Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
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513 FXUS62 KFFC 181841 AFDFFC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 141 PM EST Tue Nov 18 2025 ...Afternoon Area Forecast Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... - 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 across north Georgia Tuesday night and region wide Saturday, but improvements to the ongoing drought situation are unlikely as a result. && .SHORT TERM... (This afternoon through Wednesday) Issued at 122 PM EST Tue Nov 18 2025 Rain Chances Tonight & Wednesday Morning: Don`t get to excited by the section descriptor, if you live south of Interstate 20 rain is not something you should anticipate. For those north of Interstate 20 (mainly the mountains) a trough moving through the Ohio Valley and a weak front may generate some modest rainfall between 10 PM tonight and noon on Wednesday. The best rain chances (50-60%) are expected between 1 AM and 7 AM. MUCAPE in the 200 to 500 J/kg range suggests the potential for a couple of lightning strikes. Severe weather is not anticipated, especially with the instability being elevated. Rain showers should decrease in coverage quickly on Wednesday morning. Peak rainfall accumulations in the 0.10 to 0.25 inch range are possible, though the vast majority of north Georgia will see lower amounts (0.10 inches or less). Near Record High Temperatures Wednesday: Despite some morning cloud cover high temperatures will lean heavily towards anomalous warmth on Wednesday. Widespread afternoon highs that are 12 to 18 degrees above average have been in the forecast, and they remain in the forecast with this afternoons update. This should translate to upper 70s in north Georgia and lower 80s in central Georgia. Places like Atlanta and Athens should be with in 2 to 4 degrees of record highs Wednesday afternoon. The record high in Atlanta for the date is 80 degrees from 1942, and the NBM gives the city a 28% chance to reach or exceed this value. We`ll probably need morning cloud cover to be limited to have a chance. Macon and Columbus should approach record highs as well, though the odds suggest we won`t break these records either (34% chance in Macon 20% chance in Columbus). && .LONG TERM... (Thursday morning through next Monday) Issued at 122 PM EST Tue Nov 18 2025 The extended periods start off with weak ridging keeping things dry but that will be short lived. High pressure centered off the SC/GA coast keeps a warm frontal boundary north of the state through early Fri morning. This ridging will allow temps to reach into the upper 70s to the lower 80s across much of the area Thu and Fri. We will be on the lookout for record breaking day time highs, with all 4 climate sites (ATL, AHN, CSG, MCN) either forecasted to break the record or tie/approach the record. Temps expected to be 15-20 degrees above seasonal norms. By Thu afternoon...the next frontal system will be developing over the southern plains as a closed low centered deepens over northern TX and OK through Friday morning. Its associated cold front will push into the lower to mid MS river valley Thu night with the deeper moisture knocking on NW Georgia`s doorstep shortly after sunrise Fri. Warm moist SW flow sets up ahead of this frontal boundary with will also help increase those daytime highs Friday. Looks like showers will begin to push into NW GA around Mid day slowly moving SE across the region through Saturday night. We should mainly see showers and isolated thunderstorms with this system as instability indices are really not that great with this system. Anticipating some gusty winds along the front with any stronger storms but not expecting any severe weather. Things clear out again for Sunday with increasing clouds again Monday ahead of the next frontal boundary developing across the southern plains. QPF values are in the 0.25" to 0.75" with the Fri/Sat system with north Georgia likely to see the higher amounts. This front does dry out a bit as it moves SE, so Central Georgia will only see 0.1" or less and some locations may not see anything at all. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1232 PM EST Tue Nov 18 2025 VFR conditions (FEW to SCT AOA 4000 ft AGL & unrestricted visibility) will continue through 03Z Wednesday. Winds during this time range will be from the south (170 to 210 degrees) at 2 to 8 kt. MVFR ceilings (1500 to 3000 ft AGL) will gradually build into north Georgia after 03Z Wednesday. Visibility restrictions may occur in the north Georgia mountains due to rain showers between 06Z and 15Z Wednesday. West winds (3 to 10 kt from 250 to 290 degrees) will develop for all after 14Z Wednesday. //ATL Confidence...18Z Update... Moderate confidence in all elements of the KATL TAF. Albright && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 52 77 54 78 / 10 20 0 0 Atlanta 56 77 58 79 / 10 10 0 0 Blairsville 49 70 51 72 / 60 30 0 0 Cartersville 56 76 55 79 / 30 20 0 10 Columbus 53 81 57 83 / 0 0 0 0 Gainesville 54 75 55 77 / 30 30 0 0 Macon 50 81 56 82 / 0 0 0 0 Rome 59 79 56 80 / 60 20 0 10 Peachtree City 54 79 56 81 / 10 10 0 0 Vidalia 51 82 57 83 / 0 0 0 0 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Albright LONG TERM....01 AVIATION...Albright