780 FXUS62 KTAE 032318 AFDTAEArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tallahassee FL 718 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
...New UPDATE, AVIATION...
.UPDATE... Issued at 715 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
The forecast is on track with minimal changes made.
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.NEAR TERM... (Through Saturday) Issued at 101 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
Shower chances increase by Saturday with a slight chance of thunder during the afternoon as gusty East-Northeast winds continue. For the remainder of today, spotty shower chances will be confined to the FL Big Bend as radar indicates light echoes propagating westward with PWATs struggle to break the 1.5 inch mark. As low to mid-level flow becomes more East-Southeast on Saturday, shower chances increase generally from the Flint River Valley east and in the FL Counties, along with a slight chance of thunder given the meager instability. East-Northeast winds remain gusty around 20 to 25 mph through the period, with lows in the mid-60s and highs in the mid-80s, which is close to normal. The Rip Current Risk is forecast to remain High along the Franklin and Walton County coast, and may tick up along the Bay County coast as well.
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.SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM... (Saturday night through Thursday) Issued at 101 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
The pattern becomes more complex as a weak cutoff low over the Bahamas moves westward and eventually is absorbed into a broader cutoff low in the lower MS Valley by early next week with the mid-level flow becoming southerly. Meanwhile closer the surface, a wedge of high pressure remains to the lee of the Appalachians, with a tendency for some drier air within easterly flow, while a stalled front remains over the Gulf. This will promote lift via overrunning of an air mass characterized by PWATs approaching or exceed the 90th percentile (1.9 inches) per ensembles on Sunday and Monday. Expect showers with embedded heavier downpours and a chance of thunderstorms as instability increases. Cannot rule out an isolated strong storm on Sunday and Monday or even on Tuesday, mainly in the FL Counties. Meanwhile, there is a low 10% chance of tropical development in the Northeast Gulf w/aforementioned frontal boundary that will likely linger into the middle of the week. Regardless of development, rough marine conditions and a high rip current risk will likely continue into midweek. It will feel increasingly humid this weekend into next week with highs in the 80s and warm overnight lows due to cloud cover keeping temperatures generally above average.
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.AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 715 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
VFR conditions are generally expected to prevail through the TAF period; a brief period of MVFR ceilings are possible early Saturday morning. Moderate to breezy east- northeasterly winds are forecast through the TAF period with some gusts in the 20-25 knot range again Saturday afternoon again for all TAF sites. A few showers are possible near the end of the TAF period for KTLH, KVLD, and KECP, so some VCSH was included to highlight that potential.
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.MARINE... Issued at 101 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
A prolonged period of Small Craft Advisory conditions will continue into Sunday across the coastal waters due a tight pressure gradient between high pressure to our north and a stalled front to our south. East-Northeast winds of 20 to 30 knots and significant wave heights rapidly increasing just offshore to 5 to 8 feet, highest to the west of the Ochlockonee River. Chances for showers and thunderstorms will increase as the front lifts north over the weekend with waterspouts possible. While easterly winds relax some Monday, periods of winds around 15 to 20 knots may linger thru midweek, which would promote elevated seas.
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.FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 101 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
Strong East to Northeast transport winds of 15-20 mph will continue each day through the weekend. When combined with mixing heights of 4,000 to 5,000 on Saturday, pockets of high dispersion are likely in the afternoon, with otherwise good dispersion. Slightly lower mixing heights around 4,000 feet on Sunday are expected to promote good dispersion. Shower coverage will increase over the weekend and a few thunderstorms cannot be ruled out as well. The highest chance for a wetting rain comes Sunday with about a 50/50 chance. Min RH values will rise each afternoon through the weekend. The gusty winds and drying fuels may lead to some elevated fire weather concerns over the next couple days.
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.HYDROLOGY... Issued at 101 PM EDT Fri Oct 3 2025
Chances for showers and storms increase through the weekend. With PWATs increasing to the 90th percentile over the weekend, some locally heavy downpours may occur, especially Sunday and Monday. Most likely rainfall totals are around 1 inch near the I-75 corridor and Suwannee River to 0.5 over the Central Time Zone counties. However, the reasonable high-end totals (90th percentile) are around 1.5-2.5 inches over the eastern Big Bend and I-75 corridor. This shouldn`t cause widespread flood concerns given the ongoing drought across the area. This rain would be more beneficial than problematic.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Spotter activation is not requested. However, spotters are always encouraged to safely report significant weather conditions when they occur by calling the office or tweeting us @NWSTallahassee.
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.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Spotter activation is not requested. However, spotters are always encouraged to safely report significant weather conditions when they occur by calling the office or tweeting us @NWSTallahassee.
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.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Tallahassee 67 85 71 86 / 0 20 10 60 Panama City 68 86 71 85 / 10 20 30 60 Dothan 64 84 69 84 / 0 10 10 50 Albany 64 84 69 86 / 0 20 0 50 Valdosta 66 84 70 85 / 0 30 0 60 Cross City 68 86 71 86 / 0 30 10 60 Apalachicola 69 83 73 83 / 10 30 40 60
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.TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...High Rip Current Risk until 1 AM CDT Saturday for FLZ108.
High Rip Current Risk through late Sunday night for FLZ115.
GA...None. AL...None. GM...Small Craft Advisory until 8 PM EDT /7 PM CDT/ Sunday for GMZ730- 751-752-755-765-770-772-775.
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NEAR TERM...LF SHORT TERM...LF LONG TERM....LF AVIATION...Reese MARINE...LF FIRE WEATHER...LF HYDROLOGY...Young
NWS TAE Office Area Forecast Discussion