233  
FXUS02 KWBC 030648  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
248 AM EDT FRI MAY 3 2024  
 
VALID 12Z MON MAY 06 2024 - 12Z FRI MAY 10 2024  
 
   
..NORTHERN PLAINS TO MIDWEST HEAVY RAIN THREAT EARLY NEXT WEEK  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
AN UPPER LOW THAT IS STRONG FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR IS FORECAST TO  
MOVE THROUGH THE WEST BY EARLY NEXT WEEK AND TRACK/MEANDER INTO  
THE PLAINS AND MIDWEST AS THE WEEK PROGRESSES. THIS WILL SUPPORT  
COOLER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES, GUSTY WINDS, AND PRECIPITATION  
INCLUDING HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW IN THE WEST EARLY IN THE WEEK. RAIN  
THAT COULD BE LOCALLY HEAVY SHIFTS INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND  
DOWNSTREAM THROUGH THE MIDWEST. MEANWHILE FARTHER SOUTH, MEAN UPPER  
RIDGING WILL LEAD TO WARMING PRE-FRONTAL TEMPERATURES FOR MUCH OF  
THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN U.S. THAT COULD YIELD SOME RECORD VALUES.  
UPSTREAM, PACIFIC UPPER TROUGH ENERGY WILL WORK INLAND OVER AN  
UNSETTLED WEST AND TO THE SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.. THIS MAY INTERACT  
WITH A WAVY AND STALLING LEAD FRONT AND COMBINE WITH POOLING  
MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY TO FUEL RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE  
SOUTH-CENTRAL STATES/MID-SOUTH AND ONWARD INTO LATER NEXT WEEK,  
STILL ALSO UNDER SOME INFLUENCE FROM THE LEAD UPPER LOW/TROUGH.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
MODEL AND ENSEMBLE SOLUTIONS OVERALL SEEM REASONABLY CLUSTERED FOR  
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY AND GENERALLY IN STEP WITH NATIONAL BLEND OF  
MODELS (NBM) GUIDANCE. THIS BOLSTERS FORECAST CONFIDENCE IN A  
COMPOSITE GFS/ECMWF/UKMET/CANADIAN MODEL BLEND TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM  
SYSTEM DETAIL AS CONSISTENT WITH FEATURE PREDICTABILITY. OPTED TO  
SWITCH PREFERENCE TO A COMPOSITE OF BEST CLUSTERED GFS/ECMWF AND  
GEFS/ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEANS ALONG WITH THE NBM FOR LATER NEXT WEEK  
TO TEMPER DETAIL SOME, ACTING TO MITIGATE GROWING BUT MANAGEBALE  
FORECAST SPREAD. WPC PRODUCT CONTINUITY IS DECENTLY MAINTAINED IN  
THIS MANNER. LATEST 00 UTC GUIDANCE HAS MAINLY STAYED IN LINE.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
AS A MAIN/CLOSED UPPER LOW TRACKS OUT OF THE WEST AS ADDIITONAL  
ENERGIES FEED BACK THROUGH THE WEST COAST, WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION  
WILL INCLUDE SOME ENHANCED SNOW POTENTIAL GIVEN COOLED  
TEMPERATURES. THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA, NORTH  
INTO THE CASCADES, AND EAST INTO THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST/ROCKIES  
WILL SEE MAY SNOW. TROUGHS/LOW ALOFT AND FRONTAL BOUNDARIES COULD  
ALSO PRODUCE SOME HIGH WINDS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN TO ROCKIES TO  
HIGH PLAINS. PRECIPITATION IS FORECAST TO MOVE STEADILY EASTWARD  
THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK, REACHING THE NORTHERN PLAINS TO MIDWEST  
MONDAY AND TUESDAY. RAINFALL ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE STRONG SURFACE  
LOW COULD BE HEAVY ACROSS EASTERN MONTANA INTO THE DAKOTAS GIVEN  
STRONG UPPER-LEVEL SUPPORT FOR LIFT. HOWEVER, THIS REGION IS NOT  
PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE TO FLOODING CONCERNS, AND INSTABILITY SHOULD  
BE LIMITED WRAPPING AROUND THE LOW. A WPC EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OUTLOOK (ERO) MARGINAL RISK AREA REMAINS IN PLACE IN THE DAY  
4/MONDAY AND INTO DAY 5/TUESDAY FOR THIS AREA GIVEN THE POTENTIAL  
FOR PROTRACTED HEAVY RAIN, BUT LIKELY WITHOUT WIDESPREAD  
SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IMPACTS. THE MARGINAL RISK EXTENDS SOUTHEAST  
INTO THE UPPER/MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, WHERE MORE INSTABILITY WILL  
BE IN PLACE FOR HIGHER RAIN RATES, BUT STORMS WILL LIKELY BE  
FASTER MOVING. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER ALSO HAS PORTIONS OF THE  
PLAINS DELINEATED WITH POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER ON MONDAY.  
CONVECTIVE RAINFALL IS FORECAST TO SHIFT EAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES  
AND OHIO VALLEY TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY WITH SYSTEM PROGRESSION AND  
INTERCECTING RETURN FLOW. A DAY5 MARGINAL RISK ERO WAS INTRODUCED.  
 
UPSTREAM, AFOREMENTIONED PACIFIC UPPER TROUGH ENERGY WILL WORK  
INLAND OVER AN UNSETTLED WEST AND OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S. INTO  
LATER NEXT WEEK, RIDING UNDER THE BASE OF THE LINGERING MAIN UPPER  
LOW/TROUGH. THESE WILL INTERACT WITH WAVY AND STALLING FRONTS AND  
COMBINE WITH POOLING MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY TO FUEL A FAVORABLE  
PATTERN FOR RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE SOUTH-CENTRAL  
STATES/MID-SOUTH AND ONWARD TO THE EAST WHERE DOWNSTREAM ENERGY  
TRACK MAY SUPPORT MODERATE LATE NEXT WEEK COASTAL LOW DEVELOPMENT.  
 
MUCH COOLER THAN AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES WILL SLOWLY MODERATE  
WHILE SPREADING NEXT WEEK FROM THE WEST TO THE NORTHERN PLAINS  
WITH SLOW EJECTION OF A CLOSED UPPER LOW. BUT FARTHER SOUTHEAST,  
MEAN UPPER RIDGING WILL MEANWHILE SPREAD QUITE WARM PRE-FRONTAL  
TEMPERATURES FROM THE SOUTH THROUGH THE APPALACHIANS/MID-ATLANTIC  
TO THREATEN RECORD SEASONAL VALUES. 90S ARE FORECAST TO BECOME  
MORE WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER, WITH TEMPERATURES OVER  
100F (AND EVEN HIGHER HEAT INDICES) INTO SOUTH TEXAS AND THE  
POSSIBILITY FOR THE FIRST EXCESSIVE HEAT DAYS OF THE YEAR.  
 
SCHICHTEL  
 
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 (QPF), EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OUTLOOK (ERO), WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK (WWO) PROBABILITIES, HEAT  
INDICES, AND KEY MESSAGES CAN BE ACCESSED FROM:  
 
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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