000 FNUS52 KTBW 161215 FWFTBW WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA FIRE WEATHER FORECAST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL 730 AM EST MON DEC 16 2002 .RED FLAG...NONE REQUIRED. HOWEVER MINIMUM RH VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO BETWEEN 30 AND 35 PERCENT FOR TWO TO THREE HOURS OVER LEVY...CITRUS...SUMTER...AND INTERIOR PORTIONS OF HERNANDO AND PASCO COUNTIES AS WELL AS NORTHERN POLK COUNTY DURING THIS AFTERNOON. IN ADDITION VERY DRY AIR IN THE LOW LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE MAY MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE DURING THE AFTERNOON...WHICH MAY NECESSITATE THE NEED FOR A RED FLAG WARNING IN THESE AREAS BY LATER THIS MORNING... SO STAY TUNED TO LATER FORECASTS. .SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN GULF THIS MORNING WILL ENSURE DRY COOL WEATHER WITH ABUNDANT SUNSHINE ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA TODAY. ON TUESDAY THE HIGH WILL SLIP FURTHER TO THE EAST...WITH A SLOW MODERATING TREND IN TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITY LEVELS EXPECTED. .SMOKE DISPERSION DISCUSSION...LOW MIXING HEIGHTS COMBINED WITH WEAK TRANSPORT WINDS WILL RESULT IN FAIR DISPERSION VALUES DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS TODAY AND TUESDAY...BECOMING POOR AT NIGHT AS WINDS DROP OFF TO CALM. EXTENDED...WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE SOUTHEAST U.S. COAST WILL KEEP THE FORECAST AREA DRY ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...BUT A SLOW INCREASE IN MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN A BIT MORE CLOUDS BOTH DAY. TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE WITH READINGS RANGING FROM THE LOWER 70S NORTH...TO THE UPPER 70S SOUTH. ON FRIDAY A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN FORECAST AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON...THEN THROUGH THE REMAINDER THE REGION FRIDAY NIGHT. INCREASING MOISTURE ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT WILL RESULT IN ISOLATED SHOWERS...FOLLOWED BY CLEARING ON SATURDAY. EAST WINDS AROUND 10 MPH ON WEDNESDAY WILL BECOME SOUTHEAST ON THURSDAY THEN SOUTH ON FRIDAY. NO SIGNIFICANT WINDS OVER 15 MPH ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. FLZ039-042-043-048-162045- CITRUS-HERNANDO-LEVY-SUMTER- 730 AM EST MON DEC 16 2002 PARAMETER... TODAY TONIGHT TUESDAY CLOUD AMOUNT........CLEAR FOG PARTLY SUNNY CHANCE PRECIP(%)....NONE NONE NONE PRECIP TYPE.........NONE NONE NONE MAX/MIN TEMPS.......67 33 70 WIND DIRECTION......NORTHWEST CALM NORTHEAST WIND SPEED MPH......5 0 5 PRECIP AMOUNT.......NONE NONE NONE PRECIP BEGINS.......NONE NONE NONE PRECIP ENDS.........NONE NONE NONE PRECIP DURATION.....NONE NONE NONE LIGHTNING FREQ......NO TSTMS NO TSTMS NO TSTMS REL HUMIDITY %......33 100 37 MIXING HEIGHT.......2800 200 3300 CEILING HEIGHT......NO CEILING NO CEILING NO CEILING TRANSPORT DIR.......NORTHWEST VARIABLE EAST TRANSPORT SPEED.....9 2 10 DISPERSION INDEX....26 1 33 $$ FLZ049>052-055>057-060-061-162045- DESOTO-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-HILLSBOROUGH-MANATEE-PASCO-PINELLAS-POLK- SARASOTA- 730 AM EST MON DEC 16 2002 PARAMETER... TODAY TONIGHT TUESDAY CLOUD AMOUNT........CLEAR FOG PARTLY SUNNY CHANCE PRECIP(%)....NONE NONE NONE PRECIP TYPE.........NONE NONE NONE MAX/MIN TEMPS.......65 44 71 WIND DIRECTION......NORTHWEST CALM EAST WIND SPEED MPH......7 0 6 PRECIP AMOUNT.......NONE NONE NONE PRECIP BEGINS.......NONE NONE NONE PRECIP ENDS.........NONE NONE NONE PRECIP DURATION.....NONE NONE NONE LIGHTNING FREQ......NO TSTMS NO TSTMS NO TSTMS REL HUMIDITY %......36 100 40 MIXING HEIGHT.......2600 200 3200 CEILING HEIGHT......NO CEILING NO CEILING NO CEILING TRANSPORT DIR.......NORTHWEST NORTH NORTHEAST TRANSPORT SPEED.....10 3 10 DISPERSION INDEX....28 1 32 $$ FLZ062-065-162045- CHARLOTTE-LEE- 730 AM EST MON DEC 16 2002 PARAMETER... TODAY TONIGHT TUESDAY CLOUD AMOUNT........CLEAR CLEAR PARTLY CLOUDY CHANCE PRECIP(%)....NONE NONE NONE PRECIP TYPE.........NONE NONE NONE MAX/MIN TEMPS.......69 45 73 WIND DIRECTION......NORTH NORTHEAST EAST WIND SPEED MPH......7 3 6 PRECIP AMOUNT.......NONE NONE NONE PRECIP BEGINS.......NONE NONE NONE PRECIP ENDS.........NONE NONE NONE PRECIP DURATION.....NONE NONE NONE LIGHTNING FREQ......NO TSTMS NO TSTMS NO TSTMS REL HUMIDITY %......36 100 40 MIXING HEIGHT.......2800 200 3300 CEILING HEIGHT......NO CEILING NO CEILING NO CEILING TRANSPORT DIR.......NORTH NORTHEAST NORTHEAST TRANSPORT SPEED.....10 3 10 DISPERSION INDEX....29 1 33 $$ JCM