150  
FXUS62 KCAE 300838  
AFDCAE  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC  
438 AM EDT SUN MAR 30 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON WITH  
HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE. WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS, WITH SOME  
STRONG-SEVERE, EXPECTED ON MONDAY AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A COLD  
FRONT WHICH WILL CROSS THE REGION BY MONDAY EVENING. WELL ABOVE  
NORMAL TEMPERATURES EXPECTED FOR LATE WEEK WITH POSSIBLE RECORD  
HIGHS NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/  
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- LESSENED FIRE DANGER WITH INCREASING HUMIDITIES.  
- CONTINUED WARM WITH AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS  
- MILD OVERNIGHT  
 
WV IMAGERY SHOWS AN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS WITH A  
LEAD SHORTWAVE MOVING ALONG THE GULF COAST STATES. AT THE  
SURFACE, HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS CENTERED OVER THE WESTERN  
ATLANTIC WHICH WILL SUPPORT CONTINUED MOISTURE ADVECTION INTO  
THE FORECAST AREA TODAY. LOW LEVEL FLOW FROM THE SOUTHEAST TO  
SOUTH COMBINED WITH INCREASING ISENTROPIC LIFT WILL RESULT IN  
INCREASING CLOUDS THROUGH THE DAY WITH LOWERING BASES. PWATS  
EXPECTED TO RISE TO AROUND 1.5 INCHES BY THIS AFTERNOON WHICH IS  
AROUND 200 PERCENT OF NORMAL. AS THE SHORTWAVE ALONG THE GULF  
COAST LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON  
AND EVENING EXPECT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS TO DEVELOP WITH  
HI-RES GUIDANCE SHOWING THE BEST COVERAGE OVER THE WESTERN  
MIDLANDS AND CSRA. ATMOSPHERE SHOULD DESTABILIZE THROUGH THE DAY  
WITH FORECAST CAPE VALUES 500-1000 J/KG SUPPORTING A CHANCE OF  
THUNDERSTORMS, ALTHOUGH SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED GIVEN  
SOMEWHAT WEAK INSTABILITY AND WEAK SHEAR VALUES. THE POTENTIAL  
FOR HEAVY RAIN EXISTS GIVEN THE HIGH PWATS WHICH ARE IN THE 99TH  
PERCENTILE OF NAEFS CLIMATOLOGICAL DATASET AND STORM MOTION  
BEING FAST ENOUGH TO LIMIT ANY FLASH FLOOD THREAT.  
 
TEMPERATURES WILL BE TRICKY AND SENSITIVE TO THE AMOUNT OF  
CLOUD COVER BUT SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE ABOVE NORMAL WITH WARM  
ADVECTION AND EXPECT HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S. CHANCE  
OF RAIN CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING BUT SHOULD BE DIMINISHING  
THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS AS THE SHORTWAVE SHIFTS  
EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA AND WEAK SUBSIDENCE MOVES OVERHEAD  
WITH ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN  
WIDESPREAD STRATUS AND SOME POSSIBLE PATCHY FOG THROUGH THE  
PREDAWN HOURS MONDAY MORNING. OVERNIGHT LOWS EXPECTED TO BE WELL  
ABOVE NORMAL IN THE LOWER TO MID 60S.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/  
 
- STRONG-SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON WITH HIGHEST  
CHANCES IN THE CSRA.  
 
- DAMAGING WINDS AND AN ISOLATED TORNADO ARE POSSIBLE, MAINLY  
BETWEEN 2-7PM.  
 
A BROAD MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE WILL SLIDE ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY  
THROUGHOUT THE DAY MONDAY, DRIVING A SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM  
ACROSS THE NE CONUS. THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT WILL DRAG ACROSS  
THE APPALACHIANS BY MONDAY AFTERNOON AND A PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH WITH  
CONSEQUENT DEEP CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AND MOVE THROUGH  
OUR AREA. THE WARM SECTOR ENVIRONMENT WILL SEE MODEST MOISTURE  
RETURN AND DESTABILIZATION THROUGHOUT SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY, WITH  
PWAT'S CLIMBING ABOVE 1.25" AND SURFACE DEW POINTS INTO THE MID  
60'S. THERE ISN'T A PARTICULARLY DEEP MOISTURE RESERVOIR TO THE  
SOUTHWEST, BUT NAEFS IVT IS STILL AROUND THE 95TH PERCENTILE IN THE  
STRONGEST PRE-FRONTAL ADVECTION. SUFFICIENT DESTABILIZATION IS  
EXPECTED FOR ALL SEVERE HAZARDS, THANKS TO THE ENHANCED MID-LEVEL  
LAPSE RATES AND THE MODERATE MOISTURE ADVECTION THROUGHOUT MONDAY  
AFTERNOON. HREF AND GEFS GENERALLY PRODUCES BETWEEN 500-1500 ML CAPE  
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA, HIGHEST IN THE CSRA. SINCE THE PARENT  
SURFACE LOW IS WELL TO THE NORTH, DEEP AND LOW LEVEL SHEAR IS NOT  
TERRIBLY IMPRESSIVE, WITH 850 MB WINDS ONLY AROUND 30-35 KNOTS.  
HOWEVER, 0-1 KM SHEAR BULK MAGNITUDE IS SUFFICIENT FOR A ISOLATED  
TORNADO THREAT BUT WITH ONLY MINIMAL DIRECTIONAL SHEAR. IN TERMS OF  
CONVECTIVE MODE, A GENERALLY LINEAR MCS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP  
ACROSS AL-MS, THEN PROPAGATE EASTWARD INTO GA AND SC BY MONDAY  
AFTERNOON. THE DEEPEST MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL REMAIN ACROSS  
SOUTHERN GA AND POINTS SOUTH AND WEST, SO THE STRONGEST ELEMENTS OF  
THIS MCS SHOULD STAY FOCUSED ACROSS GA. THEREFORE, THE HIGHEST  
SEVERE THREAT SHOULD REMAIN ACROSS THE CSRA AND A LESS BALANCED MCS  
IS LIKELY ACROSS SC. COMBINING THE CONVECTIVE MODE AND PARAMETER  
SPACE, THE WIND THREAT IS HIGHEST IN THE CSRA WITH A COLD-POOL  
DOMINANT MCS AND HIGHER INSTABILITY, WHILE AND TORNADO THREAT IS  
LIKELY A BIT HIGHER IN SC IN THE SHEAR DOMINATE MCS SEGMENT.  
 
REGARDLESS, AN ELEVATED SEVERE THREAT EXISTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA  
WITH THE PRIMARY HAZARDS OF DAMAGING WIND, AND SECONDARY ISOLATED  
TORNADO THREAT. TIMING GENERALLY BETWEEN 2-7PM FROM WEST TO  
EAST.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/  
 
- STEADILY WARMING TEMPS WITH NEAR RECORD HIGH-LOWS LIKELY BY THE  
END OF THE WEEK AND NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
FOLLOWING THE TROUGH AND FRONTAL PASSAGE ON MONDAY, STEADILY  
BUILDING HEIGHTS ARE EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE WEEK WITH ONLY SLIGHT  
CHANCES FOR SHOWERS WITHIN THE WARM ADVECTIVE REGIME. TEMPS WILL  
CLIMB ABOVE AVERAGE BY WEDNESDAY WITH A FEW ISENTROPICALLY AND UPSLOPE  
FLOW SHOWERS AROUND BEFORE NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPS ARRIVE FOR  
THURSDAY AND THEN ESPECIALLY FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. EC EFI IS  
LIGHTING UP FOR THIS PERIOD WITH EFI'S OVER 0.9 ALREADY AND SOT OVER  
1.0. SO CONFIDENCE IS QUITE HIGH IN A HIGHLY ANOMALOUS TEMP SETUP  
THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD, WITH MULTIPLE DAILY HIGH-LOW TEMP RECORDS IN  
PLAY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /08Z 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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