OUTER BANKS TODAY. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL FOLLOW THIS SYSTEM THIS AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY BEFORE ANOTHER STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM ARRIVES FROM THE WEST FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. A WIDESPREAD WETTING RAIN IS ANTICIPATED THIS WEEKEND. SURFACE BASED INVERSION SHOULD BREAK BY 1030 AM. BASED ON RADAR...SHOWERS LAST EVENING DEPOSITED ABOUT TWO ONE HUNDREDTHS /0.02/ OF AN INCH OF RAIN AT SANDSTONE. IN ADDITION TO THE LIGHT WETTING...A HEAVY DEW WILL LIKELY LINGER UNTIL BREAKDOWN OF THE SURFACE BASED INVERSION LATER THIS MORNING. LITTLE IN THE WAY OF FOG WAS REPORTED THIS MORNING...AND WITH FEW CLOUDS...SHOULD GET THE SUN TO WORK IN YOUR FAVOR... PERMITTING THE DRYING YOU WILL NEED TO RID THE HIGH FUEL MOISTURE CONTENT. ANY THUNDERSTORM THREAT SHOULD HOLD OFF UNTIL AFTER 1400 EDT. WINDS TODAY WILL BE TERRAIN DRIVEN...LIGHT UPSLOPE UPVALLEY AFTER THE INVERSION BREAKS. STEERING WINDS ALOFT ARE VERY WEAK. IN SPITE OF THE LIGHT WINDS TODAY...MIXING SHOULD BE DEEP IN RESPONSE TO STRONG HEATING THIS AFTERNOON. SIMILAR CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED AGAIN FRIDAY...A DAY OF STRONG HEATING AND DEEP MIXING COUPLED WITH RELATIVELY LIGHT WINDS...ALTHOUGH SOMEWHAT STRONGER DURING THE AFTERNOON. .TODAY... SKY/WEATHER.........PARTLY SUNNY (30-50 PERCENT CLOUD COVERAGE). CHANCE OF AN AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORM. MAX TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 82. MIN HUMIDITY........36 PERCENT. WIND (20 FT)........LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS. GUSTY AND ERRATIC WINDS EXPECTED NEAR THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. CWR (0.01 IN).......30 PERCENT. MIXING HEIGHT.......1000 FT AGL...INCREASING TO 5700 FT AGL. TRANSPORT WINDS.....SOUTH 2 TO 5 MPH. TIME (EDT) 10 AM NOON 2 PM 4 PM SKY (%).............34 50 62 66 WEATHER COV......... SCTTRD SCTTRD WEATHER TYPE........NONE NONE RNSHWR RNSHWR TSTM COV............ SCTTRD SCTTRD TEMP................64 71 76 80 RH..................73 57 45 38 20 FT WIND..........SE 3 S 2 SW 1 W 2 20 FT WIND GUST.....5 5 5 CWR.................10 10 30 30 MIXING HEIGHT.......1000 2600 4500 5700 .TONIGHT... SKY/WEATHER.........PARTLY CLOUDY (30-50 PERCENT). MIN TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 55. MAX HUMIDITY........83 PERCENT. WIND (20 FT)........LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS. CWR (0.01 IN).......20 PERCENT. MIXING HEIGHT.......4300 FT AGL...DECREASING TO 300 FT AGL. TRANSPORT WINDS.....SOUTH 1 TO 2 MPH. TIME (EDT) 6 PM 8 PM 10 PM MIDNGT 2 AM 4 AM SKY (%).............59 34 23 30 39 35 WEATHER COV.........ISOLTD WEATHER TYPE........RNSHWR NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE TSTM COV............ISOLTD TEMP................78 73 69 66 63 61 RH..................39 47 54 61 68 72 20 FT WIND..........SW 2 SE 2 SE 2 SE 2 SE 2 SE 1 20 FT WIND GUST.....5 5 5 5 CWR.................20 10 10 10 10 10 .FRIDAY... SKY/WEATHER.........PARTLY SUNNY (40-50 PERCENT)...THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY (70-80 PERCENT). A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. MAX TEMPERATURE.....AROUND 81. MIN HUMIDITY........38 PERCENT. WIND (20 FT)........LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS...BECOMING SOUTHEAST 5 TO 6 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTY AND ERRATIC WINDS EXPECTED NEAR THUNDERSTORMS. CWR (0.01 IN).......30 PERCENT. MIXING HEIGHT.......1000 FT AGL...INCREASING TO 6200 FT AGL. TRANSPORT WINDS.....SOUTH 1 TO 2 MPH...BECOMING SOUTHEAST 6 TO 14 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. TIME (EDT) 6 AM 8 AM 10 AM NOON 2 PM 4 PM SKY (%).............29 31 41 51 62 74 WEATHER COV......... CHANCE CHANCE WEATHER TYPE........NONE NONE NONE NONE RNSHWR RNSHWR TSTM COV............ CHANCE CHANCE TEMP................59 57 65 71 76 79 RH..................78 79 64 54 45 39 20 FT WIND..........SE 1 SE 1 N 1 W 2 SE 5 SE 5 20 FT WIND GUST..... 5 10 10 CWR.................10 10 10 10 30 30 $$ FORECASTER...MANUEL REQUESTED BY...PEGGY AINSLIE TYPE OF REQUEST...PRESCRIBED .TAG 20120322.SANDS.02/RNK