457  
FXUS02 KWBC 170659  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
259 AM EDT MON JUN 17 2024  
 
VALID 12Z THU JUN 20 2024 - 12Z MON JUN 24 2024  
   
..RECORD-BREAKING HEAT FROM THE MIDWEST TO THE EAST COAST
 
 
 
...HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS/UPPER MIDWEST  
LATE WEEK AND SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS ON THURSDAY...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
DURING THE THURSDAY-MONDAY PERIOD, GUIDANCE IS SHOWING A STEADY  
TRANSITION FROM A STRONG EAST COAST UPPER RIDGE TOWARD SLIGHTLY  
WEAKER AND MORE ELONGATED UPPER RIDGING THAT SETTLES ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN TIER WHILE FLATTER MEAN FLOW BECOMES ESTABLISHED ACROSS  
THE NORTHERN STATES. THE INITIAL UPPER RIDGE WILL SUPPORT A BROAD  
AREA OF HAZARDOUS HEAT WITH POTENTIAL FOR DAILY (AND POSSIBLY  
MONTHLY) RECORDS EXTENDING FROM THE OHIO VALLEY/LOWER GREAT LAKES  
INTO THE NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST, WITH THE PATTERN  
EVOLUTION HELPING TO MODERATE TEMPERATURES WITH TIME ESPECIALLY  
OVER NORTHERN AREAS. MEANWHILE THE NORTHERN PLAINS/UPPER MIDWEST  
MAY SEE A CONTINUED THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL THROUGH LATE THIS  
WEEK AS EJECTING WEST COAST TROUGH ENERGY DEVELOPS NORTHERN PLAINS  
LOW PRESSURE THAT WILL AID THE INTERACTION OF ANOMALOUS MOISTURE  
AND A LEADING FRONT. SOME OF THIS RAINFALL WILL EXTEND INTO THE  
NORTHEAST. A TRAILING NORTHEAST PACIFIC SYSTEM WILL LIKELY BRING A  
WELL-DEFINED FRONT INTO THE WEST BY SUNDAY. TO THE SOUTH OF THE  
UPPER RIDGE, UPPER LEVEL ENERGY AND ABUNDANT DEEP MOISTURE NORTH OF  
AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE (SEE NHC FOR UPDATES) WILL BRING THE  
POTENTIAL FOR A PERIOD OF HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS  
AND VICINITY BY THURSDAY.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
THE UPDATED FORECAST BASED ON 12Z/18Z GUIDANCE TILTED MORE TOWARD  
THE OPERATIONAL MODELS RELATIVE TO MINORITY ENSEMBLE MEAN INPUT  
EARLY, FOLLOWED BY A GRADUAL INCREASE OF THE MEANS TOWARD 60  
PERCENT BY THE END OF THE PERIOD NEXT MONDAY. LOW CONFIDENCE DETAIL  
DIFFERENCES LED TO SPLITTING THE GFS AMONG 12Z/18Z RUNS BY LATE IN  
THE PERIOD.  
 
ECMWF-INITIALIZED MACHINE LEARNING (ML) MODELS HAVE CONTINUED TO  
SUGGEST THAT THE EASTERN U.S. UPPER RIDGE MAY ULTIMATELY REMAIN  
CENTERED FARTHER WEST THAN WHAT SOME DYNAMICAL GUIDANCE HAS BEEN  
SUGGESTING IN RECENT RUNS. IN THE 12Z CYCLE, THE CMC/CMCENS WERE  
CLOSEST TO THE ML THEME SO THOSE SOLUTIONS WERE GIVEN A LITTLE MORE  
WEIGHT IN THE FORECAST BLEND THAN WOULD ORDINARILY BE THE CASE,  
THOUGH NOT QUITE TO THE POINT OF BEING IN THE MAJORITY. THE NEW 00Z  
GFS/GEFS SEEM TO BE TRENDING THAT WAY AS WELL. MEANWHILE LATEST  
ECMWF RUNS ARE RUNNING WEAKER THAN MOST OTHER DYNAMICAL AND ML  
GUIDANCE FOR THE UPPER RIDGE BY MID-LATE PERIOD, WITH MORE  
INFLUENCE FROM EMBEDDED/SURROUNDING UPPER ENERGY.  
 
THERE IS DECENT AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE BUT CONTINUED DETAIL  
DIFFERENCES FOR THE NORTHERN TIER UPPER TROUGH/SURFACE SYSTEM  
ASSOCIATED WITH INITIALLY EJECTING WEST COAST TROUGH ENERGY AS WELL  
AS THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC SYSTEM THAT EVENTUALLY REACHES INTO  
WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. THE LATTER ACTUALLY HAS REASONABLE  
CLUSTERING INTO EARLY SUNDAY, WITH BOTH DYNAMICAL/ML MODELS  
DIVERGING THEREAFTER. MOST GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT LATEST GFS RUNS  
MAY BECOME TOO STRUNG OUT/PROGRESSIVE WITH THE INCOMING ENERGY BY  
NEXT MONDAY.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOKS FOR BOTH DAY 4 AND DAY 5 (COVERING  
THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT) HAVE INTRODUCED A SLIGHT RISK AREA  
COVERING PARTS OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS/UPPER MIDWEST. THERE HAS BEEN  
A PERSISTENT SIGNAL IN THE GUIDANCE FOR CONVECTION TO PERSIST OVER  
THIS REGION FROM THE SHORT TERM, WITH THE DAYS 4-5 PERIOD FEATURING  
GRADUAL NORTHWARD PROGRESSION OF A WARM FRONT AS EJECTING WEST  
COAST TROUGH ENERGY DEVELOPS A DEFINED SURFACE WAVE. LATEST  
GUIDANCE APPEARS TO SHOW ENOUGH COHERENCE IN THE LOCATION OF BEST  
CONVECTIVE FOCUS TO MERIT INTRODUCTION OF THE SLIGHT RISK AREA. IN  
ADDITION TO THE FAVORABLE MOISTURE/SYNOPTIC INGREDIENTS DURING THE  
OUTLOOK PERIOD, PRIOR DAYS OF RAINFALL WILL LEAD TO WET GROUND  
CONDITIONS HEADING INTO THURSDAY.  
 
FARTHER SOUTH, THE DAY 4 OUTLOOK MADE MINIMAL CHANGE TO THE SLIGHT  
RISK AREA DEPICTED NEAR/EAST OF THE BIG BEND REGION OF TEXAS, AS  
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW AN AXIS OF SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE  
ANOMALIES MOVING EASTWARD ACROSS THE REGION. THE OUTLOOK REFLECTS A  
RELATIVE MAJORITY/INTERMEDIATE SOLUTION AMONG THE ONGOING SPREAD  
FOR RAINFALL MAGNITUDE AND COVERAGE. THE ECMWF/UKMET REMAIN THE  
MOST SUPPRESSED TO THE SOUTH WHILE OTHER DYNAMICAL GUIDANCE PLUS  
ECMWF-INITIALIZED ML MODELS SHOW SOMEWHAT MORE NORTHWARD EXTENT.  
 
ELSEWHERE, THE DAYS 4-5 OUTLOOKS HAVE INTRODUCED MARGINAL RISK  
AREAS OVER PARTS OF THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES/FOUR CORNERS REGION DUE TO  
THE ABUNDANT MOISTURE ARRIVING FROM THE EAST AND SOME FORECAST  
INSTABILITY, ALONG WITH SOME MODEL SIGNALS FOR LOCALLY ENHANCED  
RAINFALL. GUIDANCE SIGNALS ARE TRENDING MORE DIFFUSE FOR RAINFALL  
POTENTIAL ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COAST WITH A POSSIBLE WAVE/MOISTURE  
ARRIVING AROUND THURSDAY, SO THE DAY 4 OUTLOOK HAS REDUCED THE  
COVERAGE OF THE EXISTING MARGINAL RISK AREA AS A LEAD-IN TO  
EVENTUAL ELIMINATION IF GUIDANCE CONTINUES THE DRIER TREND. BY  
FRIDAY THE NORTHEAST MAY MERIT SOME MONITORING AS A FRONT SETTLES  
OVER THE REGION. MOISTURE/INSTABILITY COULD SUPPORT SOME LOCALLY  
ENHANCED RAINFALL RATES BUT ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS SHOULD BE NEUTRAL  
TO DRY BY THAT TIME AND MODEL QPF IS NOT EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH THUS  
FAR, SO THE OUTLOOK DEPICTS NO RISK AREA AT THIS TIME.  
 
FROM SATURDAY ONWARD THE AREA OF HEAVY NORTHERN TIER RAINFALL  
SHOULD PROGRESS EASTWARD INTO THE GREAT LAKES/NEW ENGLAND ALONG  
WITH THE SUPPORTING UPPER TROUGH AND SURFACE SYSTEM. A BROADER AREA  
OF SOMEWHAT LIGHTER RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG AND AHEAD OF  
THE TRAILING FRONT BETWEEN THE PLAINS AND EAST COAST. MOISTURE  
LINGERING OVER PARTS OF THE ROCKIES MAY SUPPORT CONTINUED EPISODES  
OF DIURNAL CONVECTION. THE FRONT REACHING THE NORTHWEST BY SUNDAY-  
MONDAY MAY PRODUCE A LITTLE LIGHT/SCATTERED RAINFALL.  
 
THE STRONG UPPER RIDGE INITIALLY OVER THE EAST SHOULD PRODUCE THE  
GREATEST TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES FROM THE MIDWEST AND OHIO  
VALLEY/LOWER GREAT LAKES INTO THE NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC AND  
NORTHEAST THURSDAY-FRIDAY, WITH MULTIPLE DAYS OF READINGS 10-20F  
ABOVE NORMAL. THIS WOULD TRANSLATE TO HIGHS WELL INTO THE 90S,  
ALONG WITH LOWS IN THE UPPER 60S TO UPPER 70S PROVIDING LITTLE  
OVERNIGHT HEAT RELIEF. DAILY RECORDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE  
ABOVE AREAS, WITH SOME ISOLATED MONTHLY RECORDS POSSIBLE AS WELL.  
GRADUAL FLATTENING OF THE UPPER PATTERN SHOULD BEGIN TO LOWER  
TEMPERATURES OVER FAR NORTHERN AREAS BY FRIDAY-SATURDAY BUT  
OTHERWISE A DECENT AREA OF PLUS 10-15F ANOMALIES SHOULD PERSIST  
THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MEANWHILE MUCH OF THE WEST WILL TREND  
WARMER/HOTTER LATE THIS WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND WITH HIGHS REACHING  
10F OR MORE ABOVE NORMAL FOR MULTIPLE DAYS. THE FRONT REACHING THE  
NORTHWEST SHOULD BRING COOLER AIR TO THAT REGION BY SUNDAY-MONDAY,  
WHILE SOME OF THE WESTERN HEAT SHOULD REACH THE NORTHERN-CENTRAL  
HIGH PLAINS AT THAT TIME. CLOUDS/RAINFALL WILL SUPPORT BELOW NORMAL  
HIGHS OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES/HIGH PLAINS LATE THIS WEEK.  
 
RAUSCH  
 
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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