Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
480 FXUS62 KFFC 180533 AFDFFC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 1233 AM EST Tue Nov 18 2025 ...New 06Z Aviation Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1232 AM EST Tue Nov 18 2025 - Critical fire weather conditions, due to low humidity, will continue into this evening. - Above normal temperatures will stick around into next week, with several daily record highs likely (70% chance) between Wednesday and Friday - Light rainfall is possible in north Georgia Tuesday night and region wide on Saturday, but improvements to the ongoing drought situation are unlikely as a result. && .SHORT TERM... (This afternoon through Tuesday) Issued at 151 PM EST Mon Nov 17 2025 Current satellite loop shows mostly clear skies across the region with a developing frontal boundary moving east out of the plains and into the upper to mid MS river valley. THere is also a weakening high pressure ridge centered over central KY that is expected to move SE off the NC coast Thu afternoon. This ridge will still be nosed down across SC/GA through Tuesday evening as the frontal boundary pushes east mainly into the Great Lake states. The tail end of this boundary does push slightly into N GA Tues evening/night but the ridge keeps the deeper moisture/dynamics well north of the state. We could still see some light showers across North GA Tuesday night but not expecting any thunder. at most we could see 0.10" of precip or less across north GA Tue night. Low temps tonight will cool near seasonal norms with lows mainly in the 40s and some upper 30s in the North GA mountains. Temps will warm substantially Tuesday with high in the 70s to near 80 Tues across north and central GA. These temps will be about 5 to 10 deg above normal values for this time of year. With the increased cloud cover Tuesday night temps will only dip down into the 50s to upper 40s. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday morning through next Sunday) Issued at 151 PM EST Mon Nov 17 2025 The primary focus of the longer term forecast remains centered on the next opportunity for widespread appreciable rain. After a system Tuesday night that looks like a dud for most of the state, the next opportunity for rain should arrive over the weekend. Guidance from the GEFS and EPS has narrowed down the timing of this system over the last 4 runs. As a result the ensemble consensus favors rainfall starting Friday night and lingering into the day on Saturday (high confidence in the timing, >80%). With the core of the system likely tracking through the Ohio Valley, the higher rain chances and largest rain amounts are favored in the northern half of the Georgia. Unfortunately the rain amounts with this system don`t look terribly robust. The mean expected rainfall for Atlanta is hovering near 0.25 inches in both the GEFS and EPS. Expanding to look at the rest of the state, the odds of 0.5 inches are below 50% for all areas except the mountain peaks in north Georgia. In central Georgia the odds of 0.25 inches are below 50%. So the moral here is that this system continues to trend towards the "drier than we would prefer" side of the equation. Looking further out for significant rainfall is equally disappointing. One or two opportunities for rainfall may materialize after Wednesday of next week (per GEFS and EPS guidance), but there are no indications of significant widespread rainfall that would impact the drought in a positive way. As such drought conditions will likely linger or worsen through the end of November. One thing that is consistent in the long term forecast is a trend towards continued above average temperatures. This is largely due to the ensemble guidance continuing to lean toward ridging in the Southeastern U.S. The warmth should be particularly pronounced during the latter part of this week (Wednesday-Friday), when temperatures will be flirting with record highs for three straight days. If rain doesn`t materialize on Saturday, then near record highs will likely continue for a fourth day. A couple of daily records will likely (>80%) fall during this period, with the the current records being most in jeopardy on Thursday. In terms of sensible conditions on the ground, near record warmth in late November will translate into afternoon highs in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Any cooling over the weekend should only bring values back to the 70s and upper 60s. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1232 AM EST Tue Nov 18 2025 Light and variable winds overnight will pick up on the SE side around 14Z before making a quick shift to the SW by 18Z. VIS and CIGS will remain VFR with only a few high clouds possible during the TAF period. //ATL Confidence...06Z Update... High on all elements. Vaughn && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 52 78 56 80 / 0 0 0 0 Atlanta 57 79 59 80 / 0 0 0 0 Blairsville 49 71 52 74 / 30 10 10 10 Cartersville 55 78 57 80 / 10 0 0 10 Columbus 52 82 56 82 / 0 0 0 0 Gainesville 54 76 56 79 / 10 0 0 0 Macon 49 82 56 83 / 0 0 0 0 Rome 58 81 58 80 / 20 10 0 10 Peachtree City 53 79 56 81 / 0 0 0 0 Vidalia 52 82 56 84 / 0 0 0 0 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...01 LONG TERM....Albright AVIATION...Vaughn