Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Jacksonville, FL
Issued by NWS Jacksonville, FL
545
FXUS62 KJAX 050008
AFDJAX
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Jacksonville FL
808 PM EDT Sat Apr 4 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
For the latest NE FL and SE GA Daily Key Messages please visit:
https:/www.weather.gov/media/jax/briefings/nws-jax-briefing.pdf
- High Risk of Rip Currents at All Area Beaches through the Weekend
- Locally Dense Inland Fog Inland Sunday Morning
- Near Record Highs Possible Sunday
- Scattered Thunderstorms Possible from Sunday Afternoon through
Monday
- Strong Onshore Winds & Small Craft Advisory Conditions Next Week
- Extreme to Exceptional Drought Conditions Continue Area-Wide
&&
.UPDATE...
Overall forecast remains on track this evening with only change to
bump up winds slightly Sunday late morning through afternoon ahead
of the approaching cold front. ESE winds 10-15 mph now will diminish
away from the coast and turn southerly overnight with patchy inland
fog. Lows will be in the low 60s inland and mid 60s at the coast.
A cold front will move into the area by the mid to late afternoon
hours with isolated to scattered showers and T`storms forming in the
mid afternoon hours along the Atlantic seabreeze near I-95. Winds of
5-10 mph from the SSE will become SW 8-15 mph in the afternoon with
SE winds behind the Atlantic pinned seabreeze. Highs will reach near
record levels in the upper 80s to near 90 degrees with partly cloudy
skies trending mostly cloudy by late afternoon.
&&
.NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/...
Main Highlights through Tonight:
- High Risk of Rip Current Risk at the local Beaches This Weekend.
- Near Record Inland High Temperatures This Weekend.
- Patchy inland fog possible again late tonight.
Rest of Today: High pressure ridge axis from the Atlantic will
remain across the region with an East to Southeast steering flow and
continued above normal temps with highs around 80F at the Atlantic
beaches and well into the 80s over inland areas at near record
levels. Breezy East to Southeast winds will develop around 15 mph
behind the East Coast sea breeze with gusts to 20-25 mph at times.
Lingering moisture aloft with PWATs of 1.25-1.50" across inland SE
GA and the Suwannee Valley may be just enough to trigger a late day
and/or evening shower and/or thunderstorm in these areas, but much
less activity is expected versus yesterday. Otherwise partly to
mostly sunny and warm conditions will dominate the local area.
Tonight: High pressure ridge axis get shunted slightly southward
ahead of the approaching cool front pushing across the SE US states
which will slowly shift the steering flow towards the SW by morning.
Mostly clear skies are still expected after sunset and any far
inland isolated convection fades a few hours after sunset. Southeast
winds around 10 mph this evening become south and decrease to 5 mph
or less by the overnight hours, and while some patchy/areas of fog
are expected by the late night hours, the slight uptick in winds
towards morning should keep any dense fog localized in nature, so
dense fog advisory chances remain low at this time. Low temps will
fall into the lower 60s inland, with middle 60s expected along the
Atlantic coast.
&&
.SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/...
Main Highlights This Period:
- Thunderstorm potential for both Sunday and Monday
- Near Record Highs Possible Sunday
- Cooler with breezy onshore flow developing Monday
Southwesterly flow develops on Sunday as high pressure pushes
further into the Atlantic, bringing warmer temps (widespread 80s)
all the way to the coast. More moisture will be available in the
low/mid levels Sunday, and therefore chances for showers and
t`storms will return as a result. Main areas to watch will be over
inland southeast GA with the diurnal heating closer to the
approaching frontal boundary, and closer to the I-95 corridor to the
coast where the Gulf sea breeze collides with the nearly pinned
Atlantic breeze. Upper dynamics are quite lackluster, though a few
strong storms cannot be ruled out with gusty downbursts the main
hazard as some pockets of dry air linger aloft. A few showers and
perhaps an isolated storm linger overnight Sunday Night as the
frontal boundary moves through, with veering flow towards the
northwest to north throughout the night. Morning lows will be mild
in the upper 50s to mid 60s as the front moves through, with high
temperatures for Monday in some areas possibly occurring around or
just after midnight Sunday Night.
Northeasterly flow strengthens Monday, especially near the coast and
across most of northeast FL under mainly cloudy and much cooler
conditions compared to the weekend. High pressure ridging will not
reach its peak on Monday as the cold front will slow forward
progress just south of the region. Therefore, this will result in a
breezy flow, but likely not enough for any wind advisory type
criteria. Still, sustained winds in the 10-20 range with gusts up to
30 mph will be expected for most by Monday afternoon. Chance to
likely PoPs will also be expected across central and southern
portions of the area with the slowing front and enough moisture
available, though plenty of cloud cover will limit instability and
therefore only a few isolated t`storms will be possible. As
mentioned above, much cooler highs mainly in the 70s will be
expected, though some upper 60s will be possible or areas closer to
the coast most exposed to the northeast. Min temps Monday Night will
run generally in the mid 50s to low 60s.
&&
.LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
Main Highlights This Period:
-Strong onshore flow next week, with elevated winds along the coast
and inland locations
Pressure gradient increases for Tuesday as surface ridging
strengthens, and a shortwave trough pushing southeast aloft induces
surface low pressure well to our southeast. This trend likely
continues through most of the week as surface high pressure moves
very little through this time frame. The gradient looks to finally
start to relax by late week and heading into next weekend, but not
before several days of beach/marine hazards as well as windy
advisory potential near the coast and parts of northeast FL.
Temperatures overall trend below normal for the long term, though
starting to rebound closer to normal towards Friday/early next
weekend.
&&
.AVIATION /00Z SUNDAY THROUGH 00Z MONDAY/...
For the 00Z TAF period, conditions will be VFR through 08Z with
onshore ESE winds around 10-15 knots through 02Z with gusts to 15-20
knots under few to scattered low to mid level based cumulus clouds.
Thereafter, patchy fog will gradually develop away from the coast
under mostly clear skies with MVFR fog expected at VQQ and GNV by
08Z with tempo restrictions for IFR/LIFR fog 09Z to 13Z. VFR
conditions return by 14Z as sunshine and winds lift the fog.
Bermuda ridge axis will move southeast of the area as a cold front
approaches from the NW Sunday with light winds overnight turning
southerly, then becoming SW 8-10 knots after 14Z and increasing to
10-12 knots by midday as the front moves closer. The Atlantic
seabreeze will remain near the coast, but turn winds south to
southeasterly in the early afternoon hours. Increasing moisture
ahead of the front and more instability will create afternoon
showers with isolated to scattered T`storms forming along the
Atlantic seabreeze from SSI southward to SGJ including the duval
county terminals in the mid to late afternoon hours, but VFR
ceilings expected to remain.
&&
.MARINE...
Ahead of an approaching cool front, onshore winds will veer
southerly across the waters tonight through Sunday. The slowing
front will gradually move north to south through the waters Sunday
night bringing showers and isolated thunderstorms as the front
stalls through Monday. In the wake of the front, high pressure will
build to the north resulting in strengthening northeasterly winds
Monday night and the onset of a multi-day period of strong onshore
winds throughout next week, likely requiring an extended Small Craft
Advisory. Much stronger high pressure will wedge along the coast
Wednesday resulting in further strengthening and potential for gales
and seas building potentially up to 15 feet across the waters. As
high pressure breaks away from the eastern seaboard late in the
week, onshore winds will begin to relax.
Rip Currents:
Latest buoys and beach reports showing surf/breakers into the 3-5
feet range late this morning and will upgrade both NE FL/SE GA
beaches to a high risk through the remainder of the holiday weekend
as more folks likely to enter the surf zone due to the near record
warmth in place. It is very likely, that surf will become life-
threatening next week as strong onshore winds and high surf develops
and a high risk of rips will continue as well.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
- High Afternoon Dispersions Inland Se Ga Sunday
- Near Critical Min Rh Over Interior Ga Tuesday
High pressure will continue to slowly shift eastward further into
the Atlantic today with a southeasterly flow persisting. Slightly
drier air at the low/mid levels will limit shower/t`storm potential
to very isolated for far inland areas today, with this drier air
also resulting in minRH in the 30s across most areas west of about
the I-95 corridor. A frontal boundary will approach the area Sunday
and move through Sunday Night, which will bring more of a southwest
flow except near the coast and the return of shower & t`storm
chances, especially over inland GA and near the I-95 corridor to the
coast where the best convergence is expected. Areas of high
dispersions will be likely across inland southeast GA ahead of the
front where the strongest low/mid level winds are expected. Much
stronger high pressure builds in from the north for Monday and
remains persistent through mid week, returning breezy onshore winds
and mostly cloudy conditions with chances for showers the closer to
the coast you go. Despite the stronger flow near the surface, the
cloudiness and shower chances will lower expected dispersions
accordingly for at least Monday, trending upward thereafter towards
mid week.
FOG POTENTIAL AND OTHER REMARKS: Patchy inland fog potential each
morning this weekend.
&&
.CLIMATE...
Record High Temperatures for Saturday 4/4:
KJAX: 90/2011
KCRG: 88/2012
KGNV: 91/1974
KAMG: 90/1963
Record High Temperatures for Sunday 4/5:
KJAX: 91/2017
KCRG: 91/2017
KGNV: 91/2025
KAMG: 90/2023
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AMG 61 86 58 75 / 10 40 40 20
SSI 64 81 62 69 / 10 50 50 40
JAX 62 88 62 72 / 0 40 30 50
SGJ 64 86 64 73 / 0 30 40 60
GNV 61 89 62 78 / 0 20 10 60
OCF 62 89 62 81 / 0 30 20 60
&&
.JAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...High Risk for Rip Currents through late Sunday night for FLZ124-125-
138-233-333.
GA...High Risk for Rip Currents through late Sunday night for GAZ154-166.
MARINE...None.
&&
$$