673  
FXUS02 KWBC 131845  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
245 PM EDT MON MAY 13 2024  
 
VALID 12Z THU MAY 16 2024 - 12Z MON MAY 20 2024  
 
...ANOTHER SOUTHERN TIER HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT DURING THE LATTER  
HALF OF THE WEEK...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
LATEST GUIDANCE FORECAST SPREAD HAS DECREASED VALID FOR THURSDAY  
AND FRIDAY, BOLSTERING CONFIDENCE TO A DEGREE. EVEN SO AND INTO  
LONGER TIME FRAMES, GUIDANCE OVERALL CONTINUES TO SHOW A RECENT  
ISSUE OF SHOWING CONSIDERABLE DIFFICULTY IN RESOLVING IMPORTANT  
DETAILS OF FLOW PROGRESSING AROUND AND DOWNSTREAM FROM A GRADUALLY  
REORIENTING/RETROGRADING EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER RIDGE. ONE OR MORE  
SOUTHERN STREAM FEATURES MAY ADD TO THE ALREADY ABOVE AVERAGE  
UNCERTAINTY IN THE FORECAST. THE MOST COMMON THEME IS FOR LOWER 48  
FLOW ALOFT TO BE FLAT TO BROADLY CYCLONIC FROM THE MULTI- DAY MEAN  
PERSPECTIVE, WITH A LEADING COMPLEX OF SHORTWAVE ENERGY PUSHING  
ALONG ONE OR MORE SURFACE WAVES/FRONTS WITH ACCOMPANYING RAIN  
ACROSS THE CENTRAL- EASTERN U.S. THURSDAY-SATURDAY. THE TRAILING  
FRONT COULD LINGER ALONG THE GULF COAST INTO THE WEEKEND. HIGHEST  
TOTALS SHOULD BE ALONG THE SOUTHERN TIER WHICH WILL BE SENSITIVE TO  
ADDITIONAL RAIN DUE TO PRIOR HEAVY RAIN EVENTS.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
THE WPC MEDIUM RANGE PRODUCT SUITE WAS PRIMARILY DERIVED FROM NOW  
SLIGHTLY BETTER CLUSTERED GFS/ECMWF/UKMET/CANADIAN MODEL GUIDANCE  
FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. A COMPOSITE TENDS TO MITIGATE LINGERING  
SYSTEM VARIANCES, WITH DETAIL SEEMINGLY CONSISTENT WITH INDIVIDUAL  
SYSTEM PREDICTABILITY.SWITCHED PREFERENCE FULLY TO MORE COMPATIBLE  
AND RUN TO RUN CONSISTENT GEFS/ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEANS FOR SATURDAY  
TO NEXT MONDAY AMID QUICK FORECAST SPREAD GROWTH. OVERALL, THIS  
FORECAST STRATEGY ACTS TO MAINTAIN GOOD WPC PRODUCT CONTINUITY.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
IT GENERALLY REMAINS THE CASE THAT DURING THE THURSDAY-THURSDAY  
NIGHT TIME FRAME OF THE DAY 4 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK, THERE IS  
STILL A GOOD SIGNAL FOR SIGNIFICANT CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE  
SOUTHERN PLAINS INTO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY/CENTRAL GULF  
COAST IN ASSOCIATION WITH EMERGING PLAINS-SOUTHWEST SHORTWAVE  
ENERGY AND SURFACE WAVES/FRONTS. THERE ARE STILL TYPICAL  
DIFFERENCES IN SPECIFICS FOR HEAVIEST RAINFALL EMPHASIS, WITH THE  
GFS/GEFS STILL GENERALLY FARTHER NORTH THAN MOST OTHER DYNAMICAL  
MODEL/ENSEMBLE SOLUTIONS AND ML MODELS. THE DAY 4 SLIGHT RISK AREA  
EXTENDING FROM JUST EAST OF CENTRAL TEXAS THROUGH MUCH OF LOUISIANA  
INTO SOUTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI REFLECTS THE BEST OVERLAP AMONG THE  
MAJORITY SCENARIO. CONSENSUS CONTINUES TO SHOW A PRONOUNCED SURGE  
OF MOISTURE INTO THIS REGION WITH ADEQUATE INSTABILITY AS WELL. AN  
EVENTUAL NEED FOR AN UPGRADE TO A MODERATE RISK IS POSSIBLE AND  
WILL DEPEND ON ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IN THE SHORT TERM PERIOD AND HOW  
GUIDANCE CLUSTERS GOING FORWARD. A FRONT FARTHER NORTH MAY HELP TO  
FOCUS LESS EXTREME BUT STILL LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL (GIVEN  
POTENTIAL FOR SUFFICIENT MOISTURE/INSTABILITY), WHICH IS ACCOUNTED  
FOR BY A MARGINAL RISK AREA THAT EXTENDS INTO PARTS OF THE SOUTH-  
CENTRAL PLAINS AND INTO PARTS OF THE MIDWEST. LATEST TRENDS FAVOR  
A SKINNIER THREAT AREA FOR TODAY'S ERO UPDATE.  
 
AS THE SOUTHERN TIER CONVECTION LIKELY CONTINUES EASTWARD DURING  
THE DAY 5 PERIOD (FRIDAY-FRIDAY NIGHT), THE SLIGHT RISK AREA  
LIKEWISE EXTENDS EASTWARD TO COVER AN AREA CENTERED OVER THE EAST-  
CENTRAL GULF COAST. HOWEVER, FRONTAL WAVE/ORIENTATION ALSO SUGGESTS  
POTENTIAL FOR REPEAT RAINS HELD BACK THROUGH LOUISANA TO MONITOR.  
AGAIN THE SPECIFICS OF SHORT-TERM RAINFALL WILL PLAY A ROLE IN HOW  
SENSITIVE THIS REGION WILL BE TO ADDED RAINFALL BY DAY 5. THE  
SURROUNDING MARGINAL RISK AREA ACCOUNTS FOR SOME POTENTIAL OF A  
CONVECTIVE AXIS HANGING BACK EVEN FURTHER TO THE WEST (MOST  
PRONOUNCED IN GFS RUNS). FARTHER NORTH, SOME AREAS OF LOCALLY HEAVY  
RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY/MID-ATLANTIC AS  
SHORTWAVE ENERGY/SURFACE FEATURES CONTINUE EASTWARD. HOWEVER THE  
SPECIFICS FOR MASS FIELDS AND ASSOCIATED CONVECTION DO NOT APPEAR  
COHERENT ENOUGH YET TO DEPICT A RISK AREA.  
 
PORTIONS OF THE EAST COAST SHOULD SEE SOME RAIN CONTINUE FOR AT  
LEAST PART OF THE WEEKEND WHILE A FRONT LINGERING ALONG THE GULF  
COAST MAY HELP TO FOCUS ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS  
THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS WELL. ELSEWHERE, PARTS OF THE ROCKIES MAY  
SEE A LITTLE PRECIPITATION, POSSIBLY SNOW AT HIGHEST ELEVATIONS IN  
NORTHERN AREAS. THE PLAINS COULD SEE AT LEAST A MODEST REBOUND IN  
RAINFALL AROUND SATURDAY-MONDAY DEPENDING ON SPECIFICS OF SHORTWAVE  
ENERGY ALOFT. A WEAK UPPER TROUGH/LOW APPROACHING CALIFORNIA COULD  
PROMOTE LOCALIZED DIURNAL RAINFALL IN THE SIERRA NEVADA.  
 
AN EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER RIDGE EXTENDING INTO THE WEST SHOULD  
SUPPORT ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES OVER MOST OF THE WEST COAST  
STATES AND PARTS OF THE GREAT BASIN INTO LATE WEEK, WITH SOME  
AREAS SEEING PLUS 10-15F OR SO ANOMALIES. THEREAFTER, LOWERING  
HEIGHTS ALOFT SHOULD PROMOTE A MODERATING TREND, WITH NORTHERN  
AREAS TRENDING CLOSER TO NORMAL WHILE CALIFORNIA/NEVADA REMAIN  
SOMEWHAT ABOVE NORMAL. THE FLORIDA PENINSULA AND SOUTH TEXAS SHOULD  
SEE SEVERAL DAYS WITH HIGHS UP TO 5-10F ABOVE NORMAL, IN A WARM  
PATTERN TO THE SOUTH OF A COUPLE FRONTS EXPECTED TO FOCUS UPON  
REACHING MORE NORTHERN PARTS OF THESE STATES. SOME DAILY RECORDS  
FOR HIGHS/WARM LOWS WILL BE POSSIBLE. THESE TEMPERATURES MAY BRING  
HEAT INDICES AS HIGH AS 105-110 DEGREES FOR SOUTH FLORIDA AND  
UPWARDS TO 115 DEGREES FOR SOUTH TEXAS, HIGHLIGHTING A THREAT OF  
HAZARDOUS HEAT. OTHERWISE, AREAS TO THE EAST OF THE ROCKIES WILL  
TEND TO BE NEAR NORMAL OR MODERATELY ABOVE NORMAL, WITH SOME DAILY  
VARIABILITY DUE TO SYSTEM PROGRESSION.  
 
RAUSCH/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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