545  
FXUS62 KCAE 172332  
AFDCAE  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC  
732 PM EDT WED JUN 17 2026  
   
WHAT HAS CHANGED  
 
AVIATION DISCUSSION UPDATED FOR 00Z TAFS. TWEAKED KEY MESSAGE 1  
TO ACCOUNT FOR LATEST POTENTIAL LOCATION FOR TS ARTHUR THIS  
EVENING.  
 
 
   
KEY MESSAGES  
 
- 1. ACTIVE WEATHER INCREASINGLY LIKELY THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO  
FRIDAY AS A SYSTEM FROM THE GULF MOVES ACROSS THE REGION.  
GUSTY WINDS, HEAVY RAINFALL, AND SEVERE WEATHER ARE POSSIBLE.  
 
- 2. DRIER CONDITIONS RETURN THIS EVENING INTO EARLY THURSDAY  
AHEAD OF THE ACTIVE WEATHER FROM KEY MESSAGE 1.  
 
 
   
DISCUSSION  
 
KEY MESSAGE 1: ACTIVE WEATHER INCREASINGLY LIKELY THURSDAY  
AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY AS A SYSTEM FROM THE GULF MOVES ACROSS THE  
REGION. GUSTY WINDS, HEAVY RAINFALL, AND SEVERE WEATHER ARE  
POSSIBLE.  
 
OVERVIEW: ACTIVE WEATHER IS LIKELY STARTING THURSDAY AFTERNOON,  
CONTINUING OVERNIGHT AND INTO FRIDAY AS THE REMNANTS OF WHAT IS  
CURRENTLY TS ARTHUR MOVE INTO THE REGION. ARTHUR AND ITS  
COUPLED UPPER WAVE CAN BE SEEN ALONG/NEAR THE NORTHERN TX  
COASTLINE THIS EVENING, AND THIS SHOULD CONTINUE TO GRADUALLY  
MOVE NORTHEASTWARD, MOVING INLAND (AND WEAKENING) INTO THE LOWER  
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TONIGHT. THROUGH THE DAY TOMORROW THE  
REMNANT LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION OF ARTHUR AND UPPER WAVE SHOULD  
CONTINUE DRIFTING NORTHEASTWARD, INCREASING DEEP MOISTURE ACROSS  
THE FA WITH STRENGTHENING WIND FIELDS. A VERY MOIST AIRMASS BY  
THE AFTERNOON HOURS SHOULD AID IN BRINGING SCATTERED SHOWER AND  
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WHERE A COUPLE STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS  
CANNOT BE RULED OUT. THIS THREAT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO  
THE EVENING WHERE A LOW TORNADO RISK COULD DEVELOP MAINLY TOWARD  
THE CSRA, BUT CONFIDENCE IN THIS RISK MATERIALIZING IS RATHER  
LOW AT THE MOMENT. BY THE LATE EVENING HOURS THE BULK OF  
MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE CWA, WITH SCATTERED TO  
WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND STORMS MOVING IN, CONTINUING INTO FRIDAY  
MORNING BEFORE COVERAGE MAY DECREASE A BIT. THE MAIN RISK  
OVERNIGHT WILL BE THE HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL WHERE PORTIONS OF THE  
CWA ARE IN A SLIGHT RISK (LEVEL 2 OUT OF 4) FOR EXCESSIVE  
RAINFALL. STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL WIND FIELDS THURSDAY AFTERNOON  
AND A TIGHTENING SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT SHOULD ALSO AID IN  
BRINGING 25-30 MPH WIND GUSTS, WHERE ISOLATED GUSTS TOWARD 35-45  
MPH CANNOT BE RULED OUT MAINLY LATE THURSDAY INTO THE OVERNIGHT  
PERIOD. CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY IMPROVE FRIDAY  
MORNING BEFORE A COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH DURING THE  
AFTERNOON/EVENING WITH ADDITIONAL SHOWER AND STORM CHANCES THAT  
END BY THE LATE EVENING.  
 
HEAVY RAINFALL: THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THIS SYSTEM WILL BE THE  
HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL AS VERY EFFICIENT RAIN RATES ARE  
LIKELY, ESPECIALLY THURSDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT INTO FRIDAY.  
AS THE REMNANTS OF ARTHUR NEAR, PWAT'S ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE  
TOWARD 2" BY THE EARLY AFTERNOON, BEFORE SURGING TOWARD  
2.20-2.40" DURING THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT PERIOD. AS THIS  
MOISTURE INCREASES WITH THE APPROACHING UPPER WAVE AND REMNANT  
LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION, IVT VALUES REACH TOWARD THE NAEFS 99TH TO  
99.5TH PERCENTILE. THIS IS MOSTLY THANKS TO A SLIGHT SHIFT IN A  
FEW HIGH-RES AND GLOBAL MODELS KEEPING THE LOW TO MID LEVEL  
CORE OF THE SYSTEM A BIT MORE INTACT, LEADING TO A 35-55 KT LLJ  
OVERSPREADING THE AREA THURSDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THIS  
INCREASING LLJ COUPLED WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED PWAT'S, WARM  
CLOUD LAYER DEPTHS EXCEEDING 14,000 FT, AND ELEVATED INSTABILITY  
SETS THE STAGE FOR EFFICIENT RAIN RATES. IN TERMS OF TOTALS,  
THE LATEST MEAN HREF AND REFS SOLUTIONS SUPPORT A WIDESPREAD  
0.75-1.25" ACROSS THE FA, HIGHEST IN THE CSRA. WHEN TAKING A  
LOOK AT THE LPMM PRODUCT FROM EACH SUITE AND INDIVIDUAL 12Z  
CAM'S SPOTS OF 2-3.5" ARE SEEN WHERE TRAINING OCCURS WITH THE  
EXPECTED RATES. THIS SEEMS REASONABLE CONSIDERING THE LLJ MAY  
ENHANCE THE EFFICIENCY OF THIS RAINFALL MORE THAT PREVIOUSLY  
DISCUSSED. DECIDED TO HOLD OFF ON A FLOOD WATCH AT THE MOMENT AS  
CONFIDENCE IN THESE HIGHER AMOUNTS BECOMING WIDESPREAD REMAINS  
LOW WITH MODEL TO MODEL VARIANCE, BUT AREAS SOUTH OF THE PEE DEE  
ARE OUTLINED IN A SLIGHT RISK (LEVEL 2 OUT OF 4) FOR EXCESSIVE  
RAINFALL, MEANING ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING COULD BE POSSIBLE,  
MAINLY THURSDAY EVENING INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.  
 
SEVERE WEATHER: THE WHOLE FA IS OUTLINED IN SPC'S MARGINAL RISK  
(LEVEL L OUT OF 5) FOR SEVERE WEATHER THURSDAY. AT LEAST MODEST  
HEATING IN AN INCREASINGLY MOIST AIRMASS IS EXPECTED TO YIELD  
MLCAPE VALUES NEAR 1200-1700 J/KG WITH INCREASING DEEP LAYER  
SHEAR AS THE REMNANT SURFACE CIRCULATION AND UPPER WAVE NEAR.  
INCREASED MIXING IN THE AFTERNOON ALSO IS EXPECTED TO YIELD  
DCAPE VALUES NEAR 700-1000 J/KG WITH TEI VALUES NEARING 25.  
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STORMS IN THE AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO  
BRING THE MAIN RISK OF STRONG TO DAMAGING WIND GUSTS FROM PRECIP  
LOADED DOWNDRAFTS, BUT ALSO FROM POSSIBLE COLD POOL  
CONSOLIDATION IN ANY CLUSTER. THE MAIN CHANGE TO THE SEVERE  
THREAT IS A LOW END TORNADO RISK THAT MAY DEVELOP MAINLY NEAR  
THE CSRA DURING THE EVENING INTO THE EARLY OVERNIGHT HOURS. NEAR  
SURFACE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BACK A BIT AS THE REMNANT SURFACE  
CIRCULATION NEARS AND THE AFOREMENTIONED LLJ MOVES IN. MODELED  
SOUNDINGS INDICATE 0-1KM BULK SHEAR SHOULD INCREASE TOWARD 25-30  
KTS DURING THE EVENING WITH 0-1KM SRH NEARING 125-180 M^2/S^2  
AND THIS IS FURTHER SUPPORTED IN THE 12Z MEAN HREF SOLUTION.  
THIS RISK IS CONDITIONAL HOWEVER ON THE AMOUNT OF LOW LEVEL  
INSTABILITY THAT CAN REMAIN IN PLACE DURING THE EVENING. THE  
SEVERE WEATHER RISK IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY DIMINISH OVERNIGHT  
WITH THE PROBABILITY FOR CONVECTION TO BECOME ELEVATED  
INCREASING.  
 
WIND GUSTS: AS MENTIONED IN THE OVERVIEW, INCREASING WIND  
PROFILES WITH A TIGHTENING SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT ARE  
EXPECTED TO YIELD WIND GUSTS TO 25-30 MPH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON  
AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS THURSDAY. THE MAIN TALKING POINT HERE  
COMES LATE THURSDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT INTO EARLY FRIDAY.  
WITH THE THE SLIGHT SHIFT IN MODEL GUIDANCE IN KEEPING THE CORE  
OF THE SYSTEM A BIT MORE INTACT, THERE HAVE BEEN MORE  
DETERMINISTIC RUNS SHOWING THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED 35-45 MPH  
GUSTS AS THE ROBUST LLJ SHIFTS OVERHEAD. 12Z HREF PROBABILITIES  
FOR GUSTS GREATER THAN 40 MPH ARE NOW NEAR 20-40%, MAINLY TOWARD  
THE CSRA AND INTO THE PARTS OF CENTRAL/EASTERN MIDLANDS.  
CONFIDENCE IN THESE STRONGER GUSTS IS PRETTY LOW AS THE  
OVERNIGHT/EARLY MORNING PERIOD FAVORS LESS MIXING OCCURRING AS  
SEEN IN BUFKIT SOUNDINGS. THERE IS ALSO A GENEROUS SPREAD ACROSS  
HIGH-RES MODELS ON THIS POTENTIAL STILL. OVERALL, THE POTENTIAL  
FOR THESE STRONGER GUSTS IS THERE BUT CONFIDENCE REMAINS LOW,  
WILL NEED TO CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THIS THREAT OVERNIGHT TONIGHT  
AND EARLY TOMORROW.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 2: DRIER CONDITIONS RETURN THIS EVENING INTO EARLY  
THURSDAY AHEAD OF THE ACTIVE WEATHER FROM KEY MESSAGE 1.  
 
THE SHORTWAVE THAT BROUGHT SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING  
IS PUSHING OFF THE COAST, LEADING TO DECREASING COVERAGE ACROSS  
THE FA. A COUPLE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL  
REMAIN POSSIBLE TOWARD THE CSRA AND SOUTHEASTERN MIDLANDS INTO  
THE EARLY EVENING, BUT DRY CONDITIONS ARE THEN EXPECTED TO TAKE  
HOLD TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY BEFORE ACTIVE WEATHER MOVES IN  
LATER THURSDAY (SEE KEY MESSAGE 1 FOR THESE DETAILS). AS CLOUD  
COVER BREAKS UP A BIT THIS AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES SHOULD REACH  
INTO THE MID TO UPPER 80S BEFORE WARMING A BIT THURSDAY, TOWARD  
THE UPPER 80S TO LOW 90S.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /00Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/  
 
VFR CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF THE NIGHT WITH SOME MVFR CEILINGS  
POSSIBLE NEAR DAYBREAK.  
 
SCATTERED CUMULUS BEING NOTED ACROSS THE REGION ARE STARTED TO  
DISSIPATE AS THE SUN STARTS TO SET. A FEW SHOWERS HAVE ALSO  
SHOWN UP ON RADAR, BUT THEY ARE ALSO DISSIPATING. WHILE A BRIEF  
SHOWER REMAINS POSSIBLE THROUGH 01Z OR 02Z, THE POTENTIAL IS TOO  
LOW TO INCLUDE IN THE TAF. OVERNIGHT, SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE  
EXPECTED TO REMAIN ELEVATED, GENERALLY IN THE 5-10 KT RANGE,  
INCREASING THE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE TO THE AREA. AS A RESULT, MVFR  
CEILINGS APPEAR MORE LIKELY IN THE 10Z-15Z TIMEFRAME AT ALL  
TERMINALS. WINDS THEN BECOME GUSTY, GUSTING TO 20-25 KTS,  
POTENTIALLY HIGHER AT TIMES. LATEST GUIDANCE HOLDS OFF  
RAIN/STORM CHANCES UNTIL LATE IN THE TAF PERIOD, BUT THERE'S  
ENOUGH POTENTIAL AT AGS, DNL, AND AIK TO INCLUDE A PROB30 GROUP  
FOR THE LAST FEW HOURS OF THE PERIOD.  
 
EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK...RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLE THU NIGHT/FRI  
AS MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND STORMS MOVE INTO THE AREA.  
DIURNALLY DRIVEN SHOWER AND STORM ACTIVITY CAN BE ANTICIPATED  
HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND.  
 
 
   
CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
SC...NONE.  
GA...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
DISCUSSION...DH/73  
AVIATION...29  
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