Great news!!!!
That ridge of upper high pressure is going to protect almost all of the Southeast from nothing more than just scattered to small patches of broken cloudiness. The exceptions are the immediate South Carolina coast and the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, especially in North Carolina where there will be a few more clouds and just a couple of small showers. Temperatures will be HOT, but you knew that.
Enjoy!
***Previous discussion below.***
The forecast continues to look better and better for much of the Southeast for the big day. An upper level ridge of high pressure is going to be firmly entrenched over the area, which will mean a layer of warm air at about 10,000 feet that is likely going to put a lid on the formation of thunderstorms and even much of the cumulus cloud buildups you would normally expect this time of year in the afternoon. There will be a couple of exceptions to this over the region - coastal South Carolina will have at least a 20–40% chance of showers, as will the higher elevations of North Carolina. But even in those areas some folks will luck out and catch a glimpse - just keep your fingers crossed. Another area that will have some cloudiness is in Georgia from about Atlanta south. But, in this case the clouds will be of the higher level variety so the sun may still be visible but through a haze of cirrus clouds at about 20-30 thousand feet.
The really prime area is going to be from Atlanta north into Tennessee and North Carolina (away from the higher mountains). The area near Nashville and Knoxville may be almost ideal.
This is about as good of a forecast that we could have expected for this time of year given what a more normal day could look like - so get out there and enjoy it!
*** This forecast discussion will be updated daily.*** ***Updated portions underlined above.***
***Forecast discussion provided by meteorologist Matt Crowther. Matt forecasted for 33 years while with The Weather Channel, and is now a freelance meteorologist and storm/nature photographer.***
That ridge of upper high pressure is going to protect almost all of the Southeast from nothing more than just scattered to small patches of broken cloudiness. The exceptions are the immediate South Carolina coast and the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, especially in North Carolina where there will be a few more clouds and just a couple of small showers. Temperatures will be HOT, but you knew that.
Enjoy!
***Previous discussion below.***
The forecast continues to look better and better for much of the Southeast for the big day. An upper level ridge of high pressure is going to be firmly entrenched over the area, which will mean a layer of warm air at about 10,000 feet that is likely going to put a lid on the formation of thunderstorms and even much of the cumulus cloud buildups you would normally expect this time of year in the afternoon. There will be a couple of exceptions to this over the region - coastal South Carolina will have at least a 20–40% chance of showers, as will the higher elevations of North Carolina. But even in those areas some folks will luck out and catch a glimpse - just keep your fingers crossed. Another area that will have some cloudiness is in Georgia from about Atlanta south. But, in this case the clouds will be of the higher level variety so the sun may still be visible but through a haze of cirrus clouds at about 20-30 thousand feet.
The really prime area is going to be from Atlanta north into Tennessee and North Carolina (away from the higher mountains). The area near Nashville and Knoxville may be almost ideal.
This is about as good of a forecast that we could have expected for this time of year given what a more normal day could look like - so get out there and enjoy it!
*** This forecast discussion will be updated daily.*** ***Updated portions underlined above.***
***Forecast discussion provided by meteorologist Matt Crowther. Matt forecasted for 33 years while with The Weather Channel, and is now a freelance meteorologist and storm/nature photographer.***