123  
FXUS62 KCAE 161922  
AFDCAE  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC  
222 PM EST MON DEC 16 2024  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AS MID-LEVEL RIDGING  
DEVELOPS ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST. A FRONT WITH SOME SCATTERED  
SHOWERS IS EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY, WITH A STEADY COOL DOWN  
EXPECTED FOLLOWING THIS FRONT INTO THE WEEKEND. WELL BELOW  
AVERAGE TEMPS ARE LIKELY SUNDAY AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/  
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- DENSE FOG POSSIBLE TONIGHT.  
 
FLAT UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER FLORIDA. LOW AMPLITUDE UPPER  
TROUGH OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST MOVING TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES/OHIO  
VALLEY THIS EVENING AND NORTHEAST BY MORNING. GENERALLY  
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AS RIDGE AXIS MOVES OFF THE COAST. SURFACE  
RIDGE CENTERED ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. LOW CLOUDINESS THIS  
MORNING HAS ERODED ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. EXPECT MAINLY CLEAR  
SKIES EARLY THIS EVENING. TEMPERATURES ARE RISING INTO 60S  
ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN AREAS WITH 50S IN THE PIEDMONT. A FEW  
AREAS WILL RISE TO NEAR 70, WELL ABOVE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF  
YEAR, MAINLY IN THE SOUTHEAST MIDLANDS DUE TO WARM ADVECTION.  
 
CLEAR SKIES AND NEAR CALM WINDS THIS EVENING LEADING TO STRONG  
NOCTURNAL COOLING EARLY. GUIDANCE IS FAIRLY CONSISTENT TONIGHT  
WITH WIDESPREAD FOG DEVELOPMENT BY AROUND MIDNIGHT WITH SUPPORT  
FROM THE NBM, LAMP AND HRRR. FOG MAY BE DENSE. STAYED CLOSE TO  
THE NBM FOR OVERNIGHT LOWS WITH UPPER 40S TO LOW 50S.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/  
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- WARM AND DRY TUESDAY. AN APPROACHING FRONT WILL DEVELOP SOME  
SHOWERS FOR WEDNESDAY.  
 
FOLLOWING A FOGGY START ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA, BROAD HEIGHT  
RISES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION ON TUESDAY BUT THE 500MB  
RIDGING ALOFT WILL STEADILY FLATTEN OUT AND BECOME MORE ZONAL.  
WITH THE 850MB AND SURFACE RIDGING OFFSHORE, STRENGTHENING  
SOUTHWESTERLY WILL DEVELOP ACROSS OUR AREA TUESDAY. ANY RESIDUAL  
FOG-STRATUS SHOULD EASILY BE SCOURED OUT THROUGHOUT THE MORNING  
DUE TO THIS INCREASING FLOW. BETWEEN THE RIDGING ALOFT,  
SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW, AND 850MB TEMPS 8-12 C, A WARM DAY IS IN  
STORE WITH HIGHS INTO THE LOW- MID 70'S EXPECTED.  
 
A QUICKLY DIVING 500MB SHORTWAVE WILL DRIVE A BROAD COLD FRONT  
INTO THE EASTERN US AS WE MOVE INTO WEDNESDAY. THE ASSOCIATED  
STRENGTHENING FLOW AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL INCREASE MOISTURE  
CONVERGENCE AND PWAT'S WILL PUSH BACK TO AROUND 1.0" BY  
WEDNESDAY MORNING. THERE IS NOT A LARGE RESERVOIR OF MOISTURE  
AVAILABLE TO THE SOUTHWEST HOWEVER, HENCE WHY PWAT'S ONLY RISE  
TO AROUND 1.0" FOR MOST OF THE AREA. THE DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE  
HAS COME INTO MUCH BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THE PRECIP DEPICTION  
FOR THIS SYSTEM, WITH DEVELOPING PREFRONTAL, ISENTROPICALLY  
FORCED SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE DAY BUT THEN VERY LITTLE, IF ANY,  
PRECIP FROM THE FRONTAL FORCING ITSELF LATER WEDNESDAY  
AFTERNOON; THIS IS AGAIN PRIMARILY A RESULT OF THE RELATIVELY  
WEAK MOISTURE CONVERGENCE BUT ALSO A LACK OF SYNOPTIC SCALE  
FORCING OVER OUR AREA. IN THE PREFRONTAL WAVE OF PRECIP, WE  
COULD SEE AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM IN THE DEEPEST MOISTURE  
ACROSS THE EASTERN MIDLANDS; GEFS AND EC DEVELOPS SOME LOW END  
SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY BETWEEN 300-500 J/KG BUT MID-LEVEL  
LAPSE RATES ARE VERY WEAK. THE FRONT SHOULD PUSH THROUGH THE  
AREA LATE WEDNESDAY AND OVERNIGHT THURSDAY, SHIFTING WINDS OUT  
OF THE NORTHWEST BY THURSDAY MORNING.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/  
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- A GENERAL COOL DOWN IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE  
COLDEST AIR OF THE SEASON WILL LIKELY PUSH IN FOR SUNDAY AND  
INTO MONDAY.  
 
BROAD TROUGHING ALOFT IS EXPECTED TO SETTLE IN ACROSS THE  
EASTERN CONUS THROUGHOUT THE LONG TERM PERIOD WITH WELL BELOW  
AVERAGE TEMPS EXPECTED BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND. A SERIES OF SHARP  
SHORTWAVES WILL PUSH IN FROM THE NORTHWEST, DRIVING SOME  
REINFORCING FRONTS INTO THE AREA AND DIGGING THE TROUGH FURTHER.  
WELL BELOW AVERAGE TEMPS WILL THEN LIKELY DEVELOP FOR SATURDAY  
ALONG WITH EXTREMELY DRY AIR AS PWAT'S FALL TO AROUND 0.25".  
DETERMINISTIC AND ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE ARE ALL IN GOOD AGREEMENT  
OVER THIS INITIAL SLUG OF COLD, DRY AIR WITH ONLY A 5 DEGREE  
INTERQUARTILE RANGE IN THE NBM MEMBERS FOR HIGH TEMPS ON  
SATURDAY (MEDIAN OF 49 F), DESPITE BEING DAY 5. ANOTHER  
REINFORCING SHORTWAVE IS EXPECTED SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY WHICH  
MUCH OF THE GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO HIT AT. BASED ON THE GEFS AND  
ECE, MEAN 850 MB ANOMALIES PUSH OVER -15 C BY SUNDAY MORNING AND  
INTO MONDAY. EC AND GEFS ENSEMBLE PERCENTILES ARE HIGHLIGHTING  
THIS TIME PERIOD WITH TEMPS AND HEIGHTS BELOW IN THE 1-10TH  
PERCENTILE; MUCH THE SAME FOR THE EC EFI, WITH THE ENTIRE  
HIGHLIGHTED, BUT NOT NOTABLE SOT AT THIS TIME. SO THE ENSEMBLE  
SOLUTION WOULD SUGGEST A COLD, BUT NOT QUITE THREATENING  
RECORDS, TYPE OF EVENT WITH DAYTIME HIGHS IN THE 40'S AND  
OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE 20'S, MAYBE INTO THE 10'S. AS AN FYI,  
CURRENT FORECASTED WIND CHILLS ARE BELOW 20 F WHICH IS NEAR COLD  
WEATHER ADVISORY CRITERIA (A NEW PRODUCT FOR 2024).  
 
 
   
AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/  
 
VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING. LIFR RESTRICTIONS  
EXPECTED AFTER 05Z DUE TO DENSE FOG DEVELOPMENT.  
 
HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE AREA. LOW CLOUDS FROM THE MORNING HAVE  
ERODED. EXPECT AT MOST A FEW STRATO-CU CLOUDS THIS AFTERNOON BUT  
MAINLY CLEAR THROUGH AT LEAST 00Z. WINDS LIGHT AND VARIABLE.  
GUIDANCE IS CONSISTENT WITH DEVELOPING FOG AFTER 05Z WITH CLEAR  
SKIES ALOFT, SHALLOW LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AND NEAR CALM WINDS.  
THE CONFIDENCE IS RELATIVELY HIGH FOR DENSE FOG. WENT WITH LIFR  
AT ALL TERMINALS AFTER 05Z THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY, THEN SLOW  
IMPROVEMENT WITH VFR BY 15Z.  
 
EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...POTENTIAL FOR SHOWERS AND ASSOCIATED  
RESTRICTIONS WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY.  
 
 
   
CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
SC...NONE.  
GA...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS...  
NEAR TERM...  
SHORT TERM...  
LONG TERM...  
AVIATION...  
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