101  
FXUS02 KWBC 231848  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
248 PM EDT THU MAY 23 2024  
 
VALID 12Z SUN MAY 26 2024 - 12Z THU MAY 30 2024  
 
 
...HEAVY RAINFALL/FLOODING POSSIBLE FROM THE MIDWEST TO THE  
NORTHEAST SUNDAY AND MONDAY...  
 
...HAZARDOUS HEAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND FOR  
SOUTH TEXAS, THE CENTRAL GULF COAST, AND SOUTH FLORIDA...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
AN UPPER TROUGH (WHICH MAY BE A COMBINATION OF DIFFERENT ENERGY  
STREAMS) WILL TRAVERSE THE CONUS THROUGH THE MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD.  
THIS WILL SERVE AS THE MAIN DRIVER FOR HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL  
EARLY IN THE PERIOD FROM THE MIDWEST/MID-SOUTH INTO THE EAST. AFTER  
MONDAY, THE OVERALL PATTERN SHOULD TURN MORE AMPLIFIED AS AN UPPER  
RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE INTERIOR WEST, CAUSING THE DOWNSTREAM TROUGH  
TO DEEPEN AND SLOW AS IT MOVES OVER THE EAST EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
UPSTREAM, A DEEP UPPER LOW ANCHORED OFF THE WEST COAST SHOULD  
EVENTUALLY SEND ENERGY INTO THE NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN TIER AROUND  
THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. MEANWHILE, A STRONG RIDGE TO THE SOUTH  
WILL MAINTAIN ITS INFLUENCE OVER MEXICO AND WILL CONTINUE A  
HAZARDOUS HEAT THREAT FROM SOUTH TEXAS THROUGH THE GULF COAST AND  
FOR SOUTH FLORIDA THROUGH MONDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL DROP SOUTH  
INTO THE NORTHERN GULF MID-NEXT WEEK AND BRING SOME MUCH NEEDED  
RELIEF FROM THE HEAT.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
MODEL GUIDANCE SHOWS GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE OVERALL LARGE SCALE  
UPPER LEVEL PATTERN THROUGH THE MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD, BUT THERE ARE  
SOME SMALL/MID SCALE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODELS AND RUNS THAT WILL  
AFFECT HOW UPPER LOWS AND SHORTWAVES INTERACT. SOME OF THE HIGHEST  
UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDS THE TIMING AND STRENGTH OF A SHORTWAVE THAT  
WILL MOVE OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES AND CENTRAL PLAINS ON SUNDAY  
BEFORE INTERACTING WITH A DEEP UPPER LOW OVER THE GREAT LAKES  
REGION. THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE TWO FEATURES WILL INFLUENCE  
THE TIMING AND POSITION OF SEVERAL SUCCESSIVE FRONTAL SYSTEMS THAT  
WILL IMPACT THE EASTERN THIRD OF THE NATION NEXT WEEK.  
 
SHORTWAVE ENERGY SHOULD MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND CROSS  
THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE NATION MID-NEXT WEEK, BUT THERE IS STILL A  
SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING THE SPEED AND  
AMPLITUDE OF THIS FEATURE. RECENT RUNS OF THE GFS AND ECMWF HAVE  
SHOWN POOR RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY, SO THIS WILL BE A FEATURE TO  
KEEP AN EYE ON IN FUTURE FORECAST UPDATES.  
 
THE AFTERNOON WPC FORECAST USED A BLEND OF THE DETERMINISTIC  
GFS/ECMWF/CMC/UKMET ALONG WITH THE PREVIOUS WPC FORECAST BLEND  
THROUGH TUESDAY, WITH THE HEAVIEST WEIGHT PLACED ON THE ECMWF AND  
GFS. THIS METHOD AIMS TO FIND A MIDDLE GROUND SOLUTION GIVEN THE  
DIFFERENCES IN THE LATEST MODEL RUNS AND LACK OF RUN-TO-RUN  
CONSISTENCY. AFTER TUESDAY, THE WPC BLEND USED A COMBINATION OF THE  
DETERMINISTIC GFS/ECMWF/CMC AND ENSEMBLE MEANS FROM THE GEFS/ECE TO  
HELP SMOOTH OUT MODEL DIFFERENCES. THIS ALSO MAINTAINED GOOD  
CONTINUITY WITH THE PREVIOUS WPC FORECAST FOR DAYS 3-6.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
A SURFACE LOW AND ASSOCIATED FRONTS WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR STRONG  
TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINFALL/FLOODING POTENTIAL  
SUNDAY AND MONDAY FROM PARTS OF THE MIDWEST TO THE EAST. A MARGINAL  
RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL (LEVEL 1/4) REMAINS IN PLACE ACROSS  
MUCH OF THE OHIO VALLEY AND INTO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY ON SUNDAY  
(DAY 4), SHIFTING INTO THE NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC ON MONDAY  
(DAY 5). THE GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW ELEVATED QPF TOTALS, BUT  
STILL WITH A LOT OF SPREAD IN EXACTLY WHERE. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT  
THE GUIDANCE SIGNAL WILL BECOME MORE DEFINED AND AN EMBEDDED SLIGHT  
RISK (LEVEL 2/4) MAY BE NEEDED IN THE MIDWEST ON SUNDAY.  
 
THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL SHOULD EXIT THE EAST COAST AFTER MONDAY WITH  
THE COLD FRONT, BUT RENEWED TROUGHING ACROSS THE REGION WILL ALLOW  
FOR SHOWER CHANCES ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES INTO THE  
APPALACHIANS/NORTHEAST THROUGH MID-NEXT WEEK. ELSEWHERE,  
PRECIPITATION CHANCES SHOULD INCREASE ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AND  
NORTHERN/CENTRAL PLAINS TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WHILE ADDITIONAL  
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPAND ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.  
 
EXPECT HAZARDOUS HEAT TO CONTINUE THROUGH MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND  
FROM SOUTH TEXAS THROUGH THE CENTRAL GULF COAST AND SOUTH FLORIDA.  
DAYTIME HIGHS ARE FORECAST TO BE AS MUCH AS 10-20 DEGREES ABOVE  
AVERAGE WITH WIDESPREAD HEAT INDEX VALUES ABOVE 100 DEGREES, AND  
MAX HEAT INDEX VALUES MAY EXCEED 115 DEGREES IN PARTS OF SOUTH  
TEXAS. HIGHS NEAR 100 DEGREES COULD STRETCH FARTHER NORTH ACROSS  
THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS ON SUNDAY 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 AND SOUTH FLORIDA. TEMPERATURES SHOULD TREND CLOSER TO  
NORMAL ON TUESDAY ACROSS MUCH OF THE SOUTH FOLLOWING A COLD FRONT  
PASSAGE, BUT SOUTH FLORIDA WILL LIKELY REMAIN WARM THROUGH MID-  
NEXT WEEK.  
 
THE FORECAST PATTERN WILL FAVOR BELOW AVERAGE HIGHS OVER THE  
NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN PLAINS ON SUNDAY, BUT ABOVE NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES WILL BUILD AGAIN ACROSS THE WEST EARLY NEXT WEEK  
UNDERNEATH OF AN AMPLIFIED UPPER RIDGE. ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES  
ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD WILL MODERATE BACK TO NEAR NORMAL NEXT  
WEEK WITH SOME CHANCE FOR BELOW NORMAL HIGHS AROUND MID-NEXT WEEK.  
 
DOLAN/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 (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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