725  
FXUS62 KCAE 171132  
AFDCAE  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC  
632 AM EST FRI JAN 17 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
DRY AND SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES THROUGH TODAY WITH HIGH  
PRESSURE OVER THE AREA. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS EXPECTED SATURDAY AS  
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE EASTERN U.S. BEHIND THE  
SYSTEM, EXPECT WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AS A ANOMALOUSLY  
DEEP TROUGH AND SURFACE HIGH PUSHES AN ARCTIC AIR MASS INTO THE  
CENTRAL AND EASTERN US. BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK, A COASTAL  
LOW WILL LIKELY INCREASE PRECIPITATION CHANCES WITH SOME WINTRY  
POTENTIAL POSSIBLE BUT STILL UNCERTAIN.  
 
 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/  
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- QUIET, SUNNY DAY WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPS  
- CLOUDS INCREASE TONIGHT, WITH RAIN CHANCES INCREASING NEAR  
DAWN  
 
TRANSIENT HIGH PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE SHIFTING  
EASTWARD THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TODAY. WE'LL START THE DAY  
WARMER THAN WE HAVE RECENTLY, AS TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO ONLY BE  
IN THE UPPER 20S AND LOWER 30S. SHORTWAVE RIDGING IS EXPECTED  
TO ACCOMPANY THE SURFACE HIGH PASSING THROUGH THE REGION TODAY,  
WITH CONVERGENCE AND LOW PWS LEADING TO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES  
ACROSS THE AREA. SURFACE WINDS ARE LIKELY TO SHIFT OUT OF THE  
SOUTHEAST BY THIS AFTERNOON, BUT TEMPERATURE ADVECTIONS ARE  
EXPECTED TO REMAIN AT A MINIMUM. HIGHS WILL BE SIMILAR TO  
YESTERDAY'S AS A RESULT, WITH TEMPS GETTING INTO THE MID AND  
UPPER 50S. ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS ENJOY IT! OUR LONG TERM TEMP  
OUTLOOK IS WAY COLDER THAN THAT. CLOUDS AND MOISTURE WILL BEGIN  
TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT AS SOUTHWESTERN US SHORTWAVE TROUGH BEGINS  
TO EJECT AND APPROACH THE SOUTHEASTERN US. THIS SHOULD  
OVERSPREAD BROAD UPPER LEVEL LIFT OVER THE AREA AFTER 09Z BUT  
PWS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW 1" UNTIL AFTER 12Z. SO  
WHILE RAIN IS MOST LIKELY AFTER 12Z, SOME MAY OCCUR AS LIFT  
INCREASES BEFORE THEN. ANY RAINFALL WILL LIKELY BE LIGHT,  
THOUGH. TEMPS WILL LIKELY HAVE A NON-DIURNAL CURVE TONIGHT,  
FALLING TO LOW POINTS BEFORE 06Z AND THEN SLOWLY RISING AS  
CLOUDS INCREASE AND WE MOVE MORE INTO THE SPHERE OF INFLUENCE OF  
THE NEXT APPROACHING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/  
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- DRY HIGH PRESSURE IN PLACE TODAY WITH SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES.  
- SHOWERS MOVE IN SATURDAY AHEAD OF A STRONG FRONT.  
 
UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN  
CONUS DURING THE PERIOD. SOUTH- WESTERLY LOW-LEVEL DEVELOPS  
EARLY WITH 850MB WINDS 30-40 KTS. THE MOISTURE TRANSPORT APPEARS  
FOCUSED IN THE SOUTHEAST MIDLANDS DURING THE MORNING WITH  
PRECIPITABLE WATER INCREASING TO AROUND 1 INCH. LOWER  
PRECIPITABLE WATER IN THE WEST MIDLANDS AND PIEDMONT. FORCING  
AHEAD OF THE SHORT WAVE TROUGH APPEARS STRONG THOUGH WITH AREA  
IN LEFT FRONT EXIT REGION OF 250MB JET MAX EAST-WEST OVER THE  
GULF COAST REGION. EXPECT RELATIVELY STRONG UPPER LEVEL  
DIVERGENCE. THE ISENTROPIC LIFT APPEARS STRONGER IN THE COASTAL  
PLAIN. THE CAM MODELS SUPPORT HIGHER POPS IN THE MORNING, WHILE  
THE MOS GUIDANCE HAS DECREASED A BIT. OVERALL QPF NOT HIGH,  
PERHAPS 0.25-0.5 INCH. EXPECT THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION IN  
THE MORNING, BECOMING SCATTERED IN THE AFTERNOON AS A WEAK  
SURFACE LOW MOVES TO THE NORTHEAST OFFSHORE. FRONTAL BOUNDARY  
LIKELY STILL NEAR THE AREA AND CONTINUED SOUTH-WESTERLY FLOW  
SHOULD CONTINUE TO TRANSPORT MOISTURE INTO THE AREA THROUGH THE  
DAY. THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY STALLS NEAR THE AREA. TEMPERATURES  
REMAIN SEASONABLE. ADDITIONAL SHORT WAVES AND THE WEAK SURFACE  
LOW ON THE FRONT MAY PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE  
EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING BUT SCATTERED COVERAGE EXPECTED.  
THE FRONT SHOULD BE EAST OF THE AREA BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND  
WITH COLD ADVECTION DEVELOPING, BREEZY CONDITIONS EXPECTED.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/  
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- TEMPS 15-25 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.  
 
- WINTRY PRECIP CHANCES CONTINUE FOR MID-WEEK, BUT CONFIDENCE  
REMAINS LOW.  
 
STRONG COLD ADVECTION SUNDAY NIGHT WITH 850MB TEMPERATURES  
FALLING TO BELOW -10C BY MIDNIGHT. VERY BROAD AND AMPLIFIED  
UPPER TROUGH OVER THE CONUS WILL DRIVE AN ARCTIC AIR MASS INTO  
THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. MODELS INDICATING A VERY STRONG HIGH  
PRESSURE AREA 1040MB WILL SETTLE OVER THE MID ATLANTIC GIVEN THE  
STRONG UPPER LEVEL CONVERGENCE IN THAT REGION AND BUILD SOUTH  
INTO THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA EARLY IN THE WEEK. THIS AIR MASS  
WILL BE UNUSUALLY COLD FOR SC/GA. THE AIR MASS IS HIGHLY  
ANOMALOUSLY COLD BUT NOT RECORD SETTING. LOOKING AT TEMPS 15-25  
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL, SO HIGHS IN THE 30S AND LOWS IN THE TEENS  
TO LOW 20S. EC EFI CONTINUES TO SHOW EFI VALUES BETWEEN 0.9 AND  
0.95 MONDAY AND TUESDAY, BUT SOT IS VERY LOW; A CLASSIC HIGH  
CONFIDENCE IN WELL BELOW AVERAGE, BUT NOT EXTREME TEMPS, SIGNAL.  
REGARDLESS, THE LREF OUTPUT SUGGESTS WE WILL APPROACH OR EXCEED  
COLD WEATHER ADVISORY CRITERIA AT SOME POINT NEXT WEEK, SO STAY  
AWARE OF THAT POTENTIAL NEW PRODUCT ISSUANCE. FROZEN PIPES AND  
RELATED IMPACTS ARE BECOMING MORE LIKELY DURING THE MID- WEEK  
PERIOD AS HIGH TEMPS WILL ONLY MAKE IT ABOVE FREEZING FOR A FEW  
HOURS EACH DAY.  
 
AN UPPER TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE FROM THE DESERT SOUTHWEST  
ACROSS THE GULF COAST REGION TUESDAY AND INITIATE LOW PRESSURE  
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AND TRACK EAST ACROSS FLORIDA TO POSSIBLY  
NEAR THE SC COAST. THE REMAINS QUITE UNCERTAINTY HOW FAST THE  
THE TROUGH WILL MOVE EAST AND POSSIBLY PHASE WITH THE NORTHERN  
STREAM DIGGING TROUGH INTO THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. THE GFS  
CONTINUES TO BE FASTER MOVING THE SHORT WAVE EAST FROM THE  
DESERT SOUTHWEST AND DOES NOT PHASE WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM  
TROUGH. THIS LEADS TO THE MOISTURE SUPPRESSED FURTHER TO THE  
SOUTH. SNOW PROBABILITIES REMAIN HIGHEST IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION  
OF THE AREA TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT. THE CANADIAN REMAINS THE  
MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH WINTER WEATHER POTENTIAL. THE ECMWF/UKMET  
ARE COMPROMISES. ONE CONCERN WITH THE LATEST 00Z 1/17 GUIDANCE,  
THE GFS HAS TRENDED BACK INLAND A BIT WITH THE SNOWFALL. WILL  
OBVIOUSLY CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS WINTRY POTENTIAL.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /12Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/  
   
VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD.  
 
TRANSIENT HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD CONTINUE TO PUSH THROUGH THE  
SOUTHEASTERN US THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD, WITH DRY AND CLEAR  
CONDITIONS EXPECTED. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE VARIABLE OR OUT OF  
THE EAST/SOUTHEAST BY THIS AFTERNOON AS THE HIGH SHIFTS TO OUR  
EAST. GENERALLY EXPECTING WINDS TO BE 5-6 KNOTS OR LESS. HIGH  
CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO BUILD THROUGH THE NIGHT AND LOWER AS TIME  
GOES ON. THERE IS A LOW POTENTIAL FOR SOME MVFR CIGS TO MAKE  
IT TO AGS/DNL BY 12Z, BUT GENERALLY THAT IS EXPECTED TO HOLD OFF  
UNTIL AFTER THIS FORECAST PERIOD ENDS. ADDITIONALLY, SOME  
ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE BY THE END OF THE PERIOD  
SPECIFICALLY AT AGS/DNL BUT PROBABILITIES ARE LOW ENOUGH RIGHT  
NOW TO LEAVE RAIN OUT OF THE TAF AT THIS TIME.  
 
EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...RESTRICTIONS ARE EXPECTED ON SATUDAY  
AFTERNOON AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WORKS ITS WAY THROUGH THE  
REGION.  
 
 
   
CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
SC...NONE.  
GA...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS...  
NEAR TERM...  
SHORT TERM...  
LONG TERM...  
AVIATION...  
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