Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Mobile, AL
Issued by NWS Mobile, AL
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118 FXUS64 KMOB 250540 AFDMOB Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Mobile AL 1140 PM CST Mon Nov 24 2025 ...New DISCUSSION, AVIATION, MARINE... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1200 AM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 - Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging wind gusts, large hail, and a tornado or two remain possible early this morning through this evening. - Strong offshore flow will create hazardous conditions for small craft across the marine area mid to late week. - There is a moderate risk of life threatening rip currents at area beaches today and Wednesday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1200 AM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 The primary focus for the next 24 hours will be on the evolution of showers and thunderstorms across the area posing an isolated threat for strong to severe thunderstorms. Latest high resolution guidance has gradually shifted towards a semi-continuous threat for strong to severe storms, beginning prior to daybreak after 3 AM near and west of the I-65 corridor, gradually overspreading the entire area as we head into late morning and continuing into the evening hours. The overall severe threat is expected to gradually wane after sunset, with any lingering threat ending by late evening. Damaging wind gusts, large hail, and a tornado or two remain possible with any storms. If a storm can mature enough to produce a tornado, there remains the conditional threat for a strong tornado given the expected favorable overlap of shear and instability and anticipated storm mode. More on this and a breakdown of how things are expected to evolve can be found below. Prior to daybreak west of the I-65 corridor, the anticipation is for an initial shortwave pushing across the area to trigger isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms along a lifting warm front. Overall model guidance has been struggling to keep up with the quality of moisture return this evening, with latest comparisons between CAMs and RTMA analysis and surface observations showing CAM guidance lagging behind by a couple hours on the rate of moisture return overall. This is resulting in differences of anticipated dewpoints being upwards of 3 degrees off compared to reality. This will likely play a role in the magnitude of destabilization overnight. Adjusting for this would lead to the expectation of adequate instability to be in place for the first potential round of severe weather west of the I-65 corridor, starting over interior southeast Mississippi and interior southwest Alabama between 3am and 8am, spreading east to the I-65 corridor by mid to late morning. The expectation at this point is for around 500 to 1,000j/kg of MLCAPE to be present for the entire warm sector prior to daybreak, increasing to 1,500j/kg by mid morning. There will be ample shear in place with latest guidance continuing to depict 200 to 300 m2/s2 of low level SRH yielding large, curved low level hodographs and deep layer shear values approaching 50 knots. 25 to 30 knot storm relative wind along with the magnitude of deep layer shear would support discrete to semi-discrete supercells and perhaps supercell clusters ranging between our local favorite of mini spinnies and more classic supercell structures. Any storms that can develop and mature in this environment could pose the treat for damaging winds and tornadoes, and considering the magnitude of shear and expectation for instability, a strong tornado can not be ruled out. By no means is this going to be a widespread event with modest forcing, but at least an isolated threat for the above hazards is expected at this point. Additionally, any storms that become elevated could pose the threat for small hail during the morning hours. As we head into mid morning attention shifts to the entire area. While our initial shortwave departs there remain subtle pieces of positive vorticity advection within the broader flow that could continue to trigger showers and thunderstorms. The greatest concern at this point appears to be honing in on the I-65 corridor where CAM guidance has been somewhat persistent on the development of a pre- frontal trough/confluence band that would help to bolster the potential for thunderstorm development via a local maximization of low level convergence. The environment will remain favorable for isolated severe thunderstorms capable of all severe hazards including damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes. Low level SRH values diminish to 150 to 200 m2/s2, but low level instability significantly increases with 3CAPE values approaching 150j/kg. Our low level SRI also decreases to near 25kts, favoring mini spinnies as the storm mode. One thing mini spinnies seem to thrive on down here is high low level instability coupled with adequate shear, so it will certainly be something to keep an eye on despite the general lack of better forcing mid to late morning. Given the potential for strong low level stretching owing to the high 3CAPE values and the shear in place, it stands to reason that a conditional threat for a strong tor could continue through the afternoon hours in association with this prefrontal trough activity. As we continue into the afternoon and evening, the main trough begins to generate height falls across the area with a continuation of a favorable environment capable of damaging winds and tornadoes. Instability steadily increases with 3CAPE values approaching 150 to 200j/kg and MLCAPE values increasing to near 2,00j/kg. Deep layer shear increases to 50 to 55 knots while low level SRH sustains itself near 150m2/s2. Our low level jet does weaken somewhat to only 25 knots, however hodographs remain long and slightly curved which should continue to foster an isolated tornado threat. SRI remains rather weak around 25 knots which should continue to promote mini spinnies. If storm mergers occur and help generate larger, more robust updrafts, I could see a large hail threat materialize out of a storm or two. This would be thanks to the generally elongated, somewhat straighter deep layer hodographs, weaker SRI, and more robust instability within the hail growth zone that develops late afternoon into the evening hours. The cold front progresses across the area from west to east during the evening, gradually bringing an end to the severe weather threat by late evening for all of the forecast area. In the wake of the cold front, we quickly dry out and cool off as we head into the day Wednesday through the end of the week. It`s been a while since we`ve seen below normal temperatures, but expect highs to be in the middle to upper 50`s for most locations Thanksgiving and Friday. Overnight lows will be cold, in the middle to upper 30`s for most locations Wednesday night. Our next freeze is anticipated Thursday night as lows dip into the upper 20`s to lower 30`s over the interior and middle to upper 30`s nearer the coast. We begin a gradual warming trend into the weekend and early next week as a warm air advection regime once again takes hold, with our next potential impactful weather system beginning to affect the area as we get into late weekend and early next week with the return of showers and thunderstorms. Details are murky at this point given large variability in the overall progress of upper troughs/shortwaves, however there is a signal for potential severe weather once again as we head into early next week. For local beaches, a Moderate risk of rip currents will continue through Wednesday evening, becoming a low risk Thursday into Friday, with a rapid increase to a Moderate risk by Friday night and High risk Saturday expected. MM/25&& .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1200 AM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 Widespread MVFR to IFR ceilings has steadily been building in across the area this evening, and is expected to persist through the overnight hours. Isolated to scattered showers and storms begin to spread across the area from west to east prior to daybreak, lasting through the afternoon and evening hours today. Storms could be strong to severe with the potential for damaging wind gusts, large hail, and tornadoes. An MVFR ceiling is expected to persist through the day today, improving to VFR outside of showers and storms this afternoon. Winds will remain out of the southeast to south at 5 to 10 knots through daybreak, becoming 10 to 15 knots Tuesday with gusts to near 20 knots at times. Winds shift out of the west to northwest tonight at around 5 to 10 knots in the wake of a cold front. MM/25 && .MARINE... Issued at 1200 AM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 A moderate onshore flow continues ahead of an approaching storm system from the west. A cold front will push through the coastal waters Wednesday morning, with a moderate to strong offshore flow developing in the wake of the front and persisting through Friday. Winds will become more easterly by Saturday, but still in the moderate to strong range, as high pressure moves into the Mid- Atlantic states. A Small Craft Advisory will likely be needed Wednesday night through Thursday morning for most of the marine area. Small Craft will continue to need to exercise caution into the weekend, with the potential for advisory criteria winds to return for portions of the marine area over the weekend. MM/25 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Mobile 77 64 79 59 / 0 20 50 50 Pensacola 76 67 78 65 / 0 20 40 70 Destin 75 67 77 66 / 0 30 30 80 Evergreen 80 60 80 57 / 0 20 60 90 Waynesboro 76 60 78 52 / 0 40 70 60 Camden 76 58 78 55 / 0 20 70 80 Crestview 79 61 80 61 / 0 20 30 80 && .MOB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...None. FL...None. MS...None. GM...None. && $$