850
FXUS62 KFFC 120745
AFDFFC

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
345 AM EDT Sun May 12 2024


...Morning Area Forecast Discussion...

.SHORT TERM...
(Today through Monday)
Issued at 345 AM EDT Sun May 12 2024

Key Messages:

 - Fair weather will prevail in the region today.

 - Cloudy skies, cooler temperatures and scattered light rain
showers are expected Monday.

Today & Monday:

Upper level ridging and a surface high will bring benign weather to
the region today. The core of the surface high will be closer to us
today (compared to Saturday) and this will result in lighter winds
this afternoon. Northwest winds between 4 and 8 mph can be expected.
Light and variable winds will develop tonight as the boundary layer
decouples and the surface high settles over Georgia.

An approaching trough will bring significant changes to Georgia`s
weather on Monday. Cloud cover will return in force tonight as
southwesterly follow in the mid and upper levels brings a surge of
moisture northward. By Monday morning isentropic lift associated
with a weak mid level trough (ahead of the larger shortwave in the
Plains) could produce light rain showers. Any accumulations through
Monday morning should be less than 0.25 inches. A relative minimum
in precipitation potential is expected Monday afternoon before
widespread rain showers and thunderstorm build back in Monday
evening/night (associated with lift from the parent trough and a low
level jet). Shifts in the forecast towards greater rain chances and
more cloud cover have introduced a significant amount of uncertainty
into the high temperature forecast for Monday afternoon. Below
average high temperatures are likely (>90% chance), but the spread
in the NBM guidance is quite large. For the Atlanta area the spread
between the 25th and 75th percentile MaxT`s is 7 degrees (69 to 76
degrees). Similar large spreads exist for the rest of northern and
central Georgia. Our deterministic forecast remains close the the 50
percentile of the NBM and favors a highs in the lower 70s for most
of northern and central Georgia.

Albright

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Monday night through Saturday)
Issued at 345 AM EDT Sun May 12 2024

The long term forecast looks quite wet overall with a parade of lows
within the southern branch of the jet moving past the CWA through
the end of the week (and possibly even into early next week, but
that is beyond the scope of this forecast). The forecast picks up
Monday night with rain likely ongoing across the CWA. Upper level
cut off low with begin to progress eastward, albeit slowly, and
initial upper level divergence will have overspread the CWA.
Isentropic lift over a theta-e gradient should provide for
widespread rain showers through the night, though some elevated
instability may provide for a few rumbles of thunder.

As the low progresses east, but upper level support will arrive with
moderate jet streak overspreading the CWA on Tuesday. Ensemble
guidance paints a decent probability space for the intersection of
instability, shear, and precipitation over the CWA, with highest
probabilities in central GA, decreasing as you move into north GA.
This feels appropriate, and the northward extent may be overdone
overall. Models will typically struggle with the rain based
reinforcement of the surface boundary attempting to lift north as a
mass response to the surface low, and generally these boundaries
will remain further south than forecast. In simpler terms, the
further south the surface based warm, moist air from the Gulf
remains, the lower the overall severe threat for our area. Looking
at hodographs and overall model forecast soundings, primary threat
would likely be wind and maybe hail. SW surface winds will make
ingestion of streamwise vorticity a bit more challenging, keeping
tornado threat low for now. Better examination will be had in the
short term guidance as Tuesday evening comes into range.

The trade off of a lower severe threat may be an elevated
flooding/flash flooding risk, especially if that boundary sits in
the same location further south and provides a source for
repeated lifting of air parcels. Central Georgia would once again
be the primary candidate for this, though the sandy soils can take
a bit more rain before it becomes a problem. Current forecast QPF
over this time period is 2- 4" with locally higher amounts in
central GA, and 1-2" across north GA including metro Atlanta. 6 hr
flash flood guidance is generally 4" or higher across much of
central GA, so any threat may be driven by more convective
elements and/or training of cells over the area.

The system clears out through Wednesday morning, and we should see
some clearing through Thursday before the next system approaches the
area. Model trends seem to be slowing this system a bit, pushing the
overall timing of rain into Friday. This is another slower moving
system, and both the GEFS and EPS probabilities of rain are
relatively high through the weekend. Details of what exactly this
looks like are bit more fuzzy, though the deterministic suite shows
a stalled boundary over the CWA that appears to be the focus of most
of the rainfall. This is a bit of a concerning signal given we may
have some heavier rainfall on the front end of the week, but
certainly too early with too much uncertainty to ring any flooding
alarm bells just yet.

Lusk

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 210 AM EDT Sun May 12 2024

VFR conditions (SKC to SCT AOA 5000 ft AGL and unrestricted
visibility) should prevail through 06Z Monday, then MVFR/IFR
conditions (ceilings between 600 an 2000 ft AGL) may mix in over
western Georgia. Scattered showers could occur after 06Z Monday.
Light northwest winds (2 to 8 kt) are expected through 01Z Monday,
after which point light and variable (0 to 3 kt) winds should
prevail.

//ATL Confidence...06Z Update...
Overall confidence in the KATL TAF is high for all elements.

Albright

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Athens          80  56  73  60 /   0   0  70  90
Atlanta         80  60  70  62 /   0  10  70  90
Blairsville     74  52  68  56 /   0   0  60  90
Cartersville    79  57  71  60 /   0  10  80  90
Columbus        82  63  76  66 /  10  30  70  80
Gainesville     79  57  70  61 /   0   0  60  90
Macon           82  61  75  64 /  10  20  70  90
Rome            80  57  71  62 /   0  10  70  80
Peachtree City  80  59  71  62 /   0  20  80  90
Vidalia         83  64  80  67 /  10  10  60  80

&&

.FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Albright
LONG TERM....Lusk
AVIATION...Albright