392  
FXUS10 KWNH 281914  
PMDHMD  
 
MODEL DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
214 PM EST TUE JAN 28 2020  
 
VALID JAN 28/1200 UTC THRU FEB 01/0000 UTC  
 
...SEE NOUS42 KWNO (ADMNFD) FOR THE STATUS OF THE UPPER AIR  
INGEST...  
 
12Z MODEL EVALUATION WITH FINAL PREFERENCES AND CONFIDENCE  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 
...SPLIT FLOW TROUGH CROSSING THE GREAT PLAINS TODAY AND REACHING  
THE SOUTHEAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: 12Z GFS/12Z ECMWF BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
THE LATEST NUMERICAL GUIDANCE REMAINS IN DECENT AGREEMENT WITH THE  
EVOLUTION OF A SHORTWAVE WHICH WAS OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AT 12Z  
TODAY/TUESDAY. AS THE WAVE TRACKS EAST, THE 12Z NAM SLOWS COMPARED  
TO THE REMAINING MODEL CONSENSUS AND THE 12Z UKMET ALSO SLOWS  
LIKELY DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN THE HANDLING OF THE NORTHERN STREAM  
COMPONENT DISCUSSED BELOW. A 12Z GFS/12Z ECMWF BLEND LOOKS GOOD  
FOR THIS SYSTEM WITH THE 12Z CMC SERVING AS A SECONDARY PREFERENCE.  
 
...SPLIT FLOW TROUGH IN NORTHERN STREAM FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST TO  
THE MID-ATLANTIC THURSDAY...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: NON 12Z UKMET BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE  
 
THE NORTHERN COMPONENT OF AN ELONGATED MID-LEVEL TROUGH TRACKING  
ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST ON WEDNESDAY NOW SHOWS FAIRLY GOOD  
AGREEMENT OUTSIDE OF THE 12Z UKMET. THE 12Z UKMET IS MORE  
AMPLIFIED THAN THE REMAINING CONSENSUS REGARDING THE 500 MB  
VORTICITY MAX MOVING ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THERE  
ARE MINOR LATITUDE DIFFERENCES OUTSIDE OF THE 12Z UKMET WITH THE  
SHORTWAVE AS IT REACHES THE EAST COAST LATE THURSDAY AND AN  
ACCOMPANYING SURFACE LOW IN THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. WHILE THE 12Z  
CMC TRENDED A LITTLE MORE AMPLIFIED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE 12Z  
UKMET, A NON UKMET BLEND APPEARS REASONABLE GIVEN THE DIFFERENCES  
ARE RELATIVELY SMALL.  
 
...MID-LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TODAY AND  
AMPLIFYING INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WEDNESDAY, REACHING THE  
SOUTHERN PLAINS THURSDAY...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: 12Z GFS/12Z ECMWF BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE  
 
ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE SHOWS THE 12Z NAM AND 12Z CMC AS SLOWER/MORE  
AMPLIFIED THAN THE CONSENSUS AS THE TROUGH AXIS REACHES THE  
SOUTHERN PLAINS. MEANWHILE, THE 12Z UKMET BECOMES MUCH FASTER WITH  
THE TROUGH BY 12Z/31. THE ENSEMBLE MEANS ARE IN THE MIDDLE ALONG  
WITH THE AGREEABLE 12Z GFS/12Z ECMWF.  
 
...MID-LEVEL TROUGH ENTERING BRITISH COLUMBIA ON WEDNESDAY AND  
AMPLIFYING SOUTHWARD INTO THE GREAT PLAINS BY FRIDAY MORNING...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: 12Z GFS/00Z ECMWF/12Z UKMET BLEND OR 12Z GEFS/00Z  
ECENS MEANS  
CONFIDENCE: BELOW AVERAGE  
 
A HIGH DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY EXISTS WITH HOW THE SOUTHERN END OF A  
SHORTWAVE TROUGH EVOLVES ONCE IT CROSSES THROUGH A RIDGE CENTERED  
OVER SOUTHWESTERN CANADA AND THE NORTHWESTERN U.S. RUN TO RUN  
CONSISTENCY HAS BEEN POOR AND ENSEMBLE SPREAD IS LARGE. HOWEVER,  
540 DAM ENSEMBLE SPAGHETTI PLOTS AT 500 MB SEEM TO SUGGEST THE 12Z  
CMC IS ON THE FAR SOUTHERN END, IF NOT OUTLIERS, WITH THEIR  
TROUGHING OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST BY 00Z/01. GIVEN THE 12Z NAM  
APPEARS TOO SLOW WITH THE SYSTEM REFERENCED ABOVE INTO THE  
SOUTHERN PLAINS BY 12Z/31, IT WILL NOT BE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE  
PREFERENCE. THIS LEAVES THE SIMILAR 12Z GFS/UKMET AND 00Z ECMWF  
WHICH ARE DIFFERENT BUT A BLEND BETWEEN THE TWO IDEAS IS  
RECOMMENDED AT THIS TIME, OR NEAR THE GEFS/ECENS MEANS. THE 12Z  
ECMWF TRENDED QUICKER WITH THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE TROUGH  
GOING INTO THE MIDWEST AND GREATER SEPARATION WITH THE ENERGY  
AMPLIFYING INTO MEXICO. THIS IS A STEP AWAY FROM THE MIDDLE GROUND  
CONSENSUS WITH THE 00Z ECMWF APPEARING LIKE A BETTER FIT COMPARED  
TO THE 12Z RUN.  
 
...LEADING EDGE OF LONGWAVE TROUGH, OFFSHORE OF THE WEST COAST OF  
CANADA FRIDAY EVENING AND DOWNSTREAM ATMOSPHERIC RIVER INTO THE  
PACIFIC NORTHWEST...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: 12Z NAM/ECMWF/UKMET BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE  
 
AFTER THE PASSAGE OF A SHORTWAVE AND ACCOMPANYING COLD FRONT INTO  
BRITISH COLUMBIA ON THE 30TH, INITIALLY ZONAL FLOW INTO WESTERN  
CANADA WILL BEGIN TO AMPLIFY AS RIDGING INCREASES AHEAD OF AN  
UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE NEAR 40N 145W BY 00Z/01. ENSEMBLE MEANS AND THE  
REMAINING DETERMINISTIC CONSENSUS SUGGEST THAT THE 12Z GFS AND 12Z  
CMC ARE A BIT TOO QUICK WITH THE SHORTWAVE, LOCATED AT THE LEADING  
EDGE OF A LONGWAVE TROUGH BETWEEN 12Z/31 AND 00Z/01. A BLEND OF  
THE 12Z NAM/ECMWF/UKMET IS CLOSEST TO THE RELATIVELY AGREEABLE  
ENSEMBLE MEAN'S POSITION WITH THE SHORTWAVE AND DOWNSTREAM  
ATMOSPHERIC RIVER INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.  
 
MODEL TRENDS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/HTML/MODEL2.HTML  
500 MB FORECASTS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/H5PREF/H5PREF.SHTML  
 
OTTO  
 

 
 
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