694
FXUS62 KFFC 161929
AFDFFC

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
229 PM EST Tue Dec 16 2025


...Afternoon Area Forecast Discussion...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 226 PM EST Tue Dec 16 2025


 - Temperatures gradually rebound by the middle of this week.

 - Rain chances return by mid-day Thursday, lingering through the
   early overnight hours and clearing out Friday morning.

 - Seasonable temperatures and dry conditions to start the
   weekend, with a slight chance for rain on Sunday.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(This afternoon through Wednesday)
Issued at 226 PM EST Tue Dec 16 2025

Current satellite loop shows clear skies across north and central GA
as high pressure continues to dominate the weather pattern. The ridge
is still centered over central/south GA but it is beginning to
weaken and is still expected to slide off the GA/SC coast tonight.
Even through the ridge center will push off shore the ridge axis will
continue across the state through Wed evening.

As this ridge weakens, the next wave to move in across the state is
beginning to develop along the southern TX Gulf coast. This next
wave stays fairly stationary over the next 24 hours as the ridge is
not allowing it to push eastward. It just continues to develop along
the TX/LA gulf coast before ejecting NE Wed night. This wave pushes
into MS/AL early Thu morning bringing precip to west GA just after
sunrise Thu. For the short term we will mostly see increased cloud
cover Wed/Wed night with the precip moving in during the extended
periods.

With clear skies and the ridge still in control tonight temps will
dip back down to near freezing for most areas. With the ridge
pushing offshore we start to get into warmer southerly flow which
helps the temps to rebound Wed into the upper 50s to lower 60s
across north and central GA. The increased cloud cover Wed night/Thu
morning from the incoming wave will only allow temps to to get down
into the 40s.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Thursday morning through next Monday)
Issued at 226 PM EST Tue Dec 16 2025

As the long term period begins Thursday morning, a longwave trough
will be moving across the Great Plains towards the Mississippi
Valley. A strong surface low associated with this trough will
meanwhile swing across the Great Lakes region, extending a cold
front towards the Southeast. Amplifying southwesterly flow ahead of
the trough combined with southerly low level flow will combine to
promote continued moisture advection into central and north Georgia.
Morning lows (and dewpoints) will continue their warming trend from
the short term period, starting Thursday morning in the low to mid
40s across the area. These dewpoints will increase over the course
of the day into the 50s to near 60 while precipitable water values
climb to between 1.1-1.4 inches. Scattered showers will be possible
during the morning hours, becoming more widespread during the
afternoon as the frontal boundary draws closer to Georgia. In spite
of these showers and overcast skies, highs on Thursday will rise to
between 5-10 degrees above normal, in the upper 50s to low 60s in
north Georgia and the mid to upper 60s in central Georgia.

The cold front itself is expected to push into the northwest corner
of the state on Thursday night, continuing southeast through early
morning hours on Friday. During the overnight hours, the combination
increased low-level shear ahead of the front and marginal
instability could allow for the development of isolated
thunderstorms. These storms could be capable of producing locally
heavy rain and gusty winds in portions of north Georgia. Rain and
thunderstorm chances will begin to diminish in the pre-dawn hours on
Friday as the front moves into central Georgia and frontal forcing
weakens. Rainfall totals associated with this system have increased
from the previous forecast package, ranging from 0.75-1 inch in the
far northern tier and progressively lower to the south, down to
about 0.25-0.5 inch in central Georgia.

Colder air will set up behind this front on Friday, though not quite
to the extent we saw earlier this week. Highs on Friday are forecast
to be in the mid to upper 40s along and north of the I-85 corridor
and in the 50s to the south. Low temperatures overnight into
Saturday morning will largely be in the upper 20s to low 30s. As mid-
level ridging slides over the eastern CONUS on Saturday, a surface
high is expected to traverse  Georgia and could potentially set up a
a CAD wedge feature that keeps temperatures in the 50s to near 60 in
north Georgia, compared to mid 60s in central Georgia. A quick-
hitting disturbance is likely to swing through the Tennessee Valley
region and into north Georgia  Saturday night into Sunday. At this
time, moisture that this disturbance could tap into appears that it
will be limited, with dewpoints remaining in the 30s to low 40s for
much of the overnight and limited time on Sunday for moisture
return. Ensembles furthermore do not indicate much in the way of
rainfall, and PoPs have been limited to slight chance PoPs in
portions of north and west Georgia on Sunday, as a result.

&&

.AVIATION...
(18Z TAFS)
Issued at 1220 PM EST Tue Dec 16 2025

High pressure still dominating the weather pattern Clear skies
today with increasing high clouds Wed. Winds expected to stay out
of the NW to W today then turn to the SW Wed. Wind speeds will
stay 7kt or less through the period. No precipitation or
restrictions to VSBYs expected.

//ATL Confidence...18Z Update...
Confidence high on all elements

01

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Athens          31  58  41  61 /   0   0  10  80
Atlanta         34  59  44  61 /   0   0  10  80
Blairsville     30  56  37  55 /   0   0  10  80
Cartersville    31  58  41  61 /   0   0  10  80
Columbus        33  60  46  63 /   0   0  20  70
Gainesville     34  57  41  58 /   0   0  10  80
Macon           30  60  44  64 /   0   0  10  70
Rome            31  60  42  63 /   0  10  10  90
Peachtree City  30  60  43  61 /   0   0  10  80
Vidalia         37  63  48  68 /   0   0  10  60

&&

.FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&

$$

SHORT TERM...01
LONG TERM....King
AVIATION...01