460  
FXUS02 KWBC 081930  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD  
330 PM EDT SAT AUG 08 2009  
 
VALID 12Z TUE AUG 11 2009 - 12Z SAT AUG 15 2009  
 
THE LONGWAVE PATTERN IS SHOWING SIGNS OF RETURNING TO A MORE  
NORMAL AUGUST PATTERN. AS THE CURRENT DEEP TROF LIFTS OUT OF THE  
WRN STATES...THE POLAR WESTERLIES WILL RETREAT TO A MORE NORMAL  
SUMMER LOCATION NEAR OR JUST N OF THE US/CANADIAN BORDER. IN FACT  
HEIGHTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE NRN TIER OF STATES MAY AVERAGE OUT A BIT  
ABOVE NORMAL DURING THE MEDIUM RANGE...SOMETHING THAT HAS NOT  
HAPPENED ON THAT LARGE A SCALE SO FAR THIS SUMMER. THE  
DETERMINISTIC 00Z/08 ECMWF MADE ANOTHER ATTEMPT A BRINGING IN AN  
ANOMALOUSLY DEEP TROF INTO THE PACIFIC NW STATES AROUND FRI DAY 6.  
THOUGH NOT AS FAR S AS THE PREVIOUS DEEP WRN TROF...IT IS STILL  
ANOMALOUSLY INTENSE COMPARED TO CLIMO...AND WE THINK THAT THE  
00Z/08 ENSEMBLE MEANS OF THE NAEFS AND ECMWF DO A PRETTY  
REASONABLE JOB AT KEEPING MOST OF THE HEIGHT FALL WITH THAT  
FEATURE ALONG AND OFFSHORE THE PACIFIC NW COAST.  
 
THE 12Z GFS HAS TRENDED A LITTLE DEEPER/FASTER WITH THE NEXT  
IMPORTANT TROF TO ENTER THE PACIFIC NW COAST...THOUGH NOT AS DEEP  
OR PROGRESSIVE AS THE 00Z/08 ECMWF RUN. THE NEW 12Z/08 GEFS MEAN  
IS WEAKER STILL...AND SUPPORTS OUR EARLIER PRELIM REASONING. THE  
NEW 12Z/08 ECMWF IS IN FACT TRENDING TOWARDS THE 12Z/08 GFS WITH  
THE FRI DAY 6 PACIFIC NW TROF...REINFORCING THE TRUTH THAT THE  
LAW OF AVERAGES WORKS OUT WELL OVER THE LONG RUN.  
 
FINAL PROGS UPHOLD THE EARLIER RATIONALE. WE KEPT OUR BLEND OF 40%  
OF THE NEW 00Z/08 ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEAN WITH 30% EACH OF THE 00Z/08  
GFS AND ECMWF. THIS BLEND MAINTAINED THE REASONABLE 00Z/08 AND  
12Z/08 DETERMINISTIC GFS/ECMWF AVERAGE OF THE NEW UPPER TROF  
EXPECTED ALONG THE PACIFIC NW COAST FOR LATE NEXT WEEK. THE 00Z/08  
ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEAN WAS ALSO QUITE COMPATIBLE WITH THE  
CORRESPONDING ENSEMBLE MEANS OF THE CANADIAN AND GEFS IN DEPICTING  
THIS NEW TROF NEAR THE PACIFIC NW COAST. ENSEMBLE SPAGHETTI PLOTS  
CLEARLY SHOWED THE DETERMINISTIC 00Z/08 ECMWF TO BE AN OUTLIER  
NEAR THE SRN EDGE OF THE ENVELOPE OF SOLUTIONS WITH ITS DEEP TROF  
OVER THE PACIFIC NW FOR FRI DAY 6. THE 00Z/08 GEFS AND NAEFS MEANS  
WERE MORE CLIMATOLOGICAL IN KEEPING A BROADER LESS INTENSE TROF  
MORE ALONG/OFFSHORE THE PACIFIC NW COAST EARLY NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
ANOTHER POTENTIAL PROBLEM AREA LATE IN THE PERIOD WILL BE OVER ERN  
NOAM...WHERE THE ECMWF MEAN SHOWS FLAT ANTICYCLONIC FLOW ACROSS SE  
CANADA...IN CONTRAST TO THE GEFS MEAN SHOWING A WEAK BROAD TROF  
OVER THE NERN STATES. AT THIS TIME I PREFER A PATTERN A BIT LESS  
RIDGY THAN THE 00Z/08 ECMWF MEAN IN SE CANADA....BUT HIGHER  
HEIGHTS OVER THE NE STATES NEXT WEEKEND THAN SHOWN BY THE 00Z/08  
GEFS MEAN. THE NEW 12Z/08 GFS/ECMWF CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS  
REASONING. ONE PROBLEM LATE IN THE PERIOD MIGHT BE THE NWD EXTENT  
OF MOISTURE INTO THE MID ATLANTIC STATES AS A WEAK SHEAR AXIS OR  
UPPER LOW DEVELOPS OVER THE TN VLY/GULF STATES. ABOVE NORMAL  
HEIGHTS WILL KEEP CONVECTION GENERALLY SPARSE ACROSS THE NRN TIER  
OF STATES. HOWEVER HIGHER PWS ALONG WITH A GOOD CHANCE OF OF  
DIURNAL CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY MAY WORK SLOWLY NWD INTO THE OH  
VLY/MID ATLANTIC STATES DAYS 5-7 ALONG AND TO THE RIGHT OF A SHEAR  
AXIS ALOFT.  
 
FLOOD  

 
 
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