933  
FXUS02 KWBC 221846  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
246 PM EDT WED MAY 22 2024  
 
VALID 12Z SAT MAY 25 2024 - 12Z WED MAY 29 2024  
 
 
...HEAVY RAINFALL/FLOODING THREATS FOR THE MID-MISSISSIPPI,  
TENNESSEE, AND OHIO VALLEYS THROUGH THE WEEKEND...  
 
...SOUTH TEXAS TO THE CENTRAL GULF COAST AND SOUTH FLORIDA HEAT  
THREAT...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
IT REMAINS GENERALLY THE CASE THAT NORTHERN STREAM UPPER TROUGH/COMPACT  
CLOSED LOW AND SOUTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE/LOW ENERGIES AND  
INSTABILITIES WORKING FROM THE WEST TO CENTRAL U.S. WILL BE THE  
MAIN DRIVERS FOR HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL ACROSS PARTS OF THE  
MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THROUGH THE TENNESSEE/OHIO VALLEYS THIS  
WEEKEND. BY MONDAY, THE OVERALL PATTERN ACROSS THE CONUS SHOULD  
TURN MORE AMPLIFIED AS AN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE INTERIOR WEST  
AND A LARGE CLOSED LOW ANCHORS OFF THE WEST COAST. THIS ALLOWS THE  
DOWNSTREAM TROUGHING TO DEEPEN AND SLOW AS IT REACHING THE EAST  
EARLY NEXT WEEK. A STRONG UPPER RIDGE OVER MEXICO WILL KEEP  
HAZARDOUS HEAT A THREAT FROM SOUTH TEXAS TO THE GULF COAST AND  
SOUTHERN FLORIDA THROUGH AT LEAST THE WEEKEND WITH DANGEROUSLY HIGH  
HEAT INDICES COUPLED WITH ANOMALOUSLY WARM NIGHTTIME LOWS.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
MODELS AND ENSEMBLES CONTINUE TO SHOW REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON  
THE OVERALL MID-LARGER SCALE UPPER LEVEL PATTERN THROUGH THE  
MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD, BUT SMALL-MID SCALE SYSTEM DIFFERENCES AND  
CYCLE TO CYCLE VARIANCES AND ESPECIALLY HEAVIER CONVECTIVE QPF FOCI  
REMAIN MORE PROBLEMATIC. ACCORDINGLY, THE WPC MEDIUM RANGE PRODUCT  
SUITE WAS PRIMARILY DERIVED FROM BEST CLUSTERED GUIDANCE FROM THE  
06 UTC GFS/GEFS AND 00 UTC ECMWF/ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEAN THAT SEEMS TO  
PROVIDE DETAIL CONSISTENT WITH INDIVIDUAL SYSTEM PREDICTABILITY.  
THIS ALSO MAINTAINS GOOD WPC PRODUCT CONTINUITY. NEWER 12 UTC  
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO EXHIBIT THESE TYPES OF WARM SEASON VARIANCES.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
A DEEPENING SURFACE LOW AND ASSOCIATED WARM FRONT WILL BE THE  
FOCUS FOR STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY  
RAINFALL/FLOODING POTENTIAL THIS WEEKEND ACROSS PARTS OF THE MID-  
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TO OHIO VALLEY. A MARGINAL RISK OF EXCESSIVE  
RAINFALL REMAINS IN PLACE FROM EASTERN KANSAS TO THE LOWER OHIO  
VALLEY FOR SATURDAY AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY STALLS AND LIFTS NORTH  
THROUGH THE REGION. AN ORGANIZED SURFACE LOW MOVING INTO THE  
MIDWEST LATER IN THE WEEKEND SHOULD HELP TAP ADDITIONAL MOISTURE  
AND INSTABILITY FOR HEAVY RAINFALL DEVELOPMENT FARTHER EAST ON  
SUNDAY INTO THE OHIO AND TENNESSEE VALLEY. MUCH OF THE GUIDANCE IS  
SHOWING SOME ELEVATED QPF TOTALS, BUT STILL WITH A LOT OF SPREAD IN  
EXACTLY WHERE. OPTED TO MAINTAIN CONTINUITY WITH A BROAD MARGINAL  
RISK ACROSS THIS REGION ON THE DAY 5/SUNDAY ERO, ALBEIT WITH SOME  
EXPECTATION A MORE WELLL DEFINED GUIDANCE SIGNAL CLOSER TO THE  
EVENT WILL LIKELY PROMPT ISSUANCE OF A SLIGHT RISK AREA.  
 
ELSEWHERE, SHOWERS WILL MOVE FROM THE NORTHERN ROCKIES INTO THE  
PLAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM SYSTEM THIS WEEKEND, AND  
THEN A STRONG COLD FRONT INTO THE EAST SHOULD BRING INCREASED RAIN  
CHANCES ACROSS THE EAST AND SOUTH EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
EXPECT HAZARDOUS HEAT TO EXPAND FROM SOUTH TEXAS THROUGH THE  
CENTRAL GULF COAST AND SOUTH FLORIDA DURING THE PERIOD WITH DAYTIME  
HIGHS AS MUCH AS 10-15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL WITH MAX HEAT INDEX  
VALUES POSSIBLY REACHING 115 DEGREES, ESPECIALLY FOR SOUTH TEXAS.  
HIGHS NEAR 100 DEGREES COULD STRETCH FARTHER NORTH ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS THIS WEEKEND AS WELL. THE COMBINATION OF  
DANGEROUS HEAT INDICES AND LACK OF OVERNIGHT RECOVERY/COOLING WILL  
ALLOW FOR A MAJOR TO EXTREME HEAT RISK ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS, WITH  
WIDESPREAD MAJOR HEAT RISK ALSO EXTENDING INTO THE CENTRAL GULF  
COAST REGION AS WELL AS SOUTHERN FLORIDA. TEMPERATURES SHOULD TREND  
CLOSER TO NORMAL NEXT WEEK ACROSS THE SOUTH FOLLOWING PASSAGE OF A  
COLD FRONT. THE FORECAST PATTERN WILL FAVOR BELOW AVERAGE HIGHS  
OVER THE NORTHWEST TO NORTHERN PLAINS FOR THIS WEEKEND BUT ABOVE  
NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL BUILD AGAIN ACROSS THE WEST EARLY NEXT  
WEEK UNDERNEATH OF AMPLIFIED UPPER RIDGING. ABOVE AVERAGE  
TEMPERATURES ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD WILL MODERATE BACK TO  
NORMAL NEXT WEEK.  
 
SANTORELLI/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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