966  
FXUS62 KCAE 030116  
AFDCAE  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC  
916 PM EDT WED APR 2 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
A MAJOR WARMUP BEGINS THURSDAY WITH NEAR RECORD TEMPERATURES  
EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY. THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM IMPACTS OUR AREA  
SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA, FOLLOWED  
BY MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES NEXT WEEK.  
 

 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/
 
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- ISOLATED SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT.  
 
WITH THE LOSS OF HEATING THIS EVENING, STRONGER STORM ACTIVITY  
HAS WEAKENED. FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS SHIFTS MORE INTO THE  
UPSTATE OF SC OVERNIGHT, BUT STILL CAN NOT RULE OUT ISOLATED  
SHOWERS OR STORMS THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT OVER THE  
FORECAST AREA. WITH LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE , EXPECTING  
ANOTHER NIGHT WITH LOW STRATUS LIKELY DEVELOPING DESPITE  
INCREASING 850 MB FLOW TO AROUND 25-35 KTS AND THUS INCREASED  
SURFACE WINDS. CLOUD COVER WILL KEEP OVERNIGHT LOWS TOWARD THE  
MID TO UPPER 60S.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/
 
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- STEADY WARMUP BEGINS.  
- NEAR RECORD HIGHS FRIDAY.  
 
THROUGHOUT THURSDAY, LOW LEVEL SOUTHERLY COMPONENT FLOW AND  
WARM ADVECTION WILL STRENGTHEN OVER THE AREA. HEIGHTS WILL  
CONSEQUENTLY BUILD AS THE BROAD 500MB FLOW PATTERN ALOFT  
AMPLIFIES AS A SERIES OF TROUGHS DIG INTO THE SE CONUS. AS A  
RESULT, WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE  
FORECAST AREA AS HIGHS CLIMB INTO MID TO UPPER 80S, DESPITE  
WIDESPREAD CLOUD COVER ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNING. ISENTROPIC  
LIFT IS FAIRLY WEAK WITHIN THE WARM ADVECTION REGIME, BUT ENOUGH  
UPSLOPE FLOW WILL LIKELY PRODUCE SOME SHOWERS IN THE UPSTATE.  
DURING PEAK HEATING, SOME OF THESE SHOWERS COULD SNEAK INTO THE  
WESTERN MIDLANDS BUT LATEST GUIDANCE KEEPS MOST AREAS DRY. WITH  
SUBSIDENCE INVERSION STRONGER, REMOVED POPS FROM THE WESTERN  
MIDLANDS.  
 
FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT...UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OFFSHORE  
STRENGTHENS A BIT AND HEIGHTS ALOFT RISE. SUBSIDENCE APPEARS  
STRONGER THAN THURSDAY AND MOISTURE REMAINS CONFINED TO THE  
LOW-LEVELS AROUND 850MB. THERE MAY BE A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS  
AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF THE RIDGE BUT MAINLY WEST OF THE  
MIDLANDS. ECMWF EFI INDICATES TEMPERATURES WELL ABOVE NORMAL. SO  
WENT WITH TEMPERATURES ABOVE THE NBM MEANS, NEAR RECORD HIGHS.  
OVERNIGHT LOWS ABOVE NORMAL.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
 
 
KEY MESSAGE(S):  
 
- HIGHLY ANOMALOUS WARMTH EXPECTED WITH NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPS  
THROUGH SUNDAY.  
 
THERE HAS NOT BEEN MUCH CHANGE IN THE OVERALL THINKING  
THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH THE LONG TERM PERIOD DOMINATED BY DEEP  
MID- UPPER LEVEL RIDGING AND AN EXTREMELY STRONG OFFSHORE  
SURFACE HIGH. THESE WILL YIELD NEAR OR EXCEEDING RECORD HIGH  
TEMPS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA STARTING THURSDAY AND LASTING  
THROUGH SUNDAY; THE TIMING OF WHEN THE NEXT FRONT ACTUALLY  
CLEARS THE AREA NEXT WEEK IS STILL UNCERTAIN. THE ECMWF AND ITS  
ENSEMBLES CONTINUES TO BE SLOWER THAN THE GFS/GEFS. THE NBM POPS  
REMAIN HIGH THROUGH MONDAY. REGARDLESS, HIGH TEMPS WELL INTO  
THE 80'S OR LOW 90'S ARE EXPECTED DURING THIS WINDOW, WITH A  
REMARKABLE SIGNAL IN THE EC EFI AND NAEFS FOR ANOMALOUS MAX AND  
MIN TEMPS. EC EFI SHOWS CONSISTENT 0.9+ WITH SOT OF OVER 1.0 FOR  
BOTH MAX AND MIN TEMPS. NAEFS SHOWS NEAR RECORD 500MB HEIGHTS  
OFF THE ATLANTIC COAST WITH NEAR THE 99TH PERCENTILE HEIGHTS AND  
TEMPS THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. SO OVERALL, GUIDANCE IS FLAGGING  
THIS PERIOD AS ONE OF THE MORE ANOMALOUS TEMP PATTERNS WE HAVE  
SEEN IN AWHILE.  
 
THE UPPER RIDGE BREAKS DOWN SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AS THE UPPER LOW  
OUT WEST MOVES TOWARD THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. GIVEN THE DEEP  
MOISTURE AVAILABLE AHEAD OF THE FRONT, THERE IS SOME SEVERE  
POTENTIAL BUT LOTS TO FIGURE OUT REGARDING THE SYNOPTIC FORCING  
AND SHEAR; SPC HAS A SMALL AREA OF THE CSRA IN A DAY 5 OUTLOOK  
(SUNDAY).THE ECMWF IS SLOWER/LESS PROGRESSIVE/LESS AMPLITUDE  
WITH NORTHERN STREAM TROUGH THAN GEFS. CMC ENSEMBLE APPEARS  
SLOWER TOO. SO FRONT MAY HANG UP IN THE AREA AND QPF COULD BE  
HIGHER BUT IN GENERAL THE GUIDANCE INDICATES 1-1.5 INCHES  
POSSIBLE. A NOTABLE COOL-DOWN INTO THE EXTENDED RANGE AFTER THE  
FRONTAL PASSAGE. NEAR-BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT  
NEXT WEEK AS THE DEEP TROUGHING SLOWLY DIGS INTO THE EASTERN  
CONUS.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /01Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/
 
 
VFR CONDITIONS TO START OFF THE EVENING, THEN CEILINGS DEVELOP  
AND LOWER INTO MVFR AS STRATUS DECK FORMS OVERNIGHT. A RETURN TO  
VFR POSSIBLE LATE IN THE TAF PERIOD ON THURSDAY.  
 
MOST SHOWER ACTIVITY HAS MOVED AWAY FROM TERMINALS ACROSS THE  
FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING. STILL CAN NOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED  
SHOWER OVERNIGHT, BUT CONFIDENCE NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO INCLUDE ANY  
MENTION ON FORECASTS. INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE MOVING  
INLAND WILL HELP TO DEVELOP ANOTHER NIGHT OF MVFR/IFR CEILINGS  
LATER TONIGHT OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA, LASTING THROUGH THURSDAY  
LATE MORNING. FOG SHOULD BE LESS LIKELY DUE TO A STRONG ENOUGH  
LOW LEVEL JET AND EXPECTED MIXING. THE JET WILL BE AROUND 25-35  
KTS AT 850MB, AND THIS SHOULD ALLOW WINDS TO REMAIN ELEVATED  
OVERNIGHT.  
 
EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK... ANOTHER DAY WITH THE THREAT OF  
EARLY MORNING RESTRICTIONS CONTINUES ON FRIDAY WITH CONTINUED  
LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE. PRECIPITATION REMAINS UNLIKELY  
THROUGH SATURDAY BEFORE THE NEXT RAIN CHANCE MOVES IN SUNDAY.  
 

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

 
 

 
 
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