134  
FXUS02 KWBC 141902  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
301 PM EDT TUE MAY 14 2024  
 
VALID 12Z FRI MAY 17 2024 - 12Z TUE MAY 21 2024  
 
...ANOTHER SOUTHERN TIER HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT DURING THE LATTER  
HALF OF THE WEEK...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
DOWNSTREAM FROM A REORIENTING EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER RIDGE, GUIDANCE  
IS GENERALLY SUGGESTING FLAT TO BROADLY CYCLONIC MEAN FLOW LATE  
THIS WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND, FOLLOWED BY A TENDENCY TOWARD MORE  
UPPER TROUGHING OVER THE WEST EARLY NEXT WEEK. THERE ARE STILL A  
LOT OF LOWER-PREDICTABILITY DETAIL QUESTIONS ABOUT FLOW ROUNDING  
THE RIDGE AND REACHING THE LOWER 48. THERE IS ALSO CONSIDERABLE  
SPREAD FOR THE DETAILS/TIMING OF AN UPPER SHORTWAVE AND ASSOCIATED  
SURFACE SYSTEM CROSSING THE EASTERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY LATE THIS  
WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. CONTINUE TO EXPECT THE HEAVIEST CONVECTIVE  
EMPHASIS TO BE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER LATE THIS WEEK INTO THE  
WEEKEND, WITH SOME AREAS OF LESS EXTREME BUT POTENTIALLY MEANINGFUL  
RAINFALL FARTHER NORTH.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
DETERMINISTIC, ENSEMBLE AND AI MODELS TEND TO BE IN REASONABLE  
AGREEMENT THAT AN UPPER TROUGH WILL PUSH THROUGH THE EASTERN HALF  
OF THE CONUS THIS WEEKEND, WHILE SHORTWAVE ENERGY GRAZES THE  
NORTHERN TIER AND A TROUGH EMERGES OVER THE WEST COAST.  
 
A GENERAL MODEL BLEND FAVORING THE 06Z GFS AND 00Z ECMWF, BUT ALSO  
CONSISTING OF THE 00Z UKMET/CMC, WAS USED FOR DAYS 3 AND 4. THE  
BLEND WAS EXPANDED TO INCORPORATE THE 00Z ECE AND 06Z GEFS ON DAY  
5 TO MODERATE DETERMINISTIC MODEL UNCERTAINTY WITH RESPECT TO THE  
EAST COAST TROUGH. THE 00Z CMCE REPLACES THE 00Z CMC ON DAY 6 TO  
HELP SUPPRESS WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN OVERAMPLIFICATION OF THE EAST  
COAST TROUGH BY THE DETERMINISTIC MODEL. ON DAY 7, OUR BLEND  
SIMPLY CONSISTS OF THE 00Z ECE/CMCE AND 06Z GEFS WITH THE LATTER  
BEING FAVORED SLIGHTLY.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
ANOTHER SOUTHERN TIER CONVECTIVE EVENT SHOULD BE IN PROGRESS AT THE  
START OF THE PERIOD EARLY FRIDAY. THE DAY 4 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OUTLOOK THAT COVERS THE FRIDAY-FRIDAY NIGHT TIME FRAME CONTINUES TO  
DEPICT A SLIGHT RISK AREA THAT EXTENDS FROM LOUISIANA INTO ALABAMA,  
WITH SOME ADJUSTMENT FROM CONTINUITY TO REFLECT LATEST GUIDANCE.  
THIS AREA WILL BE SENSITIVE TO ADDITIONAL RAINFALL GIVEN WET SOIL  
CONDITIONS. FRONTAL/WAVE FOCUS WITH AVAILABLE MOISTURE AND  
INSTABILITY ALONG WITH POTENTIAL FOR REPEAT RAINS MAY ENHANCE  
TOTALS. THE SURROUNDING MARGINAL RISK AREA ACCOUNTS FOR SOME  
POTENTIAL OF A CONVECTIVE AXIS HANGING BACK EVEN FARTHER TO THE  
WEST (STILL MOST PRONOUNCED IN GFS RUNS). FARTHER NORTH, LATEST  
ECMWF/GFS/CMC/ICON RUNS ARE STARTING TO CLUSTER TOWARD A POTENTIAL  
AXIS OF LESS EXTREME BUT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE OHIO  
VALLEY IN ASSOCIATION WITH A FRONT AFFECTING THE REGION. SHORT-TERM  
RAINFALL SHOULD LEAD TO SOMEWHAT WETTER SOIL THAN INITIALLY  
OBSERVED. THE DAY 4 ERO INTRODUCES A MARGINAL RISK AREA TO ACCOUNT  
FOR THE DEVELOPING GUIDANCE CLUSTER. BY DAY 5 SATURDAY, THE ONLY  
COHERENT AREA OF POTENTIALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS OVER PORTIONS OF THE  
SOUTHEAST AS THE SOUTHERN TIER SURFACE FRONT/WAVINESS CONTINUE  
ONWARD. A MARGINAL RISK PROVIDES A REASONABLE STARTING POINT GIVEN  
THE GUIDANCE SCATTER WITHIN THIS REGION. CONFIDENCE IS MUCH LOWER  
FOR RAINFALL COVERAGE AND TOTALS FARTHER NORTHWARD OVER THE EAST.  
 
OTHERWISE, SOME RAINFALL COULD LINGER ALONG PARTS OF THE EAST COAST  
INTO SUNDAY IF THE SLOWER SIDE OF THE ENVELOPE VERIFIES FOR THE  
SYSTEM AFFECTING THE REGION. SOME AREAS OF RAINFALL MAY DEVELOP  
OVER PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN-CENTRAL PLAINS INTO THE MIDWEST BY  
THE WEEKEND OR EARLY NEXT WEEK DEPENDING ON SHORTWAVE  
ENERGY/SURFACE DETAILS, WITH LOW CONFIDENCE FOR SPECIFICS OF  
INTENSITY AT ANY PARTICULAR LOCATION. PORTIONS OF THE WEST MAY  
BEGIN TO SEE SCATTERED PRECIPITATION BY THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT  
WEEK WITH THE TENDENCY TOWARD MORE UPPER TROUGHING AND ARRIVAL OF  
THE SOUTHERN STREAM UPPER LOW.  
 
THE SOUTHERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE WEST WILL LIKELY SEE ABOVE NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH SOME AREAS SEEING  
HIGHS 10-15F OR SO ABOVE NORMAL. NORTHERN AREAS WILL ALREADY BE  
MODERATING CLOSE TO NORMAL FRIDAY-SUNDAY WHILE ADDITIONAL LOWERING  
OF HEIGHTS ALOFT OVER THE WEST EARLY NEXT WEEK SHOULD BRING  
TEMPERATURES TOWARD NORMAL OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE WEST. SOME OF  
THE WESTERN WARMTH WILL EXTEND INTO PORTIONS OF THE PLAINS AND  
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WITH PLUS 5-15F ANOMALIES. 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.  
 
KEBEDE/RAUSCH  
 

 
 
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