114  
FXUS02 KWBC 100701  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
300 AM EDT SUN SEP 10 2023  
 
VALID 12Z WED SEP 13 2023 - 12Z SUN SEP 17 2023  
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
TODAY'S GUIDANCE IS FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH THE LARGE SCALE PATTERN  
EVOLUTION, FEATURING MEAN TROUGHING OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE  
LOWER 48 THROUGH THE PERIOD AND A FAIRLY STRONG UPPER RIDGE  
BUILDING OVER THE WEST BY FRIDAY-SUNDAY. WITHIN THE EASTERN  
TROUGH, A GREAT LAKES UPPER LOW WILL LIFT NORTHEASTWARD WHILE  
MULTIPLE SHORTWAVES INITIALLY OVER THE WESTERN U.S. AND CANADA  
SHOULD FEED INTO THE EASTERN TROUGH WHILE THE WESTERN RIDGE  
STRENGTHENS. THE GREAT LAKES UPPER LOW AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE  
SYSTEM SHOULD PRODUCE SOME MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE  
NORTHEAST AROUND MIDWEEK. BY NEXT WEEKEND, THE TRACK AND TIMING  
OF HURRICANE LEE WILL REQUIRE MONITORING FOR ANY POTENTIAL EFFECTS  
ON NEW ENGLAND AND THE CANADIAN MARITIMES. SPECIFICS WILL BE  
DEPENDENT ON FINER DETAILS WITHIN THE EASTERN NORTH AMERICA MEAN  
TROUGH, WITH TYPICAL PREDICTABILITY DECLINING A WEEK OUT IN TIME.  
DURING MID-LATE WEEK THE SHORTWAVE ENERGY EMERGING FROM THE WEST  
WILL HELP TO GENERATE AREAS OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE  
ROCKIES, AND POTENTIAL FOR HEAVIER TOTALS OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS  
WHERE A WAVY FRONT MAY ADD FOCUS. COOLER THAN AVERAGE HIGHS  
PREVAILING OVER A MAJORITY OF THE CENTRAL/EASTERN U.S. MID-LATE  
WEEK SHOULD MODERATE SOME BY THE WEEKEND WHILE ABOVE NORMAL HIGHS  
SHOULD BECOME ESTABLISHED OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTO NORTHERN  
HIGH PLAINS LATE WEEK THROUGH THE WEEKEND.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE EVALUATION/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW SOME TIMING/DETAIL DIFFERENCES FOR THE  
UPPER LOW TRACKING NORTHEAST FROM THE GREAT LAKES AND ASSOCIATED  
SURFACE SYSTEM. GFS RUNS CONTINUE TO BE ON THE FAST SIDE, WITH  
THE GEFS MEAN A TAD SLOWER, AND MOST OTHER SOLUTIONS SOMEWHAT  
SLOWER YET. HOWEVER THE SLOWER MAJORITY HAS NUDGED SLIGHTLY  
FASTER OVER THE PAST DAY. PREFERENCE CONTINUES TO BE WITH THE  
MAJORITY CLUSTER BUT PERHAPS WITH CONFIDENCE NOT QUITE AS HIGH  
GIVEN THOSE TRENDS. BEHIND THIS SYSTEM, THERE IS REASONABLE  
AGREEMENT THAT A COMBINATION OF SHORTWAVES OVER SOUTHERN CANADA  
AND THE WESTERN U.S. SHOULD ULTIMATELY FEED INTO THE LONG-TERM  
MEAN TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY. THE SCALE OF  
EACH FEATURE LIMITS PREDICTABILITY IN SPECIFICS BY 6-7 DAYS OUT IN  
TIME, FAVORING A CONSERVATIVE BLEND APPROACH FOR NOW. OPERATIONAL  
RUNS OFFER POTENTIAL FOR AN EMBEDDED UPPER LOW SOMEWHERE BETWEEN  
THE UPPER MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES AND HUDSON BAY/JAMES BAY BY NEXT  
SUNDAY. BY NEXT WEEKEND, THE SPECIFICS OF THE TWO EASTERN U.S.  
TROUGH FEATURES AND NORTHWARD TIMING OF HURRICANE LEE AS IT TRACKS  
WEST OF BERMUDA WILL DETERMINE WHAT EFFECTS LEE MAY HAVE ON NEW  
ENGLAND AND THE CANADIAN MARITIMES. RECENT GFS RUNS HAVE  
CONSISTENTLY BEEN ON THE FAST EXTREME OF THE SPREAD WHILE THE MUCH  
SLOWER 12Z ECMWF IS ON THE WESTERN FRINGE OF THE ENVELOPE. A  
BLEND OF THE 12Z CMC/ECENS/CMCENS AND 18Z GEFS PROVIDED THE BEST  
EDITABLE STARTING POINT TO DEPICT A REASONABLE EXTRAPOLATION OF  
THE OFFICIAL NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER TRACK OF LEE. SOME  
GUIDANCE INDICATES THAT LEE MAY TRANSITION TO AN EXTRATROPICAL  
SYSTEM BY THE TIME ITS TRACK REACHES EAST OF NEW ENGLAND. MINUS  
THE NEW 00Z CMC THAT STRAYS FROM OTHER GUIDANCE IN KEEPING MORE  
SHORTWAVE ENERGY LINGERING OVER THE WEST, THERE IS GOOD CONSENSUS  
AMONG MODELS/MEANS FOR THE STRONG RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE WEST BY  
FRIDAY-SUNDAY.  
 
FORECAST CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE INITIAL NORTHEAST SYSTEM FAVORED  
AN EARLY BLEND OF THE 12Z ECMWF/UKMET/CMC AND 18Z GEFS MEAN. THEN  
AS DETAIL UNCERTAINTIES INCREASED THE FORECAST INCREASED WEIGHT OF  
THE 12Z ECENS/CMCENS ALONG WITH THE 18Z GEFS WHILE STEADILY  
REDUCING ECMWF INPUT, SO THAT BY THE END OF THE PERIOD THE BLEND  
PRIMARILY CONSISTED OF THE MEANS AND A SMALL 12Z CMC COMPONENT.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
THE DAYS 4-5 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOKS (EROS) THAT COVER  
WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT REFLECT HEAVY RAINFALL/FLASH  
FLOOD POTENTIAL OVER TWO GENERAL AREAS, ONE OVER THE NORTHEAST  
(DAY 4) AND ANOTHER OVER PORTIONS OF THE ROCKIES AND SOUTHERN  
PLAINS (BOTH DAYS). THE SYSTEM AFFECTING THE NORTHEAST ON  
WEDNESDAY CONTINUES TO SHOW SOME TIMING UNCERTAINTY BUT THERE IS A  
PERSISTENT SIGNAL FOR THE VIGOROUS DYNAMICS AND MOISTURE INPUT TO  
PRODUCE AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS A REGION THAT WILL HAVE WET  
SOIL CONDITIONS DUE TO RECENT/FORECAST RAINFALL LEADING UP TO THE  
OUTLOOK TIME FRAME. THIS SCENARIO FAVORS MAINTENANCE OF THE  
SLIGHT RISK AREA WITH A MINOR EASTWARD ADJUSTMENT TO ACCOUNT FOR  
GUIDANCE TRENDS. MEANWHILE THE MARGINAL RISK AREA WAS EXTENDED A  
LITTLE SOUTHWARD ALONG THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST IN LIGHT OF SIGNALS  
FOR SOME ACTIVITY ALONG THE TRAILING COLD FRONT DURING THE DAY  
WEDNESDAY. SHORTWAVE ENERGY EMERGING FROM THE WEST WILL PROMOTE  
AT LEAST A COUPLE DAYS OF CONVECTION OVER THE ROCKIES, WITH THE  
BEST SIGNALS CURRENTLY APPEARING OVER COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO ON  
DAY 4 AND WYOMING/COLORADO BY DAY 5. MEANWHILE LEADING ENERGY  
INTERACTING WITH A WAVY FRONT SHOULD FOCUS AN AREA OF POTENTIALLY  
HEAVY CONVECTION OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY.  
EXPECTED RAINFALL TOTALS AND CONVECTIVE ORGANIZATION SUPPORT  
MAINTAINING A SLIGHT RISK AREA OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS ON  
DAY 4 AND CONTINUING SOUTHEASTWARD INTO DAY 5. THE SURROUNDING  
MARGINAL RISK AREA ALSO ENCOMPASSES THE ROCKIES ACTIVITY WHICH HAS  
A SOMEWHAT MORE DIFFUSE SIGNAL IN THE GUIDANCE.  
 
AFTER THE WEDNESDAY SYSTEM DEPARTS FROM NEW ENGLAND, RAINFALL AND  
OTHER SENSIBLE WEATHER DETAILS FOR NEW ENGLAND BY NEXT WEEKEND  
WILL DEPEND ON THE TRACK AND TIMING OF HURRICANE LEE. CONTINUE TO  
MONITOR NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER PRODUCTS FOR THE LATEST  
INFORMATION ON LEE OVER THE COMING DAYS. RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS  
OVER THE ROCKIES SHOULD GRADUALLY TREND LIGHTER WITH MORE  
SOUTHWARD SUPPRESSION LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND AS UPPER RIDGING  
BUILDS OVER THE WEST, WHILE SOME SHOWERS/STORMS MAY EXTEND ACROSS  
THE SOUTH.  
 
EXPECT BELOW NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES OVER A MAJORITY OF THE  
CENTRAL AND EASTERN U.S., WITH SOME MODERATION LIKELY BY THE  
WEEKEND. COOLEST READINGS RELATIVE TO AVERAGE SHOULD BE DURING  
WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY WHEN PARTS OF THE CENTRAL/SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS  
MAY BE UP TO 15-20F BELOW NORMAL DUE TO CLOUDS/RAINFALL AND THE  
GREAT LAKES/OHIO VALLEY MAY BE 10-15F BELOW NORMAL UNDER THE UPPER  
LOW/TROUGH THAT EVENTUALLY LIFTS AWAY. CONTINUED HOT WEATHER WITH  
HIGHS UP TO 5-10F ABOVE NORMAL WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHERN  
TEXAS MID-LATE WEEK BEFORE A COOLER TREND. THE UPPER RIDGE  
BUILDING INTO THE WEST WILL SUPPORT HIGHS 10F OR MORE ABOVE NORMAL  
OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FROM LATE WEEK THROUGH THE WEEKEND,  
WITH A BROADER AREA OF MORNING LOWS 5-15F ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS THE  
WEST. SOME OF THIS WARMTH MAY EXTEND INTO THE NORTHERN HIGH  
PLAINS.  
 
RAUSCH  
 
ADDITIONAL 3-7 DAY HAZARD INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE WPC  
MEDIUM RANGE HAZARDS OUTLOOK CHART AT:  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/THREATS/THREATS.PHP  
 
WPC MEDIUM RANGE 500MB HEIGHTS, SURFACE SYSTEMS, WEATHER GRIDS,  
QUANTITATIVE PRECIPITATION FORECAST, EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK,  
WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK PROBABILITIES, HEAT INDICES AND KEY  
MESSAGES ARE AT:  
 
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/MEDR/5DAYFCST500_WBG.GIF  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/MEDR/5DAYFCST_WBG_CONUS.GIF  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/5KM_GRIDS/5KM_GRIDSBODY.HTML  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/QPF/DAY4-7.SHTML  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/#PAGE=ERO  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/WWD/PWPF_D47/PWPF_MEDR.PHP?DAY=4  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/HEAT_INDEX.SHTML  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/#PAGE=OVW  
 

 
 

 
 
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