Winston-Salem, North Carolina 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

797
FXUS62 KRAH 212335
AFDRAH

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
640 PM EST Sun Dec 21 2025

.SYNOPSIS...
A cold front will settle south of the area this evening. High
pressure will extend into the region from the north late tonight
through early Tuesday, bringing colder and drier air. High pressure
will then develop over the Southeast, resulting in dry and warmer
weather for the middle to end of the week.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
As of 1230 PM Sunday...

* A dry cold front will move the area with chilly conditions
  tonight.

A low-amplitude shortwave trough and accompanying dry cold front
will cross the area through the afternoon. The passing trough will
advect a band of orographically-enhanced cirrus, currently banked
along the eastern slopes of the southern and central Appalachians,
south and east across central NC. In the wake of the front, a brief
period of post-frontal gustiness of 15 to 20 mph can also be
expected through the afternoon.

Winds will gradually diminish this evening and tonight as the
pressure gradient relaxes, with clearing progressing from NW to SE.
CAA will support chilly overnight lows ranging from mid/upper 20s
north to lower 30s south.

&&

.SHORT TERM /MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT/...
As of 1230 PM Sunday...

* Cool and dry Monday before increasing clouds and sprinkles Monday
  night as warmer air begins to return.

A 1030 mb surface high centered over the southern Mid-Atlantic
Monday morning will shift offshore Monday evening into Monday night
as a warm front skirts north and west of the area. Monday will be
the one chilly day in the upcoming holiday work week. Cirrus will
begin to stream across the area by the afternoon, becoming broken
across the northern counties by sunset. Highs will range from upper
40s northeast to lower/mid 50s south.

Monday night, weak mid-level perturbations embedded in the west-
northwesterly flow, combined with a strengthening warm moist air
regime, will result in an expanding deck of stratus and altostratus
between 06 to 12z. Expect to a good bit of virga streaming across
the area, with a slight chance of some very light rain or sprinkles
mainly along and north-north east of the Triangle. Overnight lows
will occur early in the night, before the cloud deck arrives, with
temperatures gradually rising through daybreak. Precipitation type
will be rain with no winter precip-type concerns. Lows will
generally range from 35 to 40, with a few lower 30s possible in
outlying rural areas.

&&

.LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
As of 1230 PM Sunday...

* An overall dry week with seasonably mild temperatures through the
  Christmas holiday.

A warm front lifts north of the region on Tue. Most of the energy
tied to the system focuses up across VA, but enough isentropic
ascent moisture transport in the low to mid-levels will promote a
low-end chance of light rain or sprinkles, mainly across US-64
north. A look at forecast soundings, however, indicate that a very
dry layer exists below 850-mb, such that most of the area may just
see virga. Clouds in the morning will clear out by late-afternoon
with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s.

A stretch of very mild temperatures is still forecast Wed through
Fri, including the Christmas holiday, where warm ridging over the
Southern Plains to Lower MS valley will bring WAA into the region
during this time. Sprinkled in this period will be a few systems
passing through, namely a backdoor front Wed that lifts north as a
warm front Thu. Most of the energy on Thu stays to our north such
that we are again dry. Other than clouds, these systems won`t impact
our ability to rise into the mid/upper 60s Wed/Thu and low to maybe
mid 70s Fri.

Model guidance spread increases late Fri into Sun with another
possible cold front. Some guidance brings a strong front through Fri
night, while other guidance stalls it off to our north before
another front arrives late Sun. All this is to say that highs
Sat/Sun are more tricky. Highs could range from the upper 50s to the
mid 70s Sat depending on which model verifies. If this verifies on
the higher end, we could get a few degrees close of record highs
Fri/Sat, see climate section for that. While a few shower chances
are possible late Fri and Sun with these systems, the pattern is
presently not too favorable for measurable precipitation.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
As of 640 PM Sunday...

* High confidence in VFR conditions through the TAF period.

Surface high pressure will build into central NC from the north
through Mon, as a cold front settles to our S. The result will be a
dry flow from the N or NE in the low levels and from the WNW in the
mid levels. A mid level tisturbance now tracking through the region
is producing a deck of mid level clouds, and both will exit to the E
through this evening, leaving mostly clear skies overnight through
much of Mon. An area of mid level moisture now over IA into MO/IL
will bring increasing mid clouds based aoa 12thsnd ft AGL late in
the forecast period. No vsby restrictions in the next 24 hours.
Surface winds will be mostly under 10 kts, from the N and NE tonight
shifting to SE or SSE by late Mon.

Looking beyond 00z Tue, a few sprinkles are possible 09z-21z Tue,
mainly at RDU/RWI/FAY, and brief MVFR cigs are possible. But
otherwise, the risk of any sub-VFR conditions is low through Fri.
There is a risk of low level wind shear Tue morning, esp across
northern terminals. -GIH

&&

.CLIMATE...

Record Highs   12/25      12/26    12/27
RDU          75 (1955) 75 (1889) 76 (2015)
GSO          74 (2015) 75 (2015) 74 (2015)
FAY          81 (2015) 79 (1955) 78 (2015)

&&

.RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

$$

SYNOPSIS...Blaes
NEAR TERM...CBL
SHORT TERM...CBL
LONG TERM...Kren
AVIATION...Hartfield
CLIMATE...RAH