Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Huntsville, AL
Issued by NWS Huntsville, AL
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110 FXUS64 KHUN 061014 AFDHUN Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Huntsville AL 414 AM CST Sat Dec 6 2025 ...New NEAR TERM... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1105 PM CST Fri Dec 5 2025 - Some patchy fog towards daybreak. Very brief patchy freezing fog possible in portions of southern middle Tennessee. Due to it expected patchy and brief nature, no significant impacts are expected. - Periods of light rain have a low-medium chance (20-40%) of occurring late Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. - Colder again Monday/Monday night with sub-freezing lows. Then warming again. && .NEAR TERM... (Today) Issued at 414 AM CST Sat Dec 6 2025 In the mid/upper-levels, a highly sheared trough (initially extending from the western Great Lakes to the central High Plains) will progress quickly southeastward today within the flow between a cold core vortex across southern portions of Hudson Bay and a flat subtropical ridge centered east of the Bahamas. Strengthening deep-layer ascent downstream from this feature has recently resulted in the development of a few pockets of light rain well to the north of a more dominant axis of precipitation in the vicinity of a lengthy surface trough extending from the northwest Gulf Coast into the southeastern Atlantic Coast. Based on the northeastward movement of the light rain, we will include a very low (10-20% POP) across our southeastern forecast zones through 15Z. Across the remainder of the forecast area, a layer of very low stratus clouds exists, with light westerly flow (to the east of a surface high across northern MS) keeping the boundary layer sufficiently mixed to prohibit development of mist/fog. The axis of the previously mentioned 500-mb trough is predicted to cross the region later this morning or early this afternoon, resulting in veering flow aloft and weak subsidence that should contribute to rapid drying of the mid/upper tropospheric column. However, this may not be sufficient to erode the layer of low stratus clouds in the (especially given a relaxed pressure gradient and light winds). Should this occur, currently advertised max temperatures in the u40s-l50s may be 5 degrees or so too warm, and we will nudge these down a bit to reflect this potential scenario. && .SHORT TERM... (Saturday night through Monday) Issued at 1105 PM CST Fri Dec 5 2025 Zonal to slightly SW flow aloft will be the rule of thumb Saturday night into Sunday, as a weak longwave trough axis pushes from the Central Plains into the Missouri Valley region. A frontal boundary near the surface develops with it and merges with a weak area of low pressure over the western Gulf coastal area. This surface low helps to advect enough moisture northward ahead of this front to allow for some precipitation to move into parts of Mississippi Sunday morning and afternoon. Not sure if the atmosphere will be moist enough for precipitation to reach the ground in NW Alabama until late in the afternoon hours at the earliest if not after 6 PM CST. Took our 20 pop during the morning/early afternoon hours the NBM ensemble was putting in for now. Kept a 20 pop in after 4 PM CST, with higher pop between 30 and 60 percent Sunday night. Still looks like all rain with no thunderstorm activity. The models still move the longwave trough axis ENE pretty quickly Sunday night. Most guidance has the precipitation east or northeast of the area by 12Z on Monday. This should keep any wintry precipitation out of the forecast, but may need to watch for flurries in southern middle Tennessee around and just after daybreak. For now, left them out of the forecast since even flurries would have little impact. Much drier and colder again on Monday with some cloud cover lingering into the early afternoon hours east of the I-65 corridor. Strong cold air advection should keep highs in the upper 30s to lower 40s, despite some afternoon sunshine. && .LONG TERM... (Monday night through Friday) Issued at 1105 PM CST Fri Dec 5 2025 Back to sub-freezing lows again Monday night with clear skies and high pressure building in. Lows in the mid 20s are expected. This intrusion of colder air should be brief, as warm air advection ahead of another front moving through the western Great Lakes early next week keeps things on the warmer side. Highs in the lower 50s should warm into the 55 to 60 degree range on Wednesday with lows warming as well into the lower to mid 30s. This front seems to have a hard time pushing into the southeast and hangs up over eastern Texas into the Ohio Valley. However, a weak pre-frontal trough axis looks to be close enough to produce a few showers over the area Wednesday night into Thursday. This weak pre-frontal trough axis may focus a bit more moisture and forcing over the area Thursday afternoon into Thursday night, before pushing east of the area. This should pull the precipitation east with it as colder and drier air moves into the area. Highs look to drop back down into the upper 30s to lower 40s again on Saturday. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1119 PM CST Fri Dec 5 2025 Previous thinking hasn`t changed much. Still expect CIGS below 1000 feet to develop at both terminals before 06Z. Very light or calm winds are expected. The persistent cloud cover should keep any fog from forming. Models are in pretty good agreement that VFR conditions will return as low CIGS push southeast of the terminals between 18Z and 20Z. Kept slightly earlier time for that at KMSL at 19Z and after 20Z at KHSV. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...None. TN...None. && $$ NEAR TERM...70/DD SHORT TERM...KTW LONG TERM...KTW AVIATION...KTW