886  
FXUS02 KWBC 090705  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
204 AM EST SAT MAR 09 2024  
 
VALID 12Z TUE MAR 12 2024 - 12Z SAT MAR 16 2024  
   
..HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL RETURNS TO THE SOUTH LATE NEXT WEEK
 
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
THE MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD STARTS TUESDAY WITH ONE SHORTWAVE MOVING  
THROUGH THE CENTRAL U.S. AS THE NEXT ONE ENTERS THE WEST COAST.  
AFTER THIS, THE PATTERN LOOKS TO TREND MUCH MORE AMPLIFIED WITH  
UPPER RIDGING BUILDING OVER THE EAST COAST ALLOWING FOR THE SECOND  
SYSTEM OVER THE WEST TO DIG SOUTHWARD INTO THE SOUTHWEST. GUIDANCE  
SHOWS GENERAL AGREEMENT ON A DEEP CLOSED LOW DEVELOPING OVER THE  
SOUTHWEST/FOUR CORNERS REGION ON THURSDAY, AND LINGERING OR ONLY  
VERY SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD INTO THE WEEKEND. THIS SHOULD PROMOTE  
A PERIOD OF HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL ACROSS PARTS OF THE SOUTHERN  
U.S. LATE THIS WEEK. ELSEWHERE, NORTHERN STREAM ENERGY WILL SLIDE  
ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES LATE WEEK, AS A STRONG RIDGE  
SHIFTS OVER THE WEST COAST.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
MODEL GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE VERY LARGE  
SCALE PATTERN EVOLUTION DURING THE PERIOD, BUT SOME SIGNIFICANT  
DETAILS STILL IN THE DETAILS AND TIMING OF INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS.  
RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE, YESTERDAYS 12Z AND 18Z GFS RUNS WERE FASTER  
THAN CONSENSUS WITH THE SHORTWAVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL U.S., BUT  
TONIGHT'S 00Z RUN (AVAILABLE AFTER FORECAST GENERATION TIME)  
TRENDED SLOWER. THE GFS WAS ALSO MUCH STRONGER WITH INITIAL ENERGY  
INTO THE WEST COAST MID WEEK WHICH MOVES ACROSS THE NORTH-CENTRAL  
U.S., WITH FAIRLY DECENT SURFACE LOW PRESSURE TRACKING THROUGH THE  
MIDWEST LATER THIS WEEK. THE REST OF THE GUIDANCE IS MORE SUBDUED  
WITH THIS ENERGY SHOWING ONLY A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE ALONG THE  
ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BOUNDARY. ENERGY ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE MEAN  
TROUGH SHOULD THEN DIG SOUTHWARD EVENTUALLY WITH A CLOSED LOW OVER  
THE SOUTHWEST/FOUR CORNERS REGION WHILE AT THE SAME TIME NORTHERN  
STREAM ENERGY SHIFTS ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS/UPPER GREAT LAKES.  
THERE ARE STILL SOME VERY NOTABLE DIFFERENCES IN THE  
DETAILS/PLACEMENT OF THIS SYSTEM AND ALSO HOW MUCH PHASING THERE  
IS (OR IS NOT) WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM ENERGY. ALSO UNCERTAINTY  
ON HOW QUICKLY THE UPPER LOW EJECTS EASTWARD NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
THE WPC BLEND FOR TONIGHT USED A GENERAL MODEL BLEND FOR DAYS 3  
AND 4 (USING THE 12Z GFS OVER THE 18Z GFS AS IT LOOKED MORE  
REASONABLE THAN THE 18Z/00Z RUNS WITH SHORTWAVE ENERGY THROUGH THE  
MIDWEST). FOR DAYS 5-7, INCORPORATED MORE AND MORE OF THE ENSEMBLE  
MEANS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE LATE PERIOD UNCERTAINTIES. MAINTAINED  
GOOD CONTINUITY WITH THE PREVIOUS WPC FORECAST AS WELL.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
WESTERN U.S. REMAINS UNSETTLED EARLY WEEK AS A COUPLE OF  
SHORTWAVES BRING ROUNDS OF RAIN AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW  
INITIALLY SHIFTING MORE INLAND INTO THE CENTRAL ROCKIES WITH TIME.  
RAINFALL SHOULD ALSO BEGIN TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY  
OVER THE PLAINS AND MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BY WEDNESDAY AS TROUGHING  
AMPLIFIES OVER THE WEST. CURRENTLY, NO AREAS ARE DEPICTED ON THE  
DAYS 4 AND 5 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOKS. THEN, MOISTURE STREAMING  
AHEAD OF THE CLOSED LOW DEVELOPING OVER THE SOUTHWEST SHOULD  
INCREASE THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAIN AND POTENTIALLY FLASH FLOODING  
ACROSS THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY/GULF COAST/SOUTHEAST NEXT  
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. AREAS ACROSS THE SOUTH MAY BE MORE  
SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOODING WITH THIS SYSTEM CONSIDERING RECENT HEAVY  
RAINS. SOME THREAT FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN/MOUNTAIN SNOWS WILL  
EXIST ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AS WELL IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS  
SYSTEM.  
 
MEAN RIDGING ALOFT OVER THE EAST-CENTRAL AND EASTERN U.S. WILL  
SUPPORT AN EXPANDING AREA OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO THE EAST  
OF THE ROCKIES. THE CORE OF WARMEST ANOMALIES SHOULD COVER PARTS  
OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND UPPER MIDWEST TUESDAY THROUGH  
WEDNESDAY, WITH HIGHS POTENTIALLY REACHING 20-30 DEGREES ABOVE  
NORMAL. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY EXPAND INTO THE  
SOUTH AND EAST MID TO LATE NEXT WEEK WEEK. OVER THE WEST, THE  
WET/SNOWY PATTERN OVER NORTHERN-CENTRAL WEST COAST AND EVENTUALLY  
INTO THE ROCKIES WILL MAINTAIN MODERATELY BELOW AVERAGE HIGHS AND  
NEAR/ABOVE AVERAGE LOWS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. UPPER TROUGHING  
THAT AMPLIFIES INLAND BY WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY SHOULD SPREAD A  
BROADER AREA OF COOL DAYTIME HIGHS ACROSS THE WEST WITH  
TEMPERATURES BEGINNING TO REBOUND AGAIN ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST  
NEXT FRIDAY-SATURDAY AS STRONG RIDGING BUILDS IN ALOFT.  
 
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, 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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