Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Charleston, SC
Issued by NWS Charleston, SC
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516 FXUS62 KCHS 302329 AFDCHS Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston SC 729 PM EDT Sun Jun 30 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front will impact the area Monday into Tuesday before dissipating offshore. High pressure will return for the latter half of the week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM MONDAY MORNING/... This evening and tonight: Strong ridging aloft has kept convection to a minimum in our area so far, but that will change. Upstream convection is starting to congeal as cold pooling occurs. Given favorable instability and MLCAPE, but plenty of moisture, we do need to keep watch for a strong or marginally severe storm as it gets into our northwest tier of counties by 9 pm. DCAPE might still be strong enough at 800-900 J/kg to generate some 45-55 mph winds if it holds together. Latest Hi-Res guidance shows that the activity will start to weaken and diminish in coverage as it gets further along into the forecast zones. However, given the approach of a short wave and associated height falls aloft, this remains to be seen. We delayed the coverage of convection a bit from the previous forecast based on latest trends. But still holding onto scattered to numerous PoPs, highest north and northwest. The greatest coverage looks to be 9 pm to 1 am in those areas. By the early morning hours, convection should steadily dissipate and the late night hours should mostly be rain-free. Expect a muggy summer night with lows in the mid to upper 70s away from the coast. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Monday: Models continue to advertise a heavy rain/flooding signal along parts of the Georgia and lower/middle South Carolina coast for Monday. Subtropical ridging aloft will quickly give way to broad troughing along much of the Eastern Seaboard during the day as pronounced shortwave energy embedded in the northwest flow aloft approaches the Carolina coast. This will help push a slow moving cold front south into southern South Carolina, propagating south of the Santee River by early afternoon. Modified soundings ahead of the front show solid mixed-layer instability (MLCAPE 1500-2000 J/kg with K-indices pushing 40C) developing by late morning embedded within a weak shear environment (0-6km bulk shear averaging ~15 kt). Moisture is also abundant with surface dewpoints progged to hold in the mid- upper 70s with PWATs nearing 2.50" at times (daily max for KCHS for July 1 is just over 2.30" per SPC sounding climatology). Expect convection to develop near the Santee River in the vicinity of the front by late morning, then slowly spread south through the rest of southern South Carolina into Southeast Georgia into the afternoon/evening hours in tandem with the front. Given the degree of instability and moisture coupled with surface moisture convergence values surpassing 50 g/kg/12hr at times near the front and some forcing aloft with approaching shortwave energy, the setup looks favorable of periods of extremely heavy rainfall with hourly rainfall rates potentially exceeding 3 in/hr. This is reinforced by the 30/12z HREF QPF progs showing an ~90% chance for 3+ inches to fall in 3 hours clustered in the Savannah-Charleston corridor. There are even some signals that a few spots could see localized amounts in excess of 6 inches (noted 12-hr probs of >5" averaging 70-75% over central Charleston County, including Downtown Charleston). Although antecedent conditions are fairly dry with D0 and D1 drought conditions in place, there is an increasing concern that pockets of significant flash flooding could occur given the intense hourly rainfall rates expected with the slow moving convection, especially in urban areas such as Beaufort and both the Charleston and Savannah Metro Areas. Complicating matters is heavy rains could be falling at the afternoon high tide which could enhanced the flood risk, especially in Downtown Charleston and nearby communities. A Flood Watch has been issued from Noon until 9 PM Monday for the South Carolina and Georgia coastal counties, including Effingham, Hampton, Inland Colleton, Dorchester and Inland Berkeley. Storm total QPF Monday into Monday night will run 2-4" with localized amounts in excess of 6". Categorical pops 80-100% look reasonable, which is a bit higher than the various 12z statistical guidance packages, but closer to the 30/13z NBM. Highs will warm into the upper 80s/lower 90s, warmest across Southeast Georgia. Convection will slowly wane through night, although elevated pops will hold through daybreak Tuesday as the front moves south and northeast onshore winds will keep moisture in place. This will be especially true for coastal Georgia. Lows will range from the upper 60s/lower 70s well inland to the near 80 along the Georgia and far southern South Carolina beaches. Tuesday and Wednesday: The front will slowly dissipate to the south and offshore through the period as subtropical ridging aloft builds back to the east. The pattern will return to more typical summer time convective regime with onshore winds supporting higher low- level moisture values across Southeast Georgia. Scattered to numerous shower/tstms are expected each afternoon and evening with activity diminishing during the overnight hours. Highs will only warm to the mid-upper 80s Tuesday with upper 80s/lower 90s for Wednesday. Lows Tuesday night will range from the lower 70s well inland to the upper 70s/near 80 at the beaches. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... An impressive upper-level anticyclone will setup across the Deep South and Southeast U.S. mid-late week. The risk for showers/tstms will generally average below climatological normals as a result. The heat will also steadily build with highs reaching the upper 90s/near 900 inland Friday into the weekend. Heat indices will push the 108 Heat Advisory criteria during this time as well. && .AVIATION /00Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... KCHS/KJZI/KSAV: Upstream convection associated with a short wave and cold front will approach the terminals during the late evening and first part of the post-midnight period. Recent guidance suggests that this activity will fade before getting to any of the sites. But we`re not entirely convinced that will happen with the energy aloft, plenty of moisture, and decent instability. We`ll show VCTS at all sites from 03Z to 06Z, and amend if needed. The greater chance for convection and prolonged flight restrictions will occur Monday afternoon and evening as a cold front stalls nearby. Considerable moisture, low level convergence, and instability will favor several hours of at least MVFR weather with moderate to heavy rains in SHRA and TSRA. Some potential for IFR at times, and we can adjust in later TAF issuances if necessary. Extended Aviation Outlook: Brief flight restrictions are possible in showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon and evenings through the period. && .MARINE... This evening and tonight: Typical diurnal sea breeze surging will continue along the coast into the evening hours, with gusts up to around 20 knots at times along and near the coast. During the early morning hours, modest nocturnal surging will top out around 15 knots, with a few gusts to 20 knots possible. Then closer to sunrise Monday, winds should mostly be in the 10-15 knot range out of the southwest. Seas should average 2-3 feet. Monday through Friday: A cold front will drop south through the waters Monday with east/northwest winds prevailing all areas Monday night. Widespread showers/tstms with heavy rain could reduce vsbys to less than 1 NM at times and be accompanied by gusty winds and cloud- to-ground lightning. There will be a bit of a post-frontal surge Monday night into Tuesday with speeds increasing to 15-20 kt over the South Santee to Edisto Beach nearshore leg with 10-15 kt elsewhere. Northeast winds will gradually veer more southerly for Thursday and Friday. Seas will average 2-4 ft through the period, except up to 5 ft over portions of the South Carolina nearshore waters in the northeast flow behind the cold front. && .CLIMATE... Record High Minimum Temperature for June 30: KCHS: 78F set in 1977. (Low so far today 79F) Daily Rainfall Records for July 1: KCHS: 2.66 set in 1948 KCXM: 1.64 set in 1966 KSAV: 2.76 set in 1871 && .CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...Flood Watch from Monday afternoon through Monday evening for GAZ101-116>119-137>141. SC...Flood Watch from Monday afternoon through Monday evening for SCZ042>045-047>052. MARINE...None. && $$ NEAR TERM... SHORT TERM... LONG TERM... AVIATION... MARINE...