455  
FXUS62 KCAE 300639  
AFDCAE  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC  
239 AM EDT SUN MAR 30 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
MOISTURE WILL SLOWLY INCREASE OVERNIGHT WITH A FEW SHOWERS  
POSSIBLE BY MORNING. SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY  
SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE. WIDESPREAD RAIN AND  
THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED ON MONDAY AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A COLD  
FRONT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON.  
WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES EXPECTED FOR LATE WEEK.  
 

 
   
NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM THIS MORNING/
 
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- LESSENED FIRE DANGER WITH INCREASING HUMIDITIES.  
- RAIN CHANCES MOVE IN LATE AND INTO SUNDAY.  
 
LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE FLUX WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT AS SOUTH-  
EASTERLY FLOW INCREASES OVERNIGHT AROUND THE PRESSURE RIDGE  
OFFSHORE. MODELS SHOW 25KT JET AROUND 925 MB. PRECIPITABLE  
WATER AT THE MOMENT IS BELOW 1 INCH BUT WILL INCREASE TO AROUND  
1.4 INCHES BY MORNING IN THE CSRA WITH LOWER VALUES TO THE NORTH  
AND EAST. MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH IS MOVING THROUGH THE  
REGION AT THE MOMENT AND ADDITIONAL SHORT WAVES SEEN UPSTREAM IN  
WATER VAPOR. MID LEVEL CLOUDS WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT. CUMULUS  
FIELDS HAVE DIMINISHED. ANY LIGHT SHOWERS SHOULD HOLD OFF UNTIL  
CLOSER TO DAYBREAK AND MAINLY FOCUSED IN GA. WITH INCREASING  
CLOUDS, TEMPS SHOULD BE SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN LAST NIGHT,  
ESPECIALLY WITH WARM ADVECTION. LOWS AROUND 60.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /6 AM THIS MORNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/
 
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED SUNDAY AFTERNOON.  
- SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ON MONDAY AFTERNOON  
 
SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT: HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE ATLANTIC WILL  
LEAD TO MOIST, SOUTHERLY FLOW OVER THE SOUTHEAST. MOISTURE WILL  
INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY WITH MEAN PWAT VALUES FROM THE HREF  
AROUND 1.5 INCHES IN THE AFTERNOON (ABOUT 0.5 TO 0.75 INCHES  
HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS 24 HRS). AS THE ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES  
THROUGH DAYTIME HEATING A WEAK SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE OVER THE  
FORECAST AREA. THIS WILL ALLOW WIDESPREAD SHOWERS THUNDERSTORMS  
TO DEVELOP IN THE CONDITIONALLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS. HOWEVER CAPE  
VALUES WILL BE WEAK WITH MIXED LAYER CAPE VALUES OF NEAR OR LESS  
THAN 750 J/KG ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON. WEAK CAPE AND WEAK SHEAR  
WILL LIMIT THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER. HEAVY RAIN MAY BE THE  
PRIMARY THREAT GIVEN PWAT VALUES FROM THE NAEFS AROUND THE 97.5  
PERCENTILE OF THE CLIMATOLOGICAL DATASET. STORM MOTION SHOULD BE  
RELATIVELY FAST THOUGH KEEPING THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING  
ISOLATED TO MAINLY URBAN AREAS. THE HIGHEST RAIN CHANCES ARE BE  
IN THE CSRA AND WESTERN MIDLANDS WHERE MOISTURE IS DEEPER. THE  
SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE EAST OF THE AREA DURING THE EVENING WHICH,  
ALONG WITH LOSS OF HEATING, SHOULD ALLOW THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE  
TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. THERE MAY BE A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS  
SUNDAY NIGHT WITH CONTINUED MOISTURE ADVECTION AHEAD OF MONDAY'S  
COLD FRONT. WARM ADVECTION WILL PUSH HIGHS FOR SUNDAY INTO THE  
UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S WITH MILD LOWS OVERNIGHT AROUND 60 DEGREES.  
 
MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT: A SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS  
THE CENTRAL US AND INTO THE EASTERN US. THIS WILL DRIVE A COLD  
FRONT THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST ON MONDAY. A LINE OF CONVECTION IS  
EXPECTED TO BE ONGOING MONDAY MORNING WELL WEST OF THE FA. AHEAD  
OF THE FRONT AND CONVECTION WE WILL SEE WARM ADVECTION AND  
DAYTIME HEATING LEAD TO A MODERATELY DESTABILIZED AIR MASS OVER  
THE FORECAST AREA. MIXED LAYER CAPE VALUES GENERALLY RANGE FROM  
1000 TO 1500 J/KG IN THE DETERMINISTIC AND SPC SREF  
MODELS/MEMBERS HOWEVER THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR MLCAPE ABOVE  
1500 J/KG. AS THE LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVE INTO  
WARM THETA-E AIR WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE CONVECTION STRENGTHEN. A  
40 TO 50 KT 850 MB JET WILL SUPPORT SOME ORGANIZED CELL  
STRUCTURES EMBEDDED WITHIN THE LINE OF CONVECTION. THIS  
COMBINATION OF MODERATE SHEAR, MODERATE INSTABILITY, AND NEAR  
CLIMATOLOGICAL MAX MOISTURE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT ALL POINT TO  
WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AND SOME POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER. THE  
BIGGEST THREAT MAY BE DAMAGING WINDS ALONG THE LINE OF  
THUNDERSTORMS, ALTHOUGH A FEW STORMS COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL OR  
A TORNADO. THE MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE THE NORTHERN  
EXTENT OF THE MOST UNSTABLE AIR MASS. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE  
STRONGEST STORMS REMAIN SOUTH OF THE FA. HIGHS ON MONDAY WILL  
LIKELY BE IN THE UPPER 70S OR LOWER 80S. THE RAIN THREAT SHOULD  
QUICKLY SHIFT EASTWARD ON MONDAY NIGHT AS DRIER AND COOLER AIR  
FILTERS IN BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/
 
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- NEAR RECORD TEMPERATURES POSSIBLE AT THE END OF THE LONG TERM  
 
FORECAST GUIDANCE REMAINS CONSISTENT FOR THE LONG TERM PERIOD.  
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE AND TROUGHING ARE EXPECTED TO PASS THROUGH  
THE REGION ON TUESDAY IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE.  
GLOBAL ENSEMBLES FAVOR SIGNIFICANT HEIGHT RISES THROUGH MID WEEK  
INTO THE WEEKEND WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNING. A BLOCKING  
PATTERN SETS UP MID WEEK RESULTING IN AN ANOMALOUSLY STRONG MID-  
LEVEL RIDGE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN CONUS PERSISTING INTO THE  
WEEKEND. AS A RESULT, CONFIDENCE IS BEGINNING TO INCREASE IN A  
PERIOD OF NEAR RECORD HIGHS IN THE THUR-SAT PERIOD OF THIS LONG  
TERM FORECAST. ABNORMALLY HIGH HEIGHTS AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE  
BENEATH THE RIDGE FAVOR WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS.  
 
THE HIGHEST RAIN CHANCES OF THE LONG TERM WILL BE MID-WEEK  
BEFORE THE RIDGE SETS UP OVER THE AREA. MULTIPLE SHORTWAVES ARE  
EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER THE RIDGE TO THE EAST. PWAT VALUES AROUND  
1.25 TO 1.5 INCHES, SHORTWAVE ACTIVITY, AND WEAK RIDGING FOR  
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY SUPPORT A SLIGHT TO LOW CHANCE OF RAIN.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /06Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/
 
 
HIGH CONFIDENCE IN VFR THROUGH AT LEAST 06Z THEN POSSIBLE  
RESTRICTIONS TO CIGS AFTER 10Z THROUGH MIDDAY, PRIMARILY IN THE  
CSRA.  
 
MAINLY HIGH CLOUDS OVER THE REGION CURRENTLY BUT LOWER CIGS  
EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA AROUND 12Z WITH STRONGER MOISTURE  
ADVECTION AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING UPPER TROUGH. SOME GUIDANCE  
INDICATES SOME PATCHY MVFR CIGS DEVELOPING 10Z-12Z MAINLY  
IMPACTING AGS/DNL WITH LOWER CONFIDENCE AT THE OTHER TERMINALS.  
A SURGE IN MOISTURE THROUGH THE DAY WITH ISENTROPIC LIFT  
INCREASING SHOULD RESULT IN WIDESPREAD LOW VFR CIGS AFTER 15Z  
WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING IN FROM  
THE SOUTHWEST ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER TROUGH AND DIURNAL  
INSTABILITY. INCLUDED A TEMPO FOR THUNDERSTORMS 19Z-00Z TIME  
FRAME AT TERMINALS WITH SOME VSBY RESTRICTIONS. LATE IN THE  
FORECAST PERIOD AFTER 03Z HIGH CONFIDENCE IN MVFR AND POSSIBLE  
IFR RESTRICTIONS DUE TO ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE.  
 
EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...CEILING RESTRICTIONS LATE SUNDAY  
NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING WITH WIDESPREAD STRATUS EXPECTED.  
THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON AS A COLD FRONT  
APPROACHES FROM THE WEST AND MOVES THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY  
EVENING.  
 

 
   
FIRE WEATHER
 
 
THE SOUTH CAROLINA FORESTRY COMMISSION HAS ISSUED A STATEWIDE  
BURN BAN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  
 
MOISTURE CONTINUES TO INCREASE TODAY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND  
THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON INTO EVENING. RAIN CHANCES  
CONTINUE ON MONDAY WITH MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED  
AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT.  
 

 
   
CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
SC...NONE.  
GA...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
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