810  
FOUS30 KWBC 241607  
QPFERD  
 
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
1207 PM EDT SUN SEP 24 2023  
 
DAY 1  
VALID 16Z SUN SEP 24 2023 - 12Z MON SEP 25 2023  
 
...THERE ARE SLIGHT RISKS OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL FOR PORTIONS OF  
THE NORTHEAST AND ARKLATEX...  
 
16Z UPDATE:  
THE INHERITED RISK AREAS WERE GENERALLY IN GOOD SHAPE, SO ONLY  
MADE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON THE LATEST  
OBSERVATIONAL/MODEL TRENDS.  
 
OVER THE NORTHEAST THE 12Z HREF GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SUPPORT  
AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL TODAY INTO TONIGHT. NEIGHBORHOOD  
PROBABILITIES OF EXCEEDING 3" ARE NOW OVER 70%, WITH EVEN SOME LOW  
END 5" PROBABILITIES. INSTABILITY REMAINS A LIMITING FACTOR FOR  
DEEP CONVECTION AND INTENSE RAINFALL RATES. HOWEVER STRONG LOW  
LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND VERY WEAK INSTABILITY SHOULD HELP DRIVE SOME  
SHALLOW CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE STRATIFORM RAIN  
SHIELD. THE SHALLOW NATURE OF ACTIVITY WILL MEAN ITS MAINLY WARM  
CLOUD PROCESSES IN PLAY, AND THUS EFFICIENT RAINFALL PRODUCTION IS  
PROBABLE. SO HOURLY RAINFALL AROUND 0.5"/HR ON A LOCALIZED BASIS  
SEEMS REASONABLE (AND IS SUPPORTED BY THE 12Z HREF)...BUT ANYTHING  
1"/HR OR HIGHER SEEMS MUCH LESS LIKELY. OVERALL, GENERALLY  
THINKING MOST AREAS WILL SEE BETWEEN 1 AND 3 INCHES OF RAIN...BUT  
LOCALIZED AREAS OF 3-5" SEEM PROBABLE. WHERE THESE HIGHER TOTALS  
FALL SOME FLASH FLOOD/FLOOD RISK SEEMS POSSIBLE TODAY INTO  
TONIGHT, MAINLY FROM NORTHEAST PA INTO NORTHERN NJ, SOUTHEAST NY  
AND PORTIONS OF CT...ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS OVERLAP WITH ANY MORE  
SENSITIVE URBAN AREAS.  
 
OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS INTO THE LOWER MS VALLEY THE SLIGHT RISK  
STILL LOOK GOOD, WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION DEVELOPING LATER  
TODAY INTO TONIGHT. THERE MAY BE SOME OVERLAP WITH AREAS THAT SAW  
HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS...BUT THE HEAVIEST OF THE  
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL SHOULD END UP SOUTHWEST OF THE HARDEST HIT  
AREAS. CONVECTION LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOULD TRAIN/BACKBUILD  
TO SOME EXTENT...BUT SHOULD ALSO EXHIBIT A PROGRESSION OFF TO THE  
SOUTH AND EAST AS WELL. THUS WHILE AT LEAST ISOLATED FLASH  
FLOODING APPEARS LIKELY INTO TONIGHT...THINK THE  
COVERAGE/ORGANIZATION OF THIS RISK REMAINS BELOW MDT RISK  
THRESHOLDS. WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR, BUT FOR NOW A SLIGHT TO  
HIGHER END SLIGHT RISK SEEMS TO BEST PORTRAY THE THREAT.  
 
CHENARD  
 
   
..PREVIOUS DISCUSSION  
 
   
..NORTHEAST  
 
POST-T.C. OPHELIA'S REMNANT 850MB CIRCULATION WILL CONTINUE TO  
GRADUALLY WEAKEN BUT REMAIN INTACT AS IT TRACKS OVER THE  
DC/BALTIMORE METRO AREAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND SLOWLY TRACKS EAST  
TOWARDS THE NORTHERN DELMARVA PENINSULA SUNDAY NIGHT. THERE  
REMAINS NO SHORTAGE OF MOISTURE WITH PWS OF 1.75" LIKELY TO BE  
MEASURED FROM NORTHERN MD AND THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY OF PA  
ON EAST ACROSS THE DELAWARE VALLEY AND INTO SOUTHERN NJ. THESE  
AREAS IN PARTICULAR RESIDE WITHIN A NARROW RIBBON OF EASTERLY  
925-850MB THETA-E ADVECTION WITH MUCAPE UP TO 500 J/KG AND UPSLOPE  
ENHANCEMENT INTO HIGHER TERRAIN (PARTICULARLY EASTERN PA AND  
NORTHERN NJ). SAMPLED SOUNDINGS ALREADY SHOWED WARM CLOUD LAYERS  
UP TO 13,000FT DEEP, BUT GIVEN THE >90% RH VALUES AND LINGERING  
BUOYANCY FROM BOTH AVAILABLE INSTABILITY AND FORCED-TOPOGRAPHIC  
ASCENT, HOURLY RAINFALL RATES COULD TOP OUT AS HIGH AS 0.75"/HR.  
THE 850MB LOW WILL BE IN NO RUSH TO EXIT OFF THE COAST, SO A  
PROLONGED PERIOD OF MODERATE-TO-HEAVY RAINFALL WILL OCCUR FOR MUCH  
OF THE DAY. GIVEN THESE FACTORS, AS WELL AS SOILS BECOMING A  
LITTLE MORE SATURATED FOLLOWING SATURDAY'S RAINFALL, HAVE  
MAINTAINED THE SLIGHT RISK FROM THE MASON-DIXON LINE ON EAST TO  
THE SOUTHERN COAST OF LONG ISLAND. THERE ARE STILL LIKELY TO BE  
EFFICIENT WARM RAIN PROCESSES INTO SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND, BUT GIVEN  
THE LACK OF INSTABILITY NORTH OF THE COAST, HAVE TRIMMED DOWN THE  
NORTHERN EXTENT OF THE SLIGHT WHILE MAINTAINING MOST OF THE  
INHERITED MARGINAL RISK AREA.  
   
..SOUTHERN PLAINS TO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY  
 
A SIMILAR SETUP THAT RESULTED IN WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS ON  
SATURDAY WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE ITS WAY SOUTH INTO CENTRAL TX AND  
AS FAR EAST AS THE LOWER MS VALLEY. LATEST GUIDANCE STILL SHOWS A  
GOOD SIGNAL FOR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL RATES ACROSS THE ARKLATEX, BUT  
MORE RECENT CAMS HAVE PUT THE AXIS A LITTLE FARTHER SOUTH INTO  
EASTERN TEXAS. AN 850MB LOW BORDERING THE RED RIVER WILL DIRECT A  
CONTINUOUS FETCH OF 850MB MOISTURE FLUX AT A STALLED FRONT  
POSITIONED SOMEWHERE NEAR THE ARKLATEX, RESULTING IN PWS TOPPING  
2" AND AS MUCH AS 2,000-3,000 J/KG OF MLCAPE. SIMILAR TO SATURDAY,  
THE STEADY STREAM OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BECOMES ORIENTED  
QUASI-PARALLEL TO THE STATIONARY FRONT, PROVIDING A SUITABLE SETUP  
FOR POTENTIAL BACKBUILDING AND TRAINING STORMS. STORMS WILL BE  
MORE THAN CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 2-3"/HR RAINFALL RATES, AND GIVEN  
THE POTENTIAL TRAINING OF THUNDERSTORMS, LOCALIZED AMOUNTS COULD  
REACH 4-6". THIS IS SUPPORTED BY THE 00Z HREF SHOWING 20-25%  
PROBABILITIES OF 24-HR QPF > 5". DID INCREASE THE FOOTPRINT OF THE  
SLIGHT RISK AREA TO INCLUDE MORE OF EASTERN TX AND NORTHERN LA  
WHERE RECENT CAMS SHOWED THE POTENTIAL FOR STORMS TO INCH MORE TO  
THE SOUTH. HAVE HELD OFF ON A MODERATE RISK UPGRADE GIVEN THE BULK  
OF THE SLIGHT RISK AREA FEATURES HIGHER FFGS COMPARED TO THEIR  
NEIGHBORS FARTHER NORTH ACROSS EASTERN OK AND SOUTHWEST MO. SHOULD  
CONFIDENCE GROW IN A SWATH OF 5+" AMOUNTS IN NEW GUIDANCE OVER THE  
NEXT 12 HOURS, THERE IS A CHANCE A MODERATE RISK MAY BE NEEDED FOR  
PARTS OF THE ARKLATEX OR EAST TEXAS IN FUTURE FORECAST CYCLES.  
   
..SOUTHWEST OREGON  
 
THE LEADING EDGE OF ONE OF THE UPCOMING COLD SEASON'S FIRST  
ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS ARRIVES SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUES TO  
DELIVER PERIODS OF RAIN TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTO SUNDAY  
NIGHT. A NARROW SWATH OF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE DIRECTED AT THE  
OREGON COAST SUNDAY NIGHT THANKS TO A ROBUST 1000 KG/M/S IVT THAT  
PEAKS AT JUST OVER 8 STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL FOR LATE  
SEPTEMBER. RAINFALL TOTALS COULD RANGE BETWEEN 1-2" WITH LOCALLY  
HIGHER AMOUNTS CLOSER TO 3", BUT THE BULK OF THIS IS FALLING  
WITHIN A 6-12 HOUR SPAN. DUE TO THESE POSSIBLE RAINFALL RATES,  
HAVE KEPT THE MARGINAL RISK THAT WAS IN PLACE WITH ANY NEARBY BURN  
SCARS MOST AT-RISK FOR POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING.  
 
MULLINAX  
 
DAY 2  
VALID 12Z MON SEP 25 2023 - 12Z TUE SEP 26 2023  
 
...THERE ARE MARGINAL RISKS OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL FOR PORTIONS OF  
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, SOUTHERN PLAINS, LOWER AND UPPER  
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY...  
   
..PACIFIC NORTHWEST  
 
A POWERFUL UPPER LOW APPROACHING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL DIRECT  
AN ATMOSPHERIC RIVER AT THE WEST COAST ON MONDAY, DELIVERING A  
SOAKING RAIN TO RESIDENTS FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TO WESTERN  
OREGON AND WASHINGTON. THE UPPER LOW OFF THE COAST IS VERY  
IMPRESSIVE FOR LATE SEPTEMBER WITH HEIGHTS WITHIN THE 500-850MB  
LAYER 3-5 STANDARD DEVIATIONS BELOW NORMAL ACCORDING TO NAEFS.  
THIS POWERFUL UPPER TROUGH WILL DIRECT A ROBUST 500-750 KG/MS/S  
IVT (PEAKING AROUND 8 STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL) AT  
NORTHERN CA AND WESTERN OR WHERE PWS WILL BE AS HIGH AS 2-3  
STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL. THIS IS EFFECTIVELY THE FIRST  
BONAFIDE ATMOSPHERIC RIVER OF THE SEASON FOR THE PACIFIC  
NORTHWEST. FORTUNATELY, PARTS OF FAR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND  
SOUTHERN OREGON COULD USE THE RAIN AS PARTS OF THE REGION ARE IN  
D0-D2 DROUGHT. THE PRIMARY CONCERNS ARE RESIDUAL BURN SCARS WHERE  
SOILS WILL BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO POSSIBLE DEBRIS FLOWS. THE  
MARGINAL RISK REMAINS IN PLACE AS RATES DO NOT APPEAR TO POSE A  
CONSIDERABLE FLOOD THREAT, BUT DETRIMENTAL IMPACTS COULD BE FELT  
IN BURN SCARS.  
   
..SOUTHERN PLAINS & LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY  
 
A FRONTAL BOUNDARY STRETCHING FROM WEST TEXAS TO THE OZARKS IS  
FORECAST TO WEAKEN AND PUSH SOUTH THROUGHOUT THE DAY WHILE AT THE  
SAME TIME, SOUTHERLY 850MB MOISTURE FLUX IS EXPECTED TO WAIN.  
THESE FEATURES WILL STILL BE PRESENT AT A TIME WHEN A WEAK 500MB  
DISTURBANCE APPROACHES FROM THE NORTH, PROVIDING SOME MODEST  
VERTICAL ASCENT ATOP THE ATMOSPHERE. PWS ARE CURRENTLY FORECAST TO  
REACH AS HIGH AS 1.75" (1-2 STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL  
ACCORDING TO NAEFS) AND MLCAPE BETWEEN 1,000-2,000 J/KG FROM  
CENTRAL TX TO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. THE AVAILABLE PWS AND  
INSTABILITY SHOULD SUPPORT >2"/HR RAINFALL RATES WITHIN THE MORE  
INTENSE CELLS, AND SOILS SHOULD BE A LITTLE MORE SATURATED  
FOLLOWING SUNDAY'S RAINFALL. THE MARGINAL RISK REMAINS IN PLACE  
WITH ANY CONSIDERATION OF A SLIGHT RISK LIKELY TO BE DISCUSSED IN  
FUTURE FORECAST CYCLES WHEN MORE CAM GUIDANCE BECOMES AVAILABLE TO  
KEY IN ON THE MORE AT-RISK AREAS.  
   
..UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY  
 
A MEANDERING CLOSED LOW OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST PROVIDES A SUITABLE  
ENVIRONMENT FOR DIVERGENT FLOW ATOP THE ATMOSPHERIC COLUMN ON  
MONDAY. PWS WILL BE AS HIGH AS 1.25" AND MLCAPE IS LIKELY TO RANGE  
BETWEEN 250-500 J/KG. A CONVEYOR BELT OF 850MB MOISTURE FLUX AHEAD  
OF AN OCCLUDED FRONT SHOULD HELP TO SUPPLY DEVELOPING STORMS WITH  
ENOUGH MOISTURE AND LIFT TO GENERATE STORMS CONTAINING RAINFALL  
RATES >1.5"/HR. THIS ROUND OF STORMS IS ALSO COMING ON THE HEELS  
OF A 2-DAY STRETCH WHERE AS MUCH AS 2-3" OR RAINFALL IS FORECAST  
THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT, SO SOILS WILL BE A LITTLE MORE SATURATED  
COMPARED TO EARLIER IN THE WEEK. A MARGINAL RISK REMAINS IN PLACE  
GIVEN THAT FLASH FLOODING HAS A CHANCE TO OCCUR IN POOR DRAINAGE  
AREAS, URBANIZED COMMUNITIES, AND WHERE SOILS ARE MOST SENSITIVE.  
   
..NORTHEAST  
 
WHILE IT STILL LOOKS TO BE A WET DAY ALONG THE SOUTHERN NEW  
ENGLAND COAST, THERE WILL BE LITTLE IN THE WAY OF INSTABILITY TO  
WORK WITH. HELD OFF ON INTRODUCING A MARGINAL RISK FOR THE TIME  
BEING, BUT SHOULD QPF INCREASE AND THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVIER  
RAINFALL RATES ARISE, A MARGINAL RISK MAY BE NEEDED IN FUTURE  
FORECAST CYCLES.  
 
MULLINAX  
 
DAY 3  
VALID 12Z TUE SEP 26 2023 - 12Z WED SEP 27 2023  
 
...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL FOR PORTIONS OF  
FLORIDA...  
   
..FLORIDA  
 
THERE IS A LARGE RESERVOIR OF 2-2.25" PWS ACROSS THE SUNSHINE  
STATE WITH A STATIONARY FRONT DRAPED OVER THE REGION. AT UPPER  
LEVELS, A LARGE TROUGH OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO IS PROVIDING SOME  
SUFFICIENT DIVERGENCE ALOFT WHILE A LARGE DOME OF HIGH PRESSURE IN  
THE CARIBBEAN WILL DIRECT A UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE TO APPROACH  
FLORIDA FROM THE SOUTH. NAEFS SHOWS THESE PWS A LITTLE OVER 1  
STANDARD DEVIATION ABOVE NORMAL AND MLCAPE VALUES COULD REACH UP  
TO 2,000 J/KG. THESE PARAMETERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT HOURLY  
RAINFALL RATES UP TO 3"/HR IN THE MOST INTENSE STORMS. THE OTHER  
FACTOR WORTH NOTING IS VERTICAL WIND SHEAR, WINDS WITHING THE  
1000-850MB LEVEL WILL BE SOUTHEASTERLY, BUT VEER AND STRENGTHEN  
WITH HEIGHT UP TO 200MB, ALLOWING FOR SURFACE-6KM SHEAR VALUES TO  
RANGE BETWEEN 20-30 KNOTS. THIS COULD HELP KEEP SOME STORMS AROUND  
A LITTLE LONGER THAN THE USUAL SUMMER-TIME PULSE STORMS. GIVEN  
THESE FACTORS, CHOSE TO INTRODUCE A MARGINAL RISK FOR FLORIDA.  
THIS AREA WILL LIKELY BE TWEAKED DEPENDING UPON QPF TRENDS IN  
GUIDANCE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.  
 
MULLINAX  
 
DAY 1 THREAT AREA: HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/QPF/94EPOINTS.TXT  
DAY 2 THREAT AREA: HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/QPF/98EPOINTS.TXT  
DAY 3 THREAT AREA: HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/QPF/99EPOINTS.TXT  
 
 
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