820  
FXUS02 KWBC 141900  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
300 PM EDT SUN APR 14 2024  
 
VALID 12Z WED APR 17 2024 - 12Z SUN APR 21 2024  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM EXITING THE UPPER MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES EARLY  
IN THE PERIOD WILL CONTINUE TO BRING A THREAT FOR AT LEAST LOCALLY  
HEAVY RAINFALL TO PARTS OF THE GREAT LAKES/OHIO VALLEY WEDNESDAY  
INTO THURSDAY. BEHIND THIS, ANOTHER UPPER TROUGH/LOW WILL SKIRT THE  
NORTHERN TIER STATES BUT FIGHT WITH A SOUTHERN STREAM RIDGE TO  
DETERMINE HOW FAR SOUTH IT MAY REACH ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY TO  
NORTHEAST LATE THIS WEEK. AT LEAST A BRIEF PERIOD OF UPPER RIDGING  
LOOKS TO BUILD OVER THE NORTHWEST BY NEXT WEEKEND AHEAD OF ANOTHER  
AMPLIFIED TROUGH ACROSS THE NORTHERN PACIFIC AND THE OVERALL  
PATTERN ACROSS THE CONUS TURNS MORE ZONAL/RELATIVELY QUIET.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
MODEL GUIDANCE REMAINS REASONABLY AGREEABLE ON THE LARGE SCALE  
PATTERN THROUGH THE PERIOD, BUT STILL SOME DIFFERENCES IN THE  
SMALLER SCALE DETAILS AND TIMING OF SYSTEMS. AS THE FIRST MIDWEST-  
GREAT LAKES LOW EXITS, THE SECOND BROADER UPPER LOW ACROSS SOUTH-  
CENTRAL TO SOUTHEASTERN CANADA SHOWS VARIATIONS ESPECIALLY WITH  
TROUGHING ALONG ITS PERIPHERY. THERE ARE SOME TIMING  
INCONSISTENCIES WITH THE SURFACE FRONT SWINGING THROUGH THE EAST  
AND ITS ASSOCIATED GENERALLY LIGHT PRECIPITATION AS SHORTWAVE  
ENERGY MAY SWING THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY/NORTHEAST DURING THE  
LATTER PART OF THE WEEK. FARTHER SOUTH THAN THE OHIO  
VALLEY/NORTHEAST, MODELS SEEM TO BE GRADUALLY TRENDING TOWARD LESS  
AMPLIFICATION OF THE TROUGH, FAVORING MORE SOUTHERN STREAM RIDGING.  
ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE UPPER LOW CENTER, THERE IS UNCERTAINTY  
WITH HOW MUCH ENERGY IS HELD BACK ACROSS THE NORTHWEST. GFS RUNS  
HAVE SHOWN MORE ENERGY THERE WHILE THE NON-NCEP CAMP HAS MORE  
RIDGING ACROSS THE NORTHWEST FRIDAY-SATURDAY. THE LATTER WAS  
FAVORED. THEN UPSTREAM ENERGY ALSO SHOWS MODEL VARIATIONS  
ESPECIALLY BY SUNDAY WITH POTENTIALLY ADDITIONAL ENERGY COMING INTO  
THE NORTHWEST. THE WPC FORECAST MAINTAINED A MULTI-MODEL  
DETERMINISTIC BLEND EARLY IN THE PERIOD, AND INCREASED THE  
PROPORTION OF THE GEFS AND EC ENSEMBLE MEANS TO OVER HALF WHILE  
PHASING OUT THE GFS IN PARTICULAR BY LATE PERIOD.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
 
PRECIPITATION WILL BE ONGOING FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST INTO THE OHIO  
VALLEY ASSOCIATED WITH A DEEP LOW (BOTH AT THE SURFACE AND IN THE  
UPPER LEVELS) MOVING THROUGH THE UPPER MIDWEST ON WEDNESDAY. GIVEN  
AMPLE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY AND A LOW THREAT FOR LOCALLY HEAVY  
RAINFALL, A BROAD MARGINAL RISK REMAINS IN PLACE FOR THE DAY 4  
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK (WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY MORNING) FOR  
PORTIONS OF THE GREAT LAKES AND OHIO VALLEY. THE STORM PREDICTION  
CENTER IS ALSO WATCHING SEVERE POTENTIAL NEAR THE OHIO RIVER ON  
WEDNESDAY. GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE GREAT LAKES REGION AS  
WELL AS BEHIND THE LOW IN THE ROCKIES AND THE NORTH-CENTRAL PLAINS.  
 
THE NEXT UPPER TROUGH RIGHT ON ITS HEELS COULD BRING SOME NOTABLE  
SNOW TO MAINLY THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE NORTHERN/CENTRAL  
ROCKIES MIDWEEK. AS SYSTEMS PROGRESS, RAIN AND CONVECTION ARE  
FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE EASTERN U.S. INTO LATE WEEK, WHILE  
LINGERING ACROSS THE SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S. AS THE FRONTAL SYSTEM  
STALLS BRIEFLY. THEN RENEWED MOISTURE INTO TEXAS IN PARTICULAR  
AHEAD OF WEAK SHORTWAVE ENERGY SLIDING INTO THE SOUTHWEST COULD  
CREATE SOME ENHANCED RAINFALL TOTALS THERE INTO THE WEEKEND, WHILE  
SOME RAIN COULD EXTEND ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST WHILE THE NORTHEAST  
DRIES OUT.  
 
EXPECT A BROAD AREA OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES BY 5-15 DEGREES  
OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, WHILE THE  
NORTHEASTERN QUADRANT OF THE U.S. GRADUALLY COOLS BEHIND A COLD  
FRONT. MEANWHILE THE UPPER TROUGH ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER STATES  
WILL BRING BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES (WITH GREATER ANOMALIES FOR  
HIGHS THAN LOWS) STARTING IN THE NORTHERN ROCKIES/PLAINS MIDWEEK.  
COOLER TEMPERATURES GRADUALLY EXPAND FARTHER SOUTH AND EAST BEHIND  
THE SECONDARY COLD FRONT LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND, WITH NEAR TO  
BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO REACH EVERYWHERE BUT FLORIDA  
BY NEXT WEEKEND. MEANWHILE, ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE  
SOUTHWEST SHOULD GRADUALLY EXPAND NORTHWARD UNDERNEATH A BUILDING  
WESTERN U.S. RIDGE.  
 
TATE/SANTORELLI  
 
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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