Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Melbourne, FL

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226
FXUS62 KMLB 020520
AFDMLB

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Melbourne FL
1220 AM EST Fri Jan 2 2026

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Issued at 224 PM EST Thu Jan 1 2026

- Gradually warmer into the weekend, with daytime temperatures
  reaching the mid 70s on Saturday.

- Breezy on Saturday, before a cold front arrives Saturday night
  into Sunday, bringing the chance of showers.

- Favorable boating conditions forecast into late week, but
  conditions then deteriorate into the weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 224 PM EST Thu Jan 1 2026

Tonight-Friday...High pressure centered across the central Gulf
shifts eastward and across Florida into tomorrow, with dry
conditions persisting. W/NW winds 10-15 mph this afternoon will
diminish, becoming light and variable after sunset. Lighter winds
combined with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies from increasing
cirrus clouds will again lead to favorable radiational cooling
conditions tonight. Temperatures will drop quickly after sunset, and
while lows tonight will still be several degrees below normal, they
will not be as cold as they were this morning. Min temps will mostly
be in the low to mid 40s, but normally colder locations NW of I-4
and south of Orlando eastward toward Vero Beach and Fort Pierce may
see temps briefly dip down into the upper 30s toward daybreak
Friday. Can`t completely rule out some patchy frost development in
these areas, but coverage looks to be fairly limited. Patchy fog
may also be possible late tonight into early Friday, but HREF
guidance keeps overall probabilities of fog formation pretty low
(at or below 20%). After sunrise, temperatures will quickly
climb, with afternoon highs closer to normal values in the low
70s. Lows into Friday night will continue the warming trend,
ranging from the mid 40s to low 50s.

Saturday-Sunday...Low pressure moving east-northeast through the
Southeast U.S. Saturday will eventually drag a weak cold front
through the area Sunday. Moisture will increase ahead of the front
leading to rising rain chances Saturday night into early Sunday as
front approaches Florida and moves through the region. Dry
conditions are forecast to prevail through much of the day Saturday,
with PoPs then increasing to 40-60% from Osceola/Brevard counties
northward and 20-30% across Okeechobee County and the Treasure Coast
Saturday night. Isolated to scattered showers will spread across the
area and weaken as front shifts south. Any instability looks to
remain very weak over land, but may see a few storms across the
waters ahead of and with the frontal passage where more CAPE will be
present. Lingering rain chances up to 20-30 percent then persist
toward the coast from the Cape southward inland toward Okeechobee
County Sunday morning before drier air continues to move in
through Sunday afternoon.

Highs climb into the mid 70s Saturday and then fall slightly into
the upper 60s to low 70s near to north of Orlando Sunday as front
begins to move through. Farther south, max temps are still forecast
to reach the mid to upper 70s depending on exact timing of the
passage of the front. Lows drop from the mid 50s to low 60s Saturday
night to low to mid 50s behind the front into Sunday night.

Monday-Thursday...(Previous Discussion) Surface high pressure is
forecast to develop early next week near the Carolinas, then drift
offshore off of the Southeast US coast, where it looks to linger
through at least mid-week. Onshore or southeast flow is expected
through Thursday, remaining around 10 mph or less. Temperatures will
continue to climb, even becoming slightly above normal across the
area by Wednesday. High temperatures in the 70s, as lows cool to the
50s. Mostly dry conditions are forecast, though even PWATs near 1"
and onshore flow, would not be surprised to see at least low shower
chances continue along the coast through much of the period.

&&

.MARINE...
Issued at 224 PM EST Thu Jan 1 2026

High pressure centered over the Gulf shifts east and across the area
into late week, generating favorable boating conditions. W/NW winds
up to 10-15 knots tonight will diminish to 5-10 knots Friday, with
seas 2-4 feet tonight falling to 2-3 feet tomorrow. Low pressure
moving through the Southeast U.S. Saturday will eventually drag a
weak cold front through the region on Sunday. This will lead to
deteriorating boating conditions this weekend, with SW winds
increasing to 15-25 knots through Saturday afternoon, veering to
W/SW Saturday night as the front approaches. This will build seas up
to 5-6 feet offshore through early Sunday. Winds become N/NW behind
the front Sunday, around 15-20 knots, maintaining seas up to 4-6
feet and continuing poor boating conditions.

High pressure north of the front and across the Mid-Atlantic will
shift offshore into early next week, with winds diminishing to 5-10
knots and veering onshore. Seas are forecast to linger up to 6 feet
over the Gulf Stream waters Monday, but then seas fall to 3-5 feet
on Tuesday.

Dry conditions are forecast to persist across the waters through
late week into Saturday. Isolated to scattered showers and a few
storms will then be possible Saturday night into Sunday ahead of and
along the front, with isolated showers persisting across the waters
into early next week.

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFs)
Issued at 1220 AM EST Fri Jan 2 2026

VFR conds prevail. Low (20%) chance we experience brief dips due
to ground fog early this morning at a few terminals - will monitor
and AMD if needed. Otherwise, light winds become WSW up to 10 KT
today, then slowly turn southerly < 5 KT overnight into Sat AM.
Expecting some mid/high cloud cover and perhaps some cu from 4-5
KFT this afternoon.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 224 PM EST Thu Jan 1 2026

High pressure builds eastward from the central Gulf to across
Florida through late week, with temperatures gradually rising back
toward more normal values. Rain chances remain out of the
forecast through the daytime Saturday, but will return into
Saturday night and Sunday with the passage of a cold front this
weekend. Min RH values gradually recover into Friday and Saturday,
with values forecast to remain above critical values. Dispersion
will be good to very good near and north of I-4 Friday, though
portions of the Treasure Coast are forecast to see only fair
dispersion Friday afternoon due to lighter transport winds. As
transport winds increase into Saturday, dispersion values will
become very good to excellent.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DAB  69  51  75  57 /   0   0  20  60
MCO  70  52  75  61 /   0   0  10  50
MLB  71  51  76  58 /   0   0   0  40
VRB  70  48  75  56 /   0   0   0  30
LEE  70  52  75  59 /   0   0  20  60
SFB  70  51  76  59 /   0   0  10  50
ORL  70  52  75  60 /   0   0  10  50
FPR  71  47  75  56 /   0   0   0  30

&&

.MLB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...None.
AM...None.
&&

$$

DISCUSSION...Weitlich
AVIATION...Heil