501  
FXUS02 KWBC 311900  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
300 PM EDT SUN MAR 31 2024  
 
VALID 12Z WED APR 03 2024 - 12Z SUN APR 07 2024  
 
...MAJOR NEW ENGLAND COASTAL STORM INTO WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY WITH  
MARITIME HAZARDS AND HIGH WIND/COASTAL FLOODING/RAINFALL THREATS  
ALONG WITH AN INLAND HEAVY SNOW THREAT...  
 
...WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION/COOLING PATTERN FOR THE WEST MIDWEEK-  
LATE WEEK TO EXPAND INTO THE PLAINS NEXT WEEKEND...  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
THE MEDIUM-RANGE PERIOD WILL BEGIN ON WEDNESDAY LIKELY WITH  
CYCLOGENESIS WELL UNDER WAY OVER THE EASTERN U.S. MODELS HAVE  
GENERALLY SHOWN A SLIGHT SLOW DOWN OF THE FORWARD SPEED OF A  
TRIPLE-POINT LOW THAT IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP RAPIDLY OVER THE MID-  
ATLANTIC STATES WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE SAME CAN BE SAID ABOUT THE  
LOW FORECAST TO LINGER NEAR THE LOWER GREAT LAKES. THESE ARE IN  
RESPONSE TO A TREND TOWARD MORE AMPLIFIED INTERACTION BETWEEN A  
COLD UPPER TROUGH DIGGING DOWN FROM CENTRAL CANADA WITH ANOTHER  
UPPER TROUGH LIFTING NORTHEAST TOWARD THE OHIO VALLEY. THURSDAY  
WILL LIKLEY BE THE DAY WHEN NEW ENGLAND WILL BE IMPACTED BY A  
SIGNIFICANT NOR'EASTER. GIVEN THE TREND FOR A MORE AMPLIFIED UPPER  
LEVEL PATTERN, MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE SOME TENDENCY TO SLOW  
THE CORE OF THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM NEAR THE NEW ENGLAND COAST,  
WITH THE GFS AND ECMWF SHOWING THE POSSIBILITY OF  
LOOPING/MEANDERING MOTION OF THE LOW CENTER NEAR THE COAST AS IT  
INTERACTS WITH THE UPPER LOW. NEVERTHELESS, THE CANADIAN MODEL  
(CMC) AS WELL AS THE ENSEMBLE MEAN SOLUTIONS FROM GFS, EC, AND CMC  
MEAN ARE MUCH LESS PROMINIENT WITH RESPECT TO THE LOOPING MOTIONS.  
BY NEXT WEEKEND, MODELS INDICATE A TENDENCY TO KEEP THE DEEP LOW  
FROM EXITING TOO QUICKLY INTO THE ATLANTIC.  
 
IN THE MEANTIME, MODELS CONTINUE TO TREND TOWARD A MORE AMPLIFIED  
UPPER TROUGH TO DIG FARTHER SOUTH INTO THE WEST COAST DURING THE  
LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK. THE CMC WAS THE LEAST-AMPLIFIED GUIDANCE  
REGARDING THIS UPPER TROUGH, WHICH DID NOT AGREE WELL WITH THE GFS,  
ECMWF AND THEIR ENSEMBLE MEANS. THEREFORE, ONLY 10% OF THE 00Z  
CMC/CMC MEAN WAS INCLUDED IN TODAY'S WPC MEDIUM-RANGE FORECAST  
BLEND, WITH THE REST BASED ON THE CONCENSUS OF 00Z EC/EC MEAN AND  
THE 06Z GFS/GEFS. THIS BLEND TENDS TO PROVIDE DETAIL WHILE  
REASONABLY MITIGATING THESE DIFFERENCES CONSISTENT WITH INDIVIDUAL  
PREDICTABILITY. WPC PRODUCT CONTINUITY IS WELL MAINTAINED WITH THIS  
PLAN.  
 
   
..PATTERN OVERVIEW AND WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
 
A MAJOR NOR'EASTER WILL PRESENT HEIGHTENED THREAT FOR COASTAL  
FLOODING/HEAVY RAINS AND INLAND HEAVY SNOWS WEDENESDAY INTO  
THURSDAY FOR NEW ENGLAND AS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE WPC WINTER WEATHER  
OUTLOOK. WHILE SNOW WILL BE THE PRIMARY PRECIPITATION TYPE INLAND,  
PROTRACTED FETCH OFF THE ATLANTIC WITH THIS DEEP LOW MAY KEEP NEAR  
COASTAL AREAS WARM ENOUGH NEAR THE GROUND FOR SLEET AND HEAVY RAIN.  
GIVEN WET AMBIENT SOILS, AN AREA OF MARGINAL THREAT OF EXCESSIVE  
RAINFALL HAS BEEN KEPT FOR DAY4/WEDNESDAY ACROSS  
EASTERN/SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND. FLOODING CONCERNS IN THIS AREA  
ARE EXPECTED TO BE A COMBINATION OF RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW WITH  
UNCERTAINTY ON THE TIMINGS OF THEIR DURATIONS, ALONG WITH  
STRENGTHENING WINDS AND SEA- WATER FLOODINGS NEAR THE COAST.  
 
TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK, MODELS SHOW GOOD AGREEMENT ON A  
HIGHLY-AMPLIFIED UPPER PATTERN ACROSS THE U.S. WITH A RIDGE  
BUILDING OVER THE CENTRAL U.S. AS THE DEEP LOW SLOWLY PULLS OUT OF  
THE NORTHEAST AND THE NEXT UPPER TROUGH DIGS JUST OFF THE WEST  
COAST. THIS STRONGLY AMPLIFYING UPPER TROUGH/CLOSED LOW AND LEADING  
AND WAVY COLD FRONT/SECONDARY CANADIAN COLD SURGE DIGGING INTO THE  
WEST SHOULD ACT TO COOL TEMPERATURES AND SPREAD ENHANCED  
PRECIPITATION AND WINDY/UNSETTLED FLOW TO INCLUDE COASTAL RAINS  
DOWN THROUGH CALIFORNIA ALONG WITH A PROLONGED PERIOD WITH INTERIOR  
AND TERRAIN/MOUNTAIN SNOWS INCREASINGLY INLAND ACROSS MUCH OF THE  
WEST MIDWEEK INTO NEXT WEEKEND. DEPICTED AREAS OF PRECIPITATION ARE  
CURRENTLY ON THE MODEST TO MODERATE SIDE GIVEN TRACK/MOISTURE, BUT  
AMPLE UPPER SUPPORT AND FAVORED TERRAIN LIFT MAY LEAD TO LOCALLY  
HEAVIER FOCUS AND ACTIVITY TO MONITOR. THE WPC WINTER WEATHER  
OUTLOOK SHOWS THE GREATEST SNOW PROBABILITIES OVER NORTHWEST TO  
NORTHERN INTERMOUNTAIN/ROCKIES TERRAIN/MOUNTAINS. ACTIVITY WILL  
SPREAD INTO THE PLAINS LATER NEXT WEEKEND WITH CYCLOGENESIS AND  
FRONTOGENESIS OVER THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS ARE BLOCKED BY A HIGHLY  
AMPLIFIED OMEGA BLOCKING PATTERN THAT IS FORECAST TO SET UP ACROSS  
U.S. FROM COAST TO COAST.  
 
KONG/SCHICHTEL  
 
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 (QPF), EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OUTLOOK (ERO), WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK (WWO) PROBABILITIES, HEAT  
INDICES, AND KEY MESSAGES CAN BE ACCESSED FROM:  
 
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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