Issued: 12am on Thursday, January 1st 1970
Technical Forecast Discussion
Short term (Wednesday 2/13 through Saturday 2/16)
Lingering precipitation and clouds will exist early Wednesday as drier air moves into the region. Weak upper level ridging approaches later into Wednesday, trapping some moisture in the region resulting in some persisting scattered cloud cover. Ridging will also result in WAA. Cloud cover will be at its lowest on Thursday as moisture from the previous system will finally be pushed out due to an incoming system from the Plains produced by a shortwave trough moving through the mid US. WAA will result in rain Thursday evening as the warm frontal boundary moves near. Temperatures will peak on Friday still in the mid to upper 50s before the cold front passes through Friday night. Precipitation will be mixed and likely transform over into snow in the later evening as colder air moves in. Drier air will be introduced Saturday leading to a decrease in moisture and less chance in precipitation.
Long term (Sunday 2/17 through Tuesday 2/19)
A negatively tilted trough lies over the Southwest United States. From there to the Mid-Atlantic there lies a large jet streak downstream of the trough. This will give any left over moisture on Sunday a chance to fall as precipitation, but with drier air moving in Saturday, chances seem slim. Still, some cloud cover will likely be generated on Sunday. A system will also be present to the south on Sunday.Models situate the Athens in or around the northwest sector of the storm Sunday night and Monday morning. Moisture from this system could also spark precipitation as both rain and snow during that time period. Dry, cold air gains influence again mid-Monday. Clouds will still linger due to the jet streak and upper level divergence. On Tuesday, some slight ridging building is visible on the GFS and Euro models which promotes some cloud clearing and WAA. This also brings up a developing system on the downstream of a trough to the east that will likely bring clouds and a chance for precip.
