080  
FXUS02 KWBC 221758  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD  
157 PM EDT THU OCT 22 2009  
 
VALID 12Z SUN OCT 25 2009 - 12Z THU OCT 29 2009  
 
THERE ARE TWO CONSTANTS TO THE MED RANGE FORECAST... TWO LARGE AND  
RATHER STATIONARY UPPER RIDGES COVERING THE PAC AND ATL OCEANS. IN  
BETWEEN A BROAD LONG WAVE UPPER TROUGH WILL BE PRESENT WITH THE  
AXIS OF THE FEATURE SETTLING BASICALLY THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE  
COUNTRY. THE MODEL GUIDANCE GENERALLY HAS THIS FORECAST SCENARIO  
BUT AS THE SMALL SCALE DIFFERENCES GRADUALLY INCREASE THROUGHOUT  
THE FCST PERIOD... IT EVENTUALLY CATCHES UP TO THE LARGE SCALE  
FEATURES TO ADD ENOUGH SPREAD AND UNCERTAINTY TO THE FCST. EARLY  
PRELIMS OF HPC GENERALLY FOLLOWED A BLEND OF THE 00Z ECMWF...  
UKMET AND GFS IN VARIOUS WAYS THROUGH D5 OR NEXT TUES. ON D6 AND  
7... HPC GENERALLY FOLLOWED A BLEND OF THE 00Z GFS/ECMWF.  
 
UPDATED MORNING PRELIMS  
HOWEVER UPON SEEING NEWER 06Z GFS AND 00Z ECMWF ENSEMBLES A LARGER  
DEGREE OF THE OPERATIONAL 06Z GFS WAS USED FOR DAYS 3-5 AND A  
BLEND OF 06Z GFS AND 00Z GFS/00Z ECMWF ENS MEANS FOR DAYS 6 AND 7  
THU/FRI. THIS BASICALLY TRENDS TOWARDS MORE WRN TROF AMPLIFICATION  
AFTER DAY 5 CLOSER TO A CONSENSUS OF CMC/UKMET/06Z GFS OP  
SOLUTIONS AND ENSEMBLE MEANS. OP 00Z ECMWF IS TE LEAST AMPLIFIED  
SOLUTION AND NOT CONSIDERED TO HAVE ENOUGH EPAC RIDGING AND  
DOWNSTREAM TROF AMPLIFICATION AT THIS TIME RANGE.  
 
AFTN FINALS  
12Z GFS FOLLOWS ITS 06Z VERSION BUT WITH A WEAKER LESS AMPLIFIED  
SHORTWAVE MOVING THRU THE PLAINS/ CENTRAL AND UPPER MS VALLEY LATE  
SUNDAY AND MONDAY. LATEST RUN BY DAYS 5 AND 6 TUES/WED FOLLOWS ITS  
06Z AND 00Z CMC WITH A MID LEVEL CLOSED LOW IN THE NRN PLAINS AND  
A DIGGING TROF IN THE SOUTHWEST. BY DAY 7 12Z GFS TRENDING TOWARDS  
BUT MORE PROGRESSIVE OF THE CMC SOLUTION OF CUTTING OFF A MID  
LEVEL CENTER OVER SONORA MEXICO INSTEAD OF SOCAL. THIS CUTOFF  
SOLUTION IS BRIEF AS IT EXITS NEWD AS A STRONG CLOSED LOW  
SHORTWAVE IN BOTH GFS AND 00Z CMC SOLUTIONS LATE DAY 7 INTO DAY 8.  
12Z CMC KEEPS ITS AMPLIFIED STRONG SWRN CONUS TROF AT 144 HRS  
WHILE UKMET IS MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH A SHARP TROF EWD FROM THE NRN  
PLAINS INTO N CENTRAL MEXICO. HPC UPDATED PROGS WILL NOT CHANGE AT  
THE SFC BUT MORE INCORPORATION OF THE 06Z GFS ENS MEAN..WHICH IS  
CLOSER TO THE 00Z/12Z CMC AND 06Z/12Z GFS SOLUTIONS WILL BE USED  
FOR H500 MB ADJUSTMENTS.  
 
THE FCST PERIOD KICKS OFF WITH A BROAD UPPER LOW OVER THE UPPER  
MIDWEST AND A SOLID COLD FRONT SLICING THROUGH THE MIDWEST. THIS  
FEATURE WILL GRADUALLY PRESS AND LIFT OFF TO THE NORTH AND EAST...  
DUE TO THE LARGE UPPER RIDGE AND HIGH HEIGHTS EXISTING ACROSS THE  
EAST. THUS EXPECT THE SURFACE COLD FRONT TO GRADUALLY WEAKEN AS IT  
ARRIVES INTO THE ERN US SAT. THEN RIGHT ON ITS HEELS WILL BE A  
MORE POTENT PAC SYSTEM SLAMMING THROUGH THE NW/NRN ROCKIES ON MON  
AND DIGGING INTO THE NRN PLAINS NEXT TUES UNDER FAST PAC SEMIZONAL  
FLOW. A LARGE CLOSED LOW WILL FORM AND THE FEATURE WILL SLIDE  
VERY SLOWLY OFF TO THE ENE INTO WRN ONTARIO AS MORE UPSTREAM JET  
DYNAMICS DIG THROUGH THE GREAT BASIN TOWARD THE SRN PLAINS/LWR MS  
VLY. THUS A VERY AMPLIFIED UPPER TROUGH WILL BE PRESENT OVER THE  
PLAINS/MS VLY SOUTHWEST INTO NWRN MEXICO... WHILE UPPER HEIGHTS  
SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE ALONG THE ERN SEABOARD. EXPECT NOT ONLY A  
SLOW MOVING STRONG COLD FRONT TO ACCOMPANY THIS SYSTEM BUT THE  
SHARP NATURE OF THE UPPER TROUGH SHOULD PRODUCE QUITE A LARGE  
SCALE PRECIP EVENT AHEAD OF THE UPPER TROUGH AXIS. FINALLY... YET  
ANOTHER SYSTEM OUT OVER THE NERN PAC WITH A VERY STRONG JET WILL  
SET ITS EYES FOR THE PAC NW NEXT THURSDAY. PAC HIGH PRESSURE  
BUILDING EWD INTO THE GREAT BASIN WILL SET UP CONDITIONS FOR A  
LARGE SCALE OFFSHORE EVENT OVER CA WITH SANTA ANA WINDS TUES INTO  
THURS.  
MUSHER/ROSENSTEIN  
 
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