Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Greer, SC

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207 FXUS62 KGSP 041840 AFDGSP Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC 240 PM EDT Tue Jun 4 2024 .SYNOPSIS... Scattered showers and thunderstorms are on tap with afternoon storms persisting into Thursday. Dry air will mix in Friday and persist into the weekend with a small chance of mainly mountain thunderstorms returning for Sunday afternoon. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
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As of 202 PM EDT Tuesday: GSP finds itself beneath a weak upper ridge this afternoon, with convection just firing up across the area. The synoptic setup will remain largely unchanged through the duration of the near term, with the Carolinas ensconced in a strengthening warm advective regime. Heights will fall ever-so-gently aloft in response to a deepening upper low over Manitoba and peripheral shortwave trough sliding up the central Ohio Valley. As the localized ridge axis drifts east of the area, high pressure over the west Atlantic will intensify and drive ever more moisture into the forecast area. All the action today will come from mesoscale elements. This afternoon, basically all the CAMs depict some flavor of 1200-1600 J/kg sbCAPE across the region, in advance of a remnant MCV drifting out of TN. So that will manifest as continuing scattered convection, triggering especially over the NC mountains, during the early/mid afternoon, followed by the arrival of a somewhat more organized line picking up out of Georgia in the late afternoon and evening hours. Generally speaking, lapse rates will be poor and deep layer shear minimal, but where there`s organization associated with the MCV, a some strong storms - perhaps even a severe - can`t be ruled out. Isolated heavy rain will also be a concern, with RAP profiles indicating 1.6-1.9" PWs...but flow aloft will be strong enough to keep storms moving, so only in locations where multiple cells train will there be problems. Tonight, another round of fog is expected, for the mountain valleys and for any locations that receive appreciable rainfall this afternoon and evening. Some light sprinkles may linger well into the overnight, but should become less in coverage and intensity as the night progresses. Kind of like this morning, a few early morning showers can be expected over the Upstate and southern NC mountains Wednesday, but impacts are expected to be minimal. The bulk of CAMs then depict another round of scattered showers and thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon, in an environment of better instability and synoptic support than today`s, but similarly paltry shear. Severe risk looks overall a little higher on Wednesday compared to today, owing to the stronger forcing and better instability.
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&& .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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As of 2:25 PM Tuesday...the short-term fcst picks up at 00z on Thursday with a fairly robust upper shortwave approaching the Western Carolinas from the west. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, the shortwave will move thru our area and then offshore as broader upper level trofing morphs into a large, closed h5 low centered over the Great Lakes. At the sfc, another moist cold front will be moving into our fcst area from the west as the period begins. The front will move thru early Thursday and is expected to be moving off the coast by late Thursday. It will likely produce sct to numerous showers and thunderstorms on Thursday across our CWA, however most of the model guidance continues to depict weak low to mid-level lapse rates. Thus, the severe potential appears to minimal at best. In its wake, broad but fairly weak high pressure will gradually spread over our area on Friday and linger into the weekend keeping us dry for the latter half of the period.
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&& .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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As of 2:15 PM Tuesday...the extended forecast picks up at 00z on Saturday with a broad upper trof having morphed into an h5 low centered over the eastern Great Lakes. Over the next few days, the upper low will get reinforced from the NW with additional upper level energy and become larger. By early next week, the low begins to open back up to the mean flow as the western peri- phery of the low dives southward. This will allow the upper low/ trof axis to translate over our area by the end of the period next Tuesday. At the sfc, broad but fairly weak high pressure will be spreading over the Southeast as the period begins late Friday. The is expected to be transitory and weaken/move off the Atlantic Coast on Saturday. On Sunday, low pressure well to our north will move a weak/moist cold front to our doorstep from the NW. This boundary is expected to linger over our area into early next week. As it does, most of the long-range guidance has multiple weak lows trying to spin up over our area along what`s left of the boundary. As for the sensible wx, I expect mostly dry conditions for Saturday with a return to more diurnally-driven climo PoPs for the rest of the period.
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&& .AVIATION /19Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... At KCLT and elsewhere: A complex aviation forecast sets up for this afternoon and tonight as multiple rounds of convection hit the area. Already, scattered cells are popping up over the NC mountains near KAVL and surrounding sites. Most hi-res guidance agrees that scattered to numerous shower and thunderstorm coverage will expand across the entire terminal forecast area. Some guidance suggests a well-defined line will lift up out of Georgia late this evening...such that at least for the Upstate terminals, convection will last well past sundown. Overnight, areas which received ample rainfall can expect MVFR to IFR vis restrictions...as well as widespread IFR ceilings. More recent runs of the HRRR now support some additional predawn showers, mainly across the Upstate terminals and KAVL. Diurnal convection is expected once again on Wednesday, possibly a little delayed compared to today. Outlook: Coverage of diurnal convection is expected to increase Wednesday evening as a frontal boundary moves into the region. Morning low clouds and fog will also be possible Thursday morning. Drier air will filter into the area Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, reducing chances for convection and restrictions, with relatively dry conditions continuing into the weekend. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...None. NC...None. SC...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...DEO NEAR TERM...MPR SHORT TERM...JPT LONG TERM...JPT AVIATION...MPR