Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Franklin, NC

NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/
As of 135 AM EDT Friday: Any lingering cloud cover has shifted east of the CFWA as mostly clear skies prevail. No major changes to the forecast as it remains on track. Only made minor tweaks to current observations and latest model trends.

Despite largely calm winds, lows tonight will end up a few degrees above normal, with all areas expected to remain well above freezing. Did make minor adjustments to temp and dewpoint per recent obs trends, with most sites having slightly higher dewpoints than expected at this hour. Dewpoint depressions still look too large to expect fog thru daybreak. Increasing S/SSW flow will allow for much warmer highs on Friday (~8-10 degrees above normal). Temps will climb into the upper 70s to lower 80s across the mountain valleys and east of the mountains Friday afternoon. Elevations above 3500 ft will see highs range from the mid 60s to lower 70s. Breezy winds will develop by Friday afternoon, remaining well below advisory criteria, lingering through the end of the near term.

Forecast CAMs show the potential for a few showers to develop again tomorrow afternoon. However, with the such a dry air mass in place, precip is not expected to reach the ground. Regardless, a few sprinkles cannot be entirely ruled out.

SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/
As of 124 PM EDT Thursday: An increasingly elongated upper ridge will remain in place over the Southeast on Saturday, maintaining southerly return flow at the low-levels. So, a warming trend is expected for Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures some 10-12 degrees above normal over much of the area. Breezy WAA winds are expected each afternoon, but the influx of moisture should keep humidity high enough to preclude any fire weather issues.

LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/
As of 159 PM EDT Thursday: Guidance depicts a compact upper low lifting out of the southern Great Plains on Monday, then riding up and over the deteriorating ridge across the Southeast.
This will further hasten the ridge's demise, leaving us under a wave, unsettled pattern for the remainder of the period. A surface cold front is progged to cross the area Monday night into Tuesday, though as the supporting upper trough pivots north, it may lose some steam as it arrives. The favored solution among the latest cycle of global ensembles depicts the front stalling somewhere over South Carolina, either over our Upstate zones or somewhere just south. At least token thunder chances are expected for much of the forecast area given the front's timing. Temps will remain above normal through the period.

AVIATION /06Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
At KCLT and elsewhere: VFR conditions will prevail through much of the forecast period. Any leftover mid-level clouds have shifted east of the terminals and skies have become mostly clear. Can't rule out drifting thin cirrus overnight, but that's about it. Winds are light and variable at all TAF sites, but will quickly pick up out of the south to south-southwest soon after daybreak. Low-end gusts ~20 kts are expected during peak heating, but should quickly subside by sunset. Some of the model guidance try to develop an MVFR low stratus deck east of the mountains just before daybreak Saturday and hinted at this in the KCLT TAF with SCT030 as this falls at the end of the 30-hour forecast period. Otherwise, south to south-southwesterly winds remain elevated overnight Friday (5-10 kts), while passing spurts of upper- to mid-level clouds can't be ruled out throughout much of the period.

Outlook: Dry and VFR continues through the weekend. Rain and associated restrictions return early next week and may linger through much of the week.

GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
GA...None.
NC...None.
SC...None.