166  
FXUS10 KWNH 281632  
PMDHMD  
MODEL DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
1131 AM EST SAT DEC 28 2019  
 
VALID DEC 28/1200 UTC THRU JAN 01/0000 UTC  
 
...SEE NOUS42 KWNO (ADMNFD) FOR THE STATUS OF THE UPPER AIR  
INGEST...  
 
12Z MODEL EVALUATION WITH PREFERENCES/CONFIDENCE INTERVALS  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
   
..CENTRAL PLAINS TO GREAT LAKES CLOSED LOW/SURFACE CYCLONE(S)
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: NON-GFS BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
GOES-WV SUITE DEPICTS WEAKENING SOUTHWEST SHORTWAVE PROGRESSING  
THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS WITH VERY IMPRESSIVE MID TO UPPER LEVEL  
JET/ANTICYCLONIC BAROCLINIC SHIELDS EVOLVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN  
PLAINS AT THIS TIME AS WELL AS THE SHARP TROF ALONG THE EASTERN  
ROCKIES/HIGH PLAINS AND THE MERIDIONAL JET SLIDING SOUTH. THE  
GUIDANCE APPEARS TO HAVE COME INTO COMMON AGREEMENT WITH THE  
TIMING/PLACEMENT OF THE SOUTHERN STREAM WAVE AND ASSOCIATED 150KT  
25H JET INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIVOT OF THE CLOSED LOW IN SE  
SD/SW MN/NW IA BY 00Z MONDAY. THE MODEL SPREAD BEGINS TO  
INCREASE IN EARNEST AS THE UPSTREAM JET ROTATES AROUND THE BASE  
AND THE ASSOCIATED SHORTWAVE GOES NEGATIVE TILT THROUGH THE  
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY INTO THE GREAT LAKES. HERE, THE GFS HAS BEEN,  
AND CONTINUES TO BE WITH THE 12Z RUN, WEAKENING THE INNER CORE IN  
FAVOR OF THIS STRONGER/SHARPER NEGATIVE TILT WAVE...WHICH LEADS IT  
TO BE WELL EAST WITH THE LOWER LEVEL SURFACE LOW THROUGH THE GREAT  
LAKES. MAKING IT LESS FAVORABLE OVERALL. THE 12Z NAM, CONTINUES  
TO BE A MIDDLE GROUND BETWEEN THE ECMWF/CMC/UKMET AND THE  
GFS...BUT CONTINUES ITS TREND TOWARD THE NON-NCEP CAMP, SUGGESTING  
A NON-GFS BLEND IS A SOLID SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE CONFIDENCE  
PREFERENCE.  
 
...REMAINS OF CLOSED LOW/DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL LOW INTO NORTHEAST  
MON-WED...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: GENERAL MODEL BLEND THRU 31.06Z, NON-GFS AFTER  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE  
 
UPSTREAM DEEP CLOSED LOW, WILL CONTINUE TO BREAK DOWN ACROSS THE  
GREAT LAKES BY LATE MON INTO TUESDAY AND THE FORMER PIVOT/INNER  
CORE CENTER ACCELERATES EASTWARD UNDER THE NEWER MATURE CENTER.  
BY THIS TIME THE GFS IS NOT PREFERRED IN THE GREAT LAKES, HOWEVER,  
THE GFS HAS DONE A SOLID JOB IN THE ORIENTATION/TIMING OF THE  
RETURN ATLANTIC MOISTURE AROUND THE CURRENTLY RETROGRADING  
SUBTROPICAL RIDGE, THROUGH FLORIDA, RELATIVE TO THE SLOWER ECMWF.  
COMBINE THIS WITH STRONGER MOISTURE ADVECTION WITH THE ATMOSPHERIC  
RIVER OUT OF THE WESTERN GULF (OVER 1000 UNITS OF IVT), THE 12Z  
GFS MAY HAVE MORE UTILITY THROUGH THE INCIPIENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE  
COASTAL LOW THROUGH THE PIEDMONT OF VA BY 30.18Z AND THROUGH THE  
NY BIGHT BY 31.12Z, WHICH HAS A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON THE WARM  
FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST. SO IN  
COLLABORATION WITH WPC QPF 2/3 AND WINTER WEATHER FORECASTERS,  
MODEL PREFERENCE TO INCLUDE SOME OF THE 12Z GFS AT LEAST INITIALLY  
TO ACCOUNT FOR THE SLOWNESS/RETURN OF THE WARM AIR/MOISTURE FLUX  
INTO THE NORTHEAST WAS IMPORTANT; HOWEVER, TOWARD THE END OF DAY  
3, THE GFS/GEFS APPEAR TO SHOW SOME OF TRADITIONAL FAST BIAS  
ISSUES, THAT SHIFTING TOWARD THE NAM IS MORE PREFERABLE IN  
WEIGHTING. SO A GENERAL MODEL BLEND IS PREFERRED THROUGH 31.06Z  
BEFORE GOING NON-GFS BLEND AFTERWARDS. CONFIDENCE IS CONTINGENT  
ON THERMALS WHICH ARE LESS CONGRUENT THAN THE MASS FIELDS/FRONTAL  
STRUCTURE AS A WHOLE, AND AS SUCH, IS AVERAGE.  
 
   
..PACIFIC SHORTWAVE DIVING ALONG THE WEST COAST SUN-TUES
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: GENERAL MODEL BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
THE PACIFIC CONTINUES TO BE VERY ACTIVE BUT PROGRESSIVE AND WITH  
AN UPSTREAM SHARP RIDGE THAT BLOCKS THE FLOW AND RAPIDLY STRETCHES  
IT SOUTHWARD ALONG THE ENTIRE WEST COAST OF THE US. THERE IS  
GROWING CONSENSUS IN THE TIMING AND SHAPE/EVOLUTION OF THE WAVE  
INCLUDING THE TIMING OF THE WAVE AS IT CLOSES ALOFT AND SPINS UP A  
SURFACE LOW NEAR SAN FRANCISCO BAY LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY.  
OVERALL, THE GUIDANCE IS VERY STRONG THAT A GENERAL MODEL BLEND IS  
SUPPORTED AT ABOVE AVERAGE CONFIDENCE. HOWEVER, AS A POINT OF  
NOTE FOR MARINE AND BAJA CALIFORNIA INTERESTS, THE ECMWF'S SLOWER  
NATURE ABSORBS THE TRAILING SHORTWAVE ENERGY IN THE SHEAR AXIS  
MUCH TIGHTER AND COMPACT LEADING TO A SW WOBBLE EVEN COMPARED TO  
THE MAJORITY OF ECENS MEMBERS...SO IT APPEARS TO BE AN OUTLIER TO  
FAR SW AFTER 31.00Z (THOUGH WITH LITTLE/NO INFLUENCE IN THE  
CONUS).  
 
   
..ATMOSPHERIC RIVER SINKING INTO PAC NW BY LATE TUES
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: 00Z UKMET/ECENS MEAN BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE  
 
AFTER THE PRIOR SHORTWAVE DIGS SOUTHWARD, THE PACIFIC ENERGY  
SHIFTS BACK INTO THE N GULF OF AK BUT STRONG ZONAL FLOW AND HIGH  
ENERGY IN THE NORTHERN PACIFIC STREAM, DRAWS TROPICAL MOISTURE  
NORTHWARD. THE MOISTURE AND ASSOCIATED JET FLOW IS RELATIVELY  
WEAKER INITIALLY AND DIRECTED TOWARD CENTRAL BC BY LATE MONDAY  
INTO TUESDAY. HOWEVER, THE OVERALL FLOW/HEIGHT-PACKING TIGHTENS  
AND A STRONG 250MB -150KT JET ENTRANCE APPROACHES AND DIRECTS  
MOISTURE FLUX TOWARD VANCOUVER ISLAND AND THEN SOUTHWARD INTO THE  
PACIFIC NW BY THE END OF NEW YEAR'S EVE. THE 00Z ECMWF IS VERY  
STRONG AND ALONG WITH THE UKMET SHOW A FASTER INITIAL WAVE WITH  
INCREASED MOISTURE COMPARED TO THE GFS/NAM. HERE THE ECMWF/UKMET  
MAY HAVE A BIT BETTER INITIAL ASSIMILATION OF THE MOISTURE  
FLOW/STREAM THAN THE GFS/NAM DUE TO GREATER SATELLITE RETRIEVALS.  
SO HEDGING THIS DIRECTION. HOWEVER, THE 00Z ECMWF IS VERY  
DIVERGENCE IN THE ANTICYCLONIC (RIGHT EXIT) SHOWING INCREASED  
DIVERGENCE ALOFT AND SUPPORTING GREATER ASCENT AND SOUTHWARD  
PROPAGATION OF THE CONVERGENCE AXIS INTO THE NORTHWEST, GREATER  
THAN THE VAST MAJORITY OF ECENS MEMBERS. AS SUCH WILL FAVOR THE  
UKMET AND ECENS MEAN IN TIMING/ORIENTATION OF THE AR BUT AT  
AVERAGE TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE CONFIDENCE GIVEN THE SPREAD IN  
MOISTURE FIELDS AND IMPORTANCE OF TIMING IN SUCH A STRONG ZONAL  
FLOW.  
 
MODEL TRENDS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/HTML/MODEL2.HTML  
500 MB FORECASTS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/H5PREF/H5PREF.SHTML  
 
GALLINA  
 

 
 
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