658  
FXUS02 KWNH 040547  
PREEPD  
 
PRELIMINARY EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
146 AM EDT SUN OCT 4 2026  
 
VALID 12Z WED OCT 07 2026 - 12Z SUN OCT 11 2026  
 
 
...PERSISTENT HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT CONTINUES ACROSS THE GULF COAST  
INTO SOUTHEAST/FLORIDA INTO THURSDAY...  
   
..LONG DURATION LATE-SEASON HEAT WAVE EXPECTED FOR CALIFORNIA  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
THE LATEST MODELS GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW GOOD AGREEMENT  
REGARDING THE PERSISTENCE OF THE EASTERN U.S. TROUGHING THROUGH THE  
PERIOD, BUT SPREAD INCREASES IN REGARD TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE  
EAST PACIFIC TROUGH. SOME GUIDANCE SUPPORTS A MORE AMPLIFIED  
WESTERN TROUGH AND QUICKER EROSION OF THE RIDGE, WHILE OTHER  
SOLUTIONS MAINTAIN A STRONGER RIDGE, DELAYING COOLER CONDITIONS.  
THIS WILL ALSO IMPACT THE TIMING AND INTENSITY OF PRECIPITATION  
DEVELOPING ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES.  
ADDITIONALLY, DETERMINISTIC MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW DIFFERENCES  
WITH THE PLACEMENT OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER THE GULF COAST INTO  
THE SOUTHEAST AND FLORIDA, WHICH IMPACTS THE PLACEMENT OF THE  
HEAVIEST RAINFALL AXIS.  
 
A GENERAL MULTI-MODEL BLEND IS PREFERRED FOR THE FORECAST, WITH  
INCREASING WEIGHT TOWARDS THE ENSEMBLE MEANS AND AI GUIDANCE  
TOWARDS DAYS 5 THROUGH 7. THIS APPROACH SHOULD HELP MITIGATE THE  
TENDENCY FOR INDIVIDUAL DETERMINISTIC RUNS TO BECOME OVERLY  
AMPLIFIED WITH SMALLER-SCALE SHORTWAVE FEATURES, WHILE RETAINING  
THE SIGNAL FOR THE WESTERN TROUGH.  
 
   
..PATTERN OVERVIEW AND WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
THE LARGE-SCALE PATTERN THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL FEATURE A  
PRONOUNCED MEAN TROUGH OVER EASTERN U.S., RIDGING OVER WESTERN  
U.S., AND TROUGHING OVER EASTERN PACIFIC. AT THE SURFACE, A SLOW-  
MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHOULD REMAIN DRAPED FROM THE GULF COAST  
INTO THE SOUTHEAST AND FLORIDA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. DEEP TROPICAL  
MOISTURE POOLED ALONG THE BOUNDARY WILL SUPPORT REPEATED ROUNDS OF  
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS, PARTICULARLY ACROSS FLORIDA AND ADJACENT  
PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHEAST. TRAINING CONVECTION AND HIGH RAINFALL  
RATES COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY EXCESSIVE RAINFALL, PARTICULARLY WHERE  
STORMS REPEATEDLY OCCUR. THEREFORE, WPC EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OUTLOOK CONTINUES TO HIGHLIGHT A MARGINAL RISK FOR PORTIONS OF  
FLORIDA ON DAY 4/THURSDAY. THE GREATEST HEAVY-RAIN POTENTIAL  
SHOULD  
GRADUALLY SHIFT WITH THE POSITION OF THE FRONT, BUT FLORIDA REMAINS  
THE FAVORED AREA FOR PROLONGED CONVECTION THROUGH THURSDAY. BY THE  
WEEKEND, THE AXIS OF HEAVY RAINFALL SHIFTS EASTWARD ALONG THE GULF  
COAST.  
 
ACROSS THE MIDWEST INTO THE NORTHEAST, THE PERSISTENT UPPER TROUGH  
SHOULD MAINTAIN GENERALLY COOLER CONDITIONS. PERIODIC SHORTWAVES  
ROTATING THROUGH THE TROUGH MAY PRODUCES AREAS OF LIGHT SHOWERS,  
PARTICULARLY NEAR FRONTAL BOUNDARIES. FARTHER WEST, UPPER RIDGING  
SHOULD CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. HIGHS IN  
THE UPPER 90S TO LOWER 100S WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF  
THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. WARM OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES  
WILL ALSO LIMIT RELIEF FROM THE HEAT, LEADING TO HEAT-RELATED  
ILLNESS CONCERNS ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITHOUT ADEQUATE COOLING AND  
HYDRATION. SEE WPC'S KEY MESSAGES FOR THE CALIFORNIA OCTOBER HEAT  
WAVE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THE RIDGE SHOULD GRADUALLY WEAKEN  
AND SHIFT AS THE EASTERN PACIFIC TROUGH BECOMES MORE AMPLIFIED BY  
FRIDAY. ADDITIONALLY, AS THE TROUGH CONTINUES TO MOVE INLAND,  
PRECIPITATION CHANCES INCREASES INTO THE WEEKEND OVER PACIFIC  
NORTHWEST INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES.  
 
OUDIT  
 
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, EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK,  
WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK PROBABILITIES, HEAT INDICES AND KEY MESSAGES  
ARE AT:  
 
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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