Albemarle Sound Marine Forecast
| Overnight...W Winds 10 To 15 Kt. Waves Around 2 Ft. Showers With A Slight Chance Of Tstms Late This Evening, Then Rain. Patchy Fog. |
| Mon...Nw Winds 10 To 15 Kt, Increasing To 15 To 20 Kt In The Afternoon. Waves Around 2 Ft. A Chance Of Rain In The Morning. |
| Mon Night...Nw Winds 20 To 25 Kt With Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Waves 2 To 3 Ft. |
| Tue...Nw Winds 10 To 15 Kt, Becoming Sw In The Afternoon. Waves Around 2 Ft. |
| Tue Night...W Winds 10 To 15 Kt, Becoming Nw After Midnight. Waves Around 2 Ft. |
| Wed...Nw Winds 10 To 15 Kt, Diminishing To 5 To 10 Kt In The Afternoon. Waves Around 2 Ft In The Morning, Then 1 Ft. |
| Wed Night...Nw Winds 5 To 10 Kt, Increasing To 10 To 15 Kt After Midnight. Waves 1 Ft Or Less, Then Around 2 Ft After Midnight. |
| Thu...Nw Winds 15 To 20 Kt. Waves Around 2 Ft. |
| Thu Night...Nw Winds 15 To 20 Kt. Waves Around 2 Ft. |
| Fri...Nw Winds 15 To 20 Kt. Waves Around 2 Ft. |
| Fri Night...Nw Winds 15 To 20 Kt. Waves Around 2 Ft. Winds And Waves Higher In And Near Tstms. |
| Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wakefield VA 631pm EST Sunday Jan 25 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for Hampton, Poquoson, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Norfolk as temperatures have dropped to 30-33F here with the last band of precipitation still to come. Otherwise, Winter Storm Warnings continue for most of the area, with a Winter Weather Advisory for Bertie County, NC. A sharp temperature gradient exits between inland areas that range from the mid teens to mid 20s, with mid 30s to around 40F for areas closer to the coast. At this point the primary precipitation types for areas below freezing will be sleet and freezing rain, and gradually transition to freezing rain through the evening. Trends continue to support a quicker end to precipitation late tonight through the early overnight hours, with most areas outside of coastal NE NC dry by early Monday morning. .KEY MESSAGES... 1) Winter Storm impacts are expected to continue for much of the area tonight, with lingering impacts into Monday morning. Sleet has remained the predominate precipitation type across the northern tier of the area, which has limited ice accretion. Meanwhile, areas from south-central VA into interior NE NC have now had several hours of freezing rain and there have be increasing power outages in this region. Precipitation should largely transition to freezing rain this evening as the final batch of moisture moves across the area. Areas closer to the coast should remain above freezing with rain expected, although there could be some re-freezing away from the immediate coast early Monday morning. A few rumbles of thunder are possible across southern VA and NE NC as the final batch of moisture moves through this evening. 2) A prolonged period of very cold temperatures is expected to persist through much of the week with the potential for temperatures to remain below freezing for several days over most of the area. Impacts from the winter storm are likely to last well into next week due to the very cold temperatures. As of 630pm EST Sunday... KEY MESSAGE 1...Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for Hampton, Poquoson, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Norfolk as temperatures have dropped to 30-33F here with the last band of precipitation still to come. Ice accums of up to 0.1" are possible on elevated surfaces between now and 11pm (treated roads will remain wet though side roads/bridges could become slick). Previous Discussion: GOES water vapor channels depict a large powerful low pressure system lifting NE across much of the East Coast. At the surface, low pressure is centered immediately off the Mid-Atlantic coast, with another low over the Cumberland Plateau. 1034mb high pressure is centered over ME and extends to the SW through the Mid- Atlantic. This combined with clouds and precipitation has maintained a cold airmass over much of the region, with temperatures in the mid teens to lower 20s along and W of I-95 and mid 20s to around 30F for the interior coastal plain and Dorchester Co., MD. Closer to the coast, temperatures have rose into the mid/upper 30s, which has changed precipitation to rain. To this point, the depth and strength of the cold air has resulted sleet from the Piedmont through central VA and potentially Dorchester, MD despite a warm nose of +5-10C in vicinity of 850mb. This has definitely helped with the icing situation, but cold temperatures and sleet have produced hazardous travel conditions. Farther SE, freezing rain has occurred for several hours in S-central VA and interior NE NC and power outages have been increasing in these areas. Another round of precipitation will move across the region late this afternoon and evening along a mid-level front. This should result in an increase in coverage and intensity. The general trend should be toward freezing rain for areas at or below 32F, with mainly rain toward the coast. Temperatures should be steady, although a slight increase is possible during the greater (freezing) rain rates. There is a surge of theta-e around 925-850mb along with some steeper lapse rates above the low-level inversion, so a few rumbles of are possible across southern VA and NE NC. Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect through Monday for most of the area through Monday to cover lingering impacts into Monday morning. The one lingering advisory for Bertie County, NC has been extended through 10 PM. Tree damage and power outages remain possible, and wind gusts to 20-25 mph Monday could be problematic. Travel will remain hazardous overnight into Monday morning. Some re-freezing is possible early Monday morning for areas that are away from the coast and have risen above 32F during the day today. KEY MESSAGE 2...A prolonged period of very cold temperatures is expected to persist through much of the week with the potential for temperatures to remain below freezing for several days over most of the area. Impacts from the winter storm are likely to last well into next week due to the very cold temperatures. In the wake of the winter storm this weekend, strong high pressure (1030+ mb) from the Canadian plains will shift over the SE CONUS with potent upper level troughing. The combination of these features will keep very cold temperatures over the area through much of next week. This, along with any snowpack/ice, will likely keep high temperatures below freezing for an extended period of time over much of the area. Low temperatures Tuesday night/Wednesdayam will likely be the coldest we have seen in some time, with readings ranging from around 0F across the NW Piedmont, to single digits for much of the inland forecast area, and teens closer to the coast/SE. These cold temperatures, combined with a W to NW breeze, will result in wind chills ranging from -10F to -5F inland and 0F to 10F across the southeast and along the coast. Extreme Cold headlines will likely be needed for portions of the area with Cold Weather Advisories elsewhere. Another arctic front crosses the area later Wednesday night into Thursday, bringing another push of arctic air to the region. There is a potential that high temperatures may only be in the lower 20s N to lower 30s S Thursday through Saturday, with lows at least in the single digits to lower teens, with a threat of sub-zero wind chills. Some light snow showers or flurries are possible with the arctic front, but the overall trend has been for a drier solution. This prolonged period of very cold temperatures behind the winter storm could be quite dangerous for those without power. It is important that all take precautions in event that power is unable to be restored in a timely manner. Marine As of 335pm EST Sunday... Key Messages: - Gale Warnings are in effect for the Ocean north of the NC border as well as the Chesapeake Bay late Monday afternoon through early Tuesday with NW winds. Small Craft Advisories are in effect in all remaining coastal waters. - Periods of freezing spray are likely Monday night through much of the week as an arctic airmass overspreads the region. - Yet another period of high-end Small Craft Advisory to gale conditions is possible Thursday night into early Friday. Low pressure is currently situated off the Eastern Shore this afternoon, with winds generally subsiding in its wake. Small Craft Advisories have been dropped for the Bay (excluding the mouth of the Bay due to higher seas) as winds have relaxed to 10 to 15 kts. A few sites are measuring winds closer to 15 kt but those should start to come down over the next few hours as well. The Gale Warning for the northern coastal waters has been replaced with a Small Craft Advisory, so now all coastal waters are in an SCA (Small Craft Advisory) due to a combination of winds and seas. Seas have over performed today, with buoys measuring between 7-10 ft, with the lower seas along the NC coast. A lull in winds is expected overnight as the low continues to lift to the north. Some hi-res models are hinting at the possibility of a convective line later this evening that may contain stronger wind gusts, but this would be handled with an SMW, if necessary. The aforementioned low will continue to deepen through the night and tomorrow morning, dropping below 1000 mb off the Northeast coast. Meanwhile, a strong high across the northern Plains will slide southward towards the southern Plains, reaching around 1045 mb by tomorrow morning. The pressure gradient between these two strong features will tighten significantly. Additionally, a cold front will cross the coast early Monday, though the strongest Cold Air Advection will be delayed until late Monday afternoon into Monday night. Gradient winds will start to pick up in the morning, followed by a much sharper increase in the afternoon as the Cold Air Advection arrives. Gale Warnings have been issued for all coastal waters (aside for the NC coastal waters), as well as the Chesapeake Bay. All other coastal waters will be covered by a SCA. Though the in-house wind probs for the Bay are not that impressive and water temperatures are roughly between 35-40F, this front will bring very strong Cold Air Advection to the region which will likely cause a few hours of frequent Gale Force wind gusts which is why we opted for a Gale Warning in the Bay. A period of low-end SCA (Small Craft Advisory) conditions is possible later Tuesday afternoon and evening. Otherwise, the next period of attention is Thursday night into early Friday due to Cold Air Advection behind another strong cold front. Periods of freezing spray are likely Monday night through much of the week as an arctic airmass overspreads the region, followed by another push of arctic air later in the week behind the aforementioned cold front. Seas will remain between 7-10 ft through this evening, then will slowly start to subside to 4 to 7 ft by tomorrow morning. Despite the higher winds expected again tomorrow, they will be offshore so seas will struggle to build any higher than 7-8 ft. Waves of 2-4 ft in the Bay today will subside to 1-3 ft overnight (3-4 ft at the mouth of the Bay), then are forecast to rapidly build tomorrow, especially on the eastern side of the Bay, to 2-5 ft. For both the coastal waters and Bay, seas should subside to sub-SCA (Small Craft Advisory) Tuesday afternoon through Thursday morning. Thereafter, seas will start to build again in the wake of another front. TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING... A Low Water Advisory has been issued for the Currituck Sound through tomorrow afternoon due to water levels dropping as low as -2 ft MLLW. NOAA Wakefield VA Office: Watches - Warnings - Advisories MD...Winter Storm Warning until 7pm EST Monday for MDZ021. NC...Winter Storm Warning until 7pm EST Monday for NCZ012>014. Winter Weather Advisory until 4am EST Monday for NCZ030. VA...Winter Storm Warning until 7pm EST Monday for VAZ048-060>062- 064>069-075>090-092-093-096-509>524. Winter Weather Advisory until 4am EST Monday for VAZ095-097- 525. Marine Small Craft Advisory from 7am to 4pm EST Monday for ANZ630>632. Gale Warning from 4pm Monday to 4am EST Tuesday for ANZ630>632-634-650-652-654-656. Low Water Advisory until 2pm EST Monday for ANZ633. Small Craft Advisory from 1pm Monday to 7am EST Tuesday for ANZ633. Small Craft Advisory until 4pm EST Monday for ANZ634-650-652- 654-656. Small Craft Advisory from 1pm Monday to 4am EST Tuesday for ANZ635>638. Small Craft Advisory until 7am EST Tuesday for ANZ658. |
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