633  
FXUS64 KMEG 171121  
AFDMEG  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN  
521 AM CST WED DEC 17 2025  
   
..NEW AVIATION  
 
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
ISSUED AT 1048 PM CST TUE DEC 16 2025  
 
 
- A WARMING TREND IS EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY, WITH SCATTERED  
SHOWERS BEGINNING EARLY WEDNESDAY AND HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE  
MID-50S TO LOW-60S.  
 
- A LOW RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS THURSDAY, FOLLOWED BY  
A SIGNIFICANT TEMPERATURE DROP WITH SUBFREEZING LOWS BY FRIDAY  
MORNING.  
 
- MILD TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN FOR THE WEEKEND AND ARE EXPECTED  
TO PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. AT THIS  
TIME, IT APPEARS THAT ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL ON  
CHRISTMAS DAY.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
(TONIGHT THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY)  
ISSUED AT 1048 PM CST TUE DEC 16 2025  
 
A MILD WEATHER PATTERN APPEARS IN STORE THROUGHOUT THE NEXT 7 TO  
10 DAYS, FOLLOWING OUR RECENT ARCTIC COLD SNAP LAST WEEKEND.  
FRIDAY REMAINS THE EXCEPTION TO THE MILD PATTERN, BUT  
TEMPERATURES  
WILL QUICKLY RECOVER OVER THE WEEKEND AND WARM GRADUALLY FROM  
THERE.  
 
SHORT AND MEDIUM RANGE MODEL GUIDANCE REMAINED CONSISTENT IN  
SHOWING A DEEP NORTHERN BRANCH UPPER LOW LIFTING ACROSS THE UPPER  
MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES REGION ON THURSDAY. A POLAR COLD FRONT  
WILL FOLLOW THIS FEATURE ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN GREAT  
PLAINS, WHILE SOME PACIFIC AIR IS DIRECTED TOWARD THE SOUTHERN  
GREAT PLAINS. FOR THE MIDSOUTH, THIS WILL RESULT IN A ONE DAY  
COLD SNAP - ROUGHLY A 15 TO 20 DEGREE DROP WITH HIGHS IN THE 40S,  
LOWS IN THE 20S.  
 
WITH THE AID OF STEEP MIDLEVEL HEIGHT FALLS, THE COLD FRONT WILL  
SURGE QUICKLY THROUGH THE MIDSOUTH THURSDAY AFTERNOON - JUST  
INSIDE THE WINDOW OF THE 48 HOUR CAMS. THEIR SOLUTION IS SIMILAR  
TO THE EARLIER LREF AND DETERMINISTIC ECMWF AND AND GFS, SHOWING  
PREFRONTAL DEEP LAYER SHEAR AROUND 60 KNOTS AND MUCAPE BELOW  
200 J/KG. THIS CONCURS WITH DEPICTED SOUNDINGS, WHICH SHOW A 100-  
150MB DEEP MOIST THERMAL INVERSION ABOVE THE SURFACE, OVERTOPPED  
BY NEARLY MOIST ADIABATIC LAPSE RATES. GIVEN THE STRONG  
KINEMATICS, THIS SYSTEM BEARS WATCHING. AT THIS TIME THE MODEST  
CAPE IS CORRECTLY DEPICTED IN MODEL CONSENSUS, IT WOULD LIMIT OUR  
SEVERE THREAT ON THURSDAY.  
 
THE UPPER LEVEL PATTERN WILL QUICKLY TRANSITION TO ZONAL BY  
FRIDAY EVENING, WITH LOW LEVEL SOUTHERLY RETURN FLOW UNDERWAY  
OVER MO AND MUCH OF AR. UNDER THIS ZONAL FLOW A LOW LEVEL  
BAROCLINIC ZONE - STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY - MAY BE DRAPED EAST  
TO WEST ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH ON SUNDAY. A FEW WARM AIR ADVECTION  
SHOWERS ARE INDICATED BY ECMWF AND GFS GUIDANCE NEAR THIS SURFACE  
BOUNDARY, LIKELY AIDED BY THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF AN UPPER  
JET CORE ACROSS THE OH RIVER VALLEY.  
 
OTHER THAN SUNDAY'S RAIN CHANCES, NEXT WEEK APPEARS PREDOMINATELY  
DRY AT THIS TIME. MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO AMPLIFY AN  
UPPER RIDGE OVER THE CENTRAL CONUS, WITH 500MB HEIGHTS AROUND  
582 DAM OVER THE MIDSOUTH ON CHRISTMAS DAY. A QUITE IMPRESSIVE  
17 DAM OVER CLIMATOLOGY FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.  
 
PWB  
 
 
   
AVIATION  
 
(12Z TAFS)  
ISSUED AT 520 AM CST WED DEC 17 2025  
 
RETURN FLOW IS UNDERWAY ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH. SOUTH WINDS WILL  
PERSIST TODAY AND TONIGHT, STRENGTHENING AHEAD OF THE NEXT COLD  
FRONT EXPECTED TO ARRIVE LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY. LIGHT  
RAIN SHOWERS NEAR MEM THIS MORNING SHOULD NOT BE IMPACTFUL TO  
AVIATION. HOWEVER, HEAVIER RAIN IS EXPECTED NEAR JBR BY 18TH/12Z  
AND MEM BEFORE 18Z ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. CIGS WILL LOWER  
TO MVFR LEVELS TODAY ALTHOUGH THE TIMING REMAINS HIGHLY  
UNCERTAIN.  
 
 
   
FIRE WEATHER  
 
ISSUED AT 1048 PM CST TUE DEC 16 2025  
 
MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL INCREASE SUBSTANTIALLY ON  
WEDNESDAY AS GULF AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION. A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS  
WILL OCCUR WEDNESDAY, FOLLOWED BY HIGH CHANCES OF WETTING  
RAINFALL ON THURSDAY. A WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN THIS WEEKEND AND  
PERSIST INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
 
 
   
MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
AR...NONE.  
MO...NONE.  
MS...NONE.  
TN...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
PUBLIC FORECAST...PWB  
AVIATION...JDS  
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