Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
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463 FXUS62 KFFC 220542 AFDFFC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 1242 AM EST Sat Nov 22 2025 ...New 06Z Aviation Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1232 AM EST Sat Nov 22 2025 - Rain showers are expected this evening and overnight across much of north Georgia and portions of central Georgia. A few rumbles of thunder possible. Rain amounts will be light. - Above-normal temperatures will continue through the middle of next week. A few record highs may be met or broken over the coming days at our four main climate sites. - A few rounds of showers or thunderstorms may be possible starting midweek next week. Uncertainty is high on rain amounts, so continue to monitor the forecast. && .SHORT TERM... (This afternoon through Saturday) Issued at 222 PM EST Fri Nov 21 2025 Rain showers have begun across portions of far north Georgia early this afternoon and are knocking on the door of portions of western Georgia. Showers will continue to be a bit slow to build in as light rain overcomes the drier layers of air noted in this morning`s sounding at FFC that extend from near the surface to almost 500 mb. As things moisten, showers should begin later this afternoon from west to east given the persistent southerly flow and moisture advection from the Gulf ahead of a weak low moving quickly with a shortwave embedded within the southern branch of the upper level jet. This system will get collected by a trough over the NE within the northern branch of the upper level jet tonight into tomorrow and push east of the area. Expecting showers to continue through the night, with best chances across north Georgia and decreasing as you move south. As the better moisture draw and lift exits with the system in the morning, the expectation is that showers should become less and less numerous, though some patches of rain may be possible into the afternoon across both north and central Georgia. A weak frontal boundary will push into north GA tomorrow afternoon and slide south into the evening hours through the CWA, bringing some drier air in behind that will put an end to any shower chances. Over the next 36 hours, overall rain amounts should be light, generally under 0.25", though a few isolated locations could see a little more. In terms of thunderstorm development, a few rumbles of thunder may be possible tonight across the CWA as an occasional storm is embedded within the showers of rain. A few models show some thin instability that air parcels may be able to take advantage of through the overnight. Tomorrow, there is some better instability thanks to colder air aloft ahead of the cold front. HREF mean shows ~1000 J/kg in portions of central Georgia by the afternoon. However, getting storms started may be the problem, as convergence along the cold front is poor and better upper level support pushes away from the area. A few storms may be possible, especially in central Georgia, but these should be isolated. Severe weather is not expected, though there is enough SRH around that if parameters look slightly better in future model runs, I wouldn`t rule out a Marginal Risk being issued for Saturday. Lusk && .LONG TERM... (Sunday morning through next Thursday) Issued at 222 PM EST Fri Nov 21 2025 Upper level flow through the long term outlook can be described as chaotic. Conditions on Sunday start the region off with NW flow and a modest post front dry airmass. PWATs fall between 0.5" and 0.75" with temperatures remaining near 70. Apologies in advance, prepare for my Charlie Day conspiracy meme moment. As we move into Monday, low amplitude ridging develops across the south and a deep cut-off low drifts off the central Rockies. As always the exact motion of the cutoff low is difficult to model. EOF analysis shows significantly different regimes between the ECMWF and GFS spaces with the development of the western polar trough and subsequent plains ridge development, which will have impacts downstream to southeast precipitation. So what are our regimes we have to work with here? It can all be traced back to the ejection of the cutoff low timed with a diving polar trough. The ECMWF ejects the cut-off energy by Monday morning ahead of the diving polar Jet. This means energy between the diving trough, the ejecting cut-off low, and a cheeky little shortwave embedded in the subtropical jet remain out of phase. This de-amplifys the developing central CONUS ridge, partly via reduced diabatics, as well as the western trough. This subsequently reduces ridging over the southeast and the available moisture and warm air going into Tuesday (we`ll get to that in at bit). Going back to the GEFS and GEPS, the multiple energy packets remain in-phase of each other amplifying the wave pattern and subsequent downstream ridging. This provides more moisture for the southeast going into Tuesday morning. What does this all mean to us? There is uncertainty in the amount of moisture and the strength of subtropical shortwave energy on Tuesday which will impact precipitation/thunderstorm potential. A faster moving western cut-off low will inhibit moisture transport and decrease the thunderstorm potential. This could, at the same time, broaden a shallow troughing pattern enabling an extended period of precipitation across northwest GA which slowly expands into central Georgia. The in-phase pattern will likely result in more moisture, more concentrated dynamic energy, and more organized thunderstorms potential. This uncertainty has resulted in an ensemble rainfall spread between 0.5" and 1.5" Through Friday next week; exacerbated by the fact that north Georgia mean QPF sits at around 1.5" and central GA mean QPF sits at about 0.5". This could mean the rainfall outlook through next week will be significantly impacted by upper level outcomes. At this time, this forecaster does not feel confident enough to consider severe potential, though thunderstorms Tuesday and Wednesday and even some showers on Thanksgiving could very well be in the cards. Stay tuned for further updates. SM && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1232 AM EST Sat Nov 22 2025 BKN to OVC low-MVFR to IFR conds to linger into the aftn. Expecting primarily cigs between 600-800ft, but cannot rule out a brief pd of 500ft cigs between now and daybreak. Coverage of -SHRA will be spotty over the next several hours, and may be accompanied by low-VFR vsbys at times. A return to dry conditions and SCT VFR to come by 17-18Z. Winds will remain out of the W side at 6-12kts with occasional gusts to 20-22kts psbl between 18-00Z. //ATL Confidence...06Z Update... Medium confidence ceiling progression and timing of -SHRA. High confidence all other elements. 96 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 51 71 43 69 / 0 0 0 0 Atlanta 52 71 48 70 / 0 0 0 0 Blairsville 45 66 40 63 / 10 0 0 0 Cartersville 48 70 42 71 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 53 75 49 76 / 10 0 0 0 Gainesville 51 70 46 68 / 0 0 0 0 Macon 53 76 47 74 / 10 0 0 0 Rome 51 73 44 74 / 10 0 0 0 Peachtree City 50 72 45 72 / 0 0 0 0 Vidalia 56 78 48 76 / 10 0 0 0 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Lusk LONG TERM....SM AVIATION...96