Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
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300 FXUS62 KFFC 061059 AFDFFC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 659 AM EDT Sun Sep 6 2026 ...New 12Z Aviation Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... - A Heat Advisory remains in effect across most of north and central Georgia through this evening due to well above normal temperatures and heat index values in the triple digits. - Numerous thunderstorms will develop across the area this afternoon and evening. Several storms may be severe with damaging wind gusts, frequent lightning, and heavy rainfall. - Cooler temperatures and scattered rain showers move in on Monday, with low rain chances and gradually warming temperatures to follow through late week. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Monday) Issued at 208 AM EDT Sun Sep 6 2026 Heat Concerns and Severe Thunderstorm Potential Today: A warm and humid airmass remains pooled over the area, with temperatures climbing from the 70s this morning to the mid to upper 90s this afternoon. A Heat Advisory is in effect for most of the area through this evening as heat index values will again peak in the 100-105F range. Please be sure to take precautions if you are out in the heat! Over the course of the day, a mid-level shortwave and associated surface `cold` front will drop across the Southern Appalachians and into our area. The strong forcing from these features combined with the humid and unstable airmass in place will support numerous showers and storms this afternoon and evening. Given that MLCAPE values are forecast to be around 2500-3000 J/kg with steep low-level lapse rates and increasing effective shear of 20-25kts, several storms will likely be severe. We could see initially discrete storms eventually form into a longer-lived line by the evening hours. Any severe storms would be capable of producing damaging wind gusts, quarter-size hail, frequent lightning, and locally heavy rainfall. SPC has noted this severe weather threat with a Slight Risk (Level 2 of 5) covering most of our area. Another threat we will have to watch out for is localized flash flooding in urban and poor-drainage areas due to the potential for repeated rounds of storms with efficient rainfall rates. Cooler Temperatures and Rain Showers on Monday: Following the frontal boundary this evening, a cooler airmass will spread across the area overnight into Monday within east-northeast flow. This wedge-like pattern of breezy easterly winds and cloudy skies will make things feel much cooler than recent days, and high temperatures will struggle to get out of the low to mid 80s across most of the area. While the airmass will be cooler, the drier air will not move in until Monday night. So, we will likely still have enough forcing, moisture, and instability to support isolated to scattered rain showers or weak thunderstorms across the area. && .LONG TERM... (Monday night through Saturday) Issued at 208 AM EDT Sun Sep 6 2026 The long term beings with a mid-level ridge centered over the Southern Plains building eastward toward our area through the first part of next week. A backdoor `cold` front will push through the CWA on Monday, setting up a modified wedge pattern over the area with breezy east to northeast winds through mid-week. We can expect a decent reduction in our daytime high temperatures, ranging from the mid 70s in our mountain counties to the low-to- mid 80s elsewhere, followed by a warming trend back into the upper 80s to lower 90s through the remainder of the week. As the ridge continues to migrate eastward through mid-week, we can expect a general reduction in shower and thunderstorm chances across the northern and central areas, with isolated to scattered afternoon thunderstorms confined mostly south of a line from Columbus to Macon, where greater instability remains. For the second half of the week, the mid-level ridge will retrograde back to the west, allowing an increase in gulf moisture and instability as surface winds shift back toward the southwest. This will also allow for an increase in diurnal thunderstorm chances area-wide as we move into next weekend. && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 652 AM EDT Sun Sep 6 2026 VFR conditions to start the period across most of the area, with only some patchy fog around. CU fields of 4-5kft develop this afternoon with SCT-NUM SHRA/TSRA around the area through the evening hours. Storms may be strong to severe with gusty and erratic winds. Outside of SHRA/TSRA, winds light out of the NW at 4-7kts. After 06Z Monday, winds turn out of the east and become gusty, and widespread IFR CIGs move in. These will be very slow to lift and scatter during the day on Monday. //ATL Confidence...12Z Update... Medium on TSRA timing. Medium on low CIGs tonight. High on other elements. Culver && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 97 69 84 68 / 50 50 60 10 Atlanta 97 73 86 71 / 50 50 40 10 Blairsville 89 65 79 62 / 30 20 30 10 Cartersville 97 72 87 70 / 30 20 30 0 Columbus 98 74 92 73 / 50 40 40 20 Gainesville 94 70 82 68 / 40 40 40 10 Macon 96 72 87 70 / 50 60 50 30 Rome 97 71 88 70 / 20 20 30 0 Peachtree City 97 71 87 70 / 50 50 50 20 Vidalia 96 72 87 71 / 60 60 80 30 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for GAZ001>005-011>013- 019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-089>098-102>113. && $$ SHORT TERM...Culver LONG TERM....82 AVIATION...Culver