Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
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825 FXUS62 KFFC 030728 AFDFFC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 228 AM EST Tue Mar 3 2026 ...New 06Z Aviation Discussion... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 136 AM EST Tue Mar 3 2026 - Cloudy and cooler conditions, particularly across northeast GA, will be felt through Tuesday due to a building CAD wedge. - Much warmer temperatures return from Wednesday through the weekend. - Increasing chances for showers and storms from late week through the weekend. && .SHORT TERM... (This afternoon through Tuesday) Issued at 245 PM EST Mon Mar 2 2026 Over the course of the day today, flow at the mid-levels will continue to become quasi-zonal, with a strong (1039+ mb) surface high moving into place across New England. As it does so, the U- shaped isobars characteristic of the wedge have begun to spread southward along the lee side of the Appalachians. Low cloud cover will be slow to increase given dry onset, with peak coverage likely from daybreak to early afternoon on Tuesday before gradual scattering begins from the southwest tomorrow afternoon/evening. Weakly cooler air will continue to overspread the typical wedge regime areas (generally north and east of the I-75/I-20 interchange), with impacts strongest on Tuesday despite the lack of meaningful reinforcing precipitation. Highs this afternoon will be in the 70s for all but the sliver of the forecast area under thickest cloud cover and most prominent easterly flow -- the far north Atlanta Metro, east to Athens, and then northeast through the terrain of northeast Georgia -- which is likely to remain in the upper 50s to 60s. Models typically struggle with wedge regimes, especially outside of true, moist cool season setups, and discrepancies exist amongst the NBM and higher resolution models. Have opted to blend in some cooler guidance to account for the likelihood of punctuated warming under cloudy (albeit dry) conditions on Tuesday -- highs will likely remain in the 50s to near 60 within the wedge airmass, rising into the 60s to near 70 outside of it. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday morning through next Sunday) Issued at 245 PM EST Mon Mar 2 2026 Much Warmer Temperatures Return: The main story from mid week through the weekend will be temperatures, as deep south-southwest flow brings an increasingly warm and humid airmass into Georgia. This flow will be driven by a highly amplified synoptic pattern, with a strong ridge building over the East Coast / Western Atlantic, and broad mid-level troughing over the Western and Central US. Wednesday will be a bit of a transition day, as the shallow wedge of cooler air gets eroded by the advection of warm and humid air within southerly flow. High temps will climb to the mid to upper 70s across the area, with low 80s in central GA. As the ridge strengthens on Thursday, stronger southwest flow will bring an even warmer airmass up from the Gulf, with highs likely in the 80s across the area. These very warm temps (15-20F above normal) will remain in the area through the weekend, with a decent chance for some daily records to be broken depending on cloud cover and showers/storms. Increasing Rain Chances Through The Weekend: It will certainly feel like Spring on Thursday, as south- southwest flow brings in much more humid air with dewpoints rising to the upper 50s to low 60s across the area. This moisture is one ingredient for showers and storms that we will not be lacking through the weekend. A source of lift is an ingredient that looks like it will be harder to come by, at least through Friday, as the latest model guidance has started to trend towards the ridge axis setting up closer to Georgia. With this setup, the ridge will keep any shortwaves or fronts ejecting out of the Central US off to our north. Still, we could see isolated showers or storms develop with sufficient moisture and mild instability on Thursday and Friday. As for over the weekend, ensemble guidance starts to show a bit more spread, with some keeping the ridge in place, and others having the ridge shift east and weaken. At this time, a higher percentage of the guidance is showing the latter, which would support higher chances for showers and storms and a non-zero severe threat. Given the latest trends and the omega-block style synoptic pattern developing, it wouldn`t be surprising if the ridge held in place longer than guidance is showing, which would keep only isolated showers and storms around through the weekend. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 136 AM EST Tue Mar 3 2026 Low ceilings moving in across the TAF sites this morning. These low ceilings associated with the CAD wedge building into NE GA. These Low ceilings will continue through most of the day but will see them SCT out late afternoon as the wedge begins to loose strength. Low ceilings may build back in early Wed morning but they will be short lived. Winds will stay mainly out of the E in the 8-12kt range. No precipitation or restrictions to VSBYs expected. //ATL Confidence...06Z Update... Confidence high on all elements 01 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 62 49 76 55 / 0 0 0 0 Atlanta 65 52 78 58 / 0 0 0 0 Blairsville 59 45 74 50 / 0 0 0 0 Cartersville 65 52 79 57 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 75 53 81 58 / 0 0 0 0 Gainesville 59 49 76 54 / 0 0 0 0 Macon 72 52 79 57 / 0 0 0 0 Rome 69 53 83 57 / 0 0 0 0 Peachtree City 68 51 78 56 / 0 0 0 0 Vidalia 74 55 81 58 / 0 0 0 0 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...96 LONG TERM....Culver AVIATION...01