515  
FXUS02 KWBC 150659  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
259 AM EDT MON APR 15 2024  
 
VALID 12Z THU APR 18 2024 - 12Z MON APR 22 2024  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM EXITING THE GREAT LAKES ON THURSDAY WILL  
CONTINUE TO BRING SOME SHOWERS AND STORMS ACROSS PARTS OF THE EAST.  
BEHIND THIS, ANOTHER UPPER LOW WILL SKIRT THE NORTHERN TIER STATES  
EVENTUALLY DRAGGING SOME TROUGHING THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY AND  
NORTHEAST THIS WEEKEND/NEXT WEEK. THIS MAY ALLOW A SECONDARY COLD  
FRONT TO BRIEFLY STALL ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS-MS VALLEY REGION,  
AND AIDED BY WEAK SHORTWAVE ENERGY THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST/SOUTHERN  
PLAINS, MAY HELP TO ENHANCE PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE ARKLATEX  
REGION ON SATURDAY. THE NEXT SYSTEM SHOULD MOVE INTO THE NORTHWEST  
LATE WEEKEND, WITH A VERY UNCERTAIN EVOLUTION STILL. THIS SHOULD  
PUSH UPPER RIDGING FROM THE WEST THIS WEEKEND INTO THE CENTRAL U.S.  
EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
MODEL GUIDANCE REMAINS REASONABLY AGREEABLE ON THE LARGE SCALE AT  
LEAST THE FIRST HALF OF THE PERIOD, THOUGH SOME DIFFERENCES IN THE  
SMALLER SCALE DETAILS. A SECOND BROADER UPPER LOW ACROSS SOUTH-  
CENTRAL TO SOUTHEASTERN CANADA CONTINUES TO SHOW SOME VARIATION IN  
TIMING OF SHORTWAVES ROUNDING ITS BASE INTO OHIO VALLEY/NORTHEAST,  
BUT MODELS HAVE OVERALL TRENDED TOWARD LESS AMPLIFICATION OF  
TROUGHING ACROSS THE EAST LATE PERIOD, AND STRONGER RIDGING ACROSS  
THE SOUTHEAST U.S.. LATER IN THE PERIOD, YESTERDAYS 12Z/18Z  
GUIDANCE SHOWED SOME SIGNIFICANT VARIATION IN ENERGY ENTERING THE  
NORTHWEST LATE WEEKEND, AND EVENTUAL TRACKING EASTWARD. THE ECMWF  
WAS NOTABLY WEAKER/FASTER THAN OTHER GUIDANCE WITH THIS ENERGY,  
WHILE THE GFS/CMC SUGGESTED A CLOSED LOW WOULD HANG BACK OVER THE  
NORTHWEST EARLY NEXT WEEK. THERE WASN'T AS MUCH SUPPORT FOR THE  
GFS/CMC CLOSED LOW FROM THE ECMWF-INITIALIZED AI/ML MODELS, AND THE  
ENSEMBLES MEANS WERE EXTREMELY WASHED OUT SUGGESTED A LOT OF  
UNCERTAINTY. THE NEW 00Z RUNS TONIGHT (AVAILABLE AFTER FORECASTER  
GENERATION TIME) OF THE GFS AND CMC HAVE TRENDED MUCH FASTER WITH  
THE SYSTEM AND TIMING WISE, ARE IN BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THE ECMWF  
(JUST MUCH STRONGER).  
 
THE WPC FORECAST TONIGHT UTILIZED A BLEND OF THE DETERMINISTIC  
GUIDANCE FOR DAYS 3-4 (THURSDAY-FRIDAY), BUT TRENDED MORE TOWARDS  
THE ENSEMBLE MEANS LATER IN THE PERIOD (WITH SOME ECMWF) TO ACCOUNT  
FOR SIGNIFICANT UNCERTAINTY IN THE WESTERN U.S. SYSTEM.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
 
SOME GENERALLY LIGHT PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED AS THE PERIOD BEGINS  
ON THURSDAY ASSOCIATED WITH AN INITIAL COLD FRONT. THE NEXT SYSTEM  
THOUGH RIGHT ON ITS HEELS WILL RENEW RAIN AND CONVECTION ACROSS THE  
EAST LATE WEEK, WHILE LINGERING ACROSS THE SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S. AS  
THE FRONTAL SYSTEM STALLS BRIEFLY. GIVEN ANOMALOUS MOISTURE AND  
INSTABILITY PRESENT, FELT A LOW-END MARGINAL RISK WAS WARRANTED  
FROM EASTERN OKLAHOMA INTO SOUTHERN MISSOURI WHERE STORM TRAINING  
SEEMED MOST LIKELY WITH SOME HIGHER RAIN RATE POTENTIAL. THIS AREA  
HOWEVER HAS BEEN RATHER DRY AS OF LATE, WHICH SHOULD INHIBIT THE  
OVERALL FLASH FLOOD THREAT. WEAK SHORTWAVE ENERGY INTO THE SOUTHERN  
PLAINS SHOULD HELP TO FURTHER ENHANCE PRECIPITATION ACROSS TEXAS ON  
SATURDAY WITH INCREASING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL. AFTER  
THIS, SOME PRECIPITATION SHOULD MOVE INTO THE SOUTHEAST AS THE  
NORTHEAST DRIES OUT, AND DEPENDING ON UPPER PATTERN EVOLUTION,  
PRECIPITATION SHOULD RETURN TO THE NORTHWEST LATE WEEK/EARLY NEXT  
WEEK.  
 
EXPECT A BROAD AREA OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES BY 5-15 DEGREES  
OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY INTO 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 AND PROGRESS EASTWARD INTO THE ROCKIES EARLY  
NEXT WEEK.  
 
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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