Area forecast discussion National Weather Service State College PA 732 PM EDT Wednesday Jun 19 2013 Synopsis... high pressure over the area will bring chilly temperatures to the area tonight. As this high pressure system moves to the southeast by the end of the week...a warming trend will set in...coinciding with the official beginning of Summer on Friday. Mainly warm and dry conditions will prevail this weekend and much of next week. There will be a chance for a shower or thunderstorm now and then after Sunday...but most of the time it will remain dry. A cold front could bring more in the way of widespread showers and thunderstorms to the area by late next week. && Near term /until 6 am Thursday morning/... clear skies and low precipitable water will make for another chilly night across northern PA where nighttime lows will fall into the upper 30s. Expect some readings in the upper 30s across the northern tier... with most locations right around 40. Reading will range through the middle to upper 40s across the central mountains and to the upper 40s to lower 50s across the south. && Short term /6 am Thursday morning through Thursday night/... upper ridge over the plains states will shift eastward this period as a deep closed low moves from the Pacific northwest into the northern rockies. 500 mb heights climb above normal by Friday. Winds will veer around to the south/southwest as the surface high moves off the middle-Atlantic coast. The return flow will result in an increase in daytime temperatures and low level moisture/dewpoints/humidity later Thursday. && Long term /Friday through Wednesday/... the warmer pattern will arrive on schedule with the first day of astronomical Summer /see climate section for more details/. Model data suggests isolated diurnal convection is possible along The Spine of the north-central appalchns into the Laurel Highlands/S-cntrl ridges...but for the most part expect most areas to stay rain- free. Capping inversion may be a limiting/negative factor for terrain-induced thunderstorms later Friday after. Left the forecast dry for now. Northern rockies 500mb trough will eject northeastward into the S-central Canadian prairies over the weekend...allowing the subtropical ridge to retrograde and expand westward back across the Southern Plains. With broad subtropical ridging covering the southern 1/2 of the Continental U.S....the jet stream will be confined along the US/Canadian border - which is where it should be for this time of year. Thus looking at mainly dry and warm conditions into at least the middle of next week. The main threat of showers and storms would be north of PA...but a slight chance to chance of a shower or storm will be possible after Sat...as any weak system could touch off some...given higher dewpoints and terrain features. While temperatures come up...dewpoints really not expected to be anything abnormal. Looking at mainly temperatures between 80-85f across the alleghenies and 85-90f east of the mountains in the central ridges and susq valley. The main area of extreme conditions will be further west across the plains. && Aviation /00z Thursday through Monday/... expect widespread VFR to continue into Friday...as high pressure and dry air build into the region. High pressure will control the weather into the weekend. There will be a slight chance to chance of a shower or thunderstorm sun and Monday... but most areas will remain dry with VFR conditions. Outlook... Sat...no sig weather. Sun-Mon...isolated PM thunderstorms and rain impacts possible. && Climate... astronomical Summer begins at 104 am EDT on Friday June 21st. && Ctp watches/warnings/advisories... none. && $$ Synopsis...gartner/Martin/steinbugl near term...devoir/Martin short term...Martin/steinbugl long term...Martin/steinbugl aviation...la corte climate...