825  
FXUS02 KWBC 230659  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
259 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2024  
 
VALID 12Z FRI JUL 26 2024 - 12Z TUE JUL 30 2024  
   
..HAZARDOUS HEAT TO SHIFT INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS
 
 
...SHOWERS/STORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL EXPECTED OVER THE  
FOUR CORNERS AND FROM THE WESTERN GULF COAST INTO THE SOUTHERN  
MID-ATLANTIC/SOUTHEAST...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
MODELS/ENSEMBLES STILL SHOW THE LARGE SCALE FLOW EVOLVING TOWARD A  
MORE TYPICAL SUMMERTIME PATTERN AS PROGRESSIVE FLOW BECOMES MORE  
PROMINENT ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER U.S. AND SOUTHERN CANADA WITH  
TIME, WHILE MODERATE MEAN TROUGHING SHOULD PERSIST NEAR THE WEST  
COAST. SOUTHWESTERN U.S. UPPER RIDGING SHOULD PERSIST FOR MOST OF  
THE PERIOD, WHILE A SEPARATE SOUTHEAST/GULF COAST UPPER RIDGE MAY  
STRENGTHEN AND MERGE WITH THE SOUTHWEST RIDGE BY NEXT TUESDAY.  
THERE ARE CONTINUED UNCERTAINTIES WITH SPECIFICS OF INITIAL ENERGY  
OVER THE PLAINS AS WELL AS NORTHERN STREAM ENERGY THAT MAY SETTLE  
NEAR OR OFFSHORE THE EAST COAST. THIS PATTERN WILL LIKELY BRING THE  
GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR ANOMALOUS HEAT TO THE NORTHERN-CENTRAL  
PLAINS. AREAS OF ENHANCED RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PARTS OF  
THE SOUTHERN TIER, ALONG AN AHEAD OF A WAVY NORTHERN TIER FRONT,  
AND WITH MONSOONAL CONVECTION OVER PARTS OF THE WEST.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
AS HAS BEEN THE CASE RECENTLY, THE MOST PROMINENT GUIDANCE  
DIFFERENCES APPEAR OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE LOWER 48 INTO THE  
WESTERN ATLANTIC. 12Z/18Z RUNS DIVERGE WITH RESPECT TO THE EVENTUAL  
STRENGTH AND PATH OF INITIAL UPPER LEVEL ENERGY OVER THE PLAINS,  
WITH SOME INFLUENCE FROM TIMING DIFFERENCES FOR UPPER RIDGING THAT  
CROSS THE MIDWEST ON ITS WAY INTO THE EAST. THESE DIFFERENCES THEN  
AFFECT THE LONGITUDE OF A SEPARATE SHORTWAVE THAT COULD SETTLE  
ALONG OR OFFSHORE THE EAST COAST. 24 HOURS AGO THE DYNAMICAL AND  
MACHINE LEARNING (ML) MODELS WERE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE  
ECMWF SCENARIO (WEAK PLAINS ENERGY THAT DOES NOT LIFT NORTHEASTWARD  
DUE TO A SLOWER MIDWEST RIDGE, PLUS AN UPPER TROUGH SETTLING NEAR  
THE EAST COAST) AND THE GFS (STRONGER PLAINS ENERGY THAT EJECTS  
NORTHEASTWARD PLUS FARTHER EASTWARD SHIFT OF FEATURES DOWNSTREAM).  
NOW 12Z MLS ARE 4-TO-1 IN FAVOR OF SOME VARIATION OF THE GFS/UKMET  
(CMC A SOMEWHAT WEAK COMPROMISE FOR THE PLAINS ENERGY, THE 00Z  
UKMET PERHAPS TOO STRONG), AND THE NEW 00Z ECMWF HAS INDEED COME IN  
WITH A TREND TOWARD WHAT HAS BECOME THE DYNAMICAL/ML MAJORITY.  
ALONG THE WEST COAST, THE MAJORITY OF GUIDANCE MAINTAINS MEAN  
TROUGHING BUT WITH SOME DIFFERENCES IN STRENGTH THAT HAVE LOW  
PREDICTABILITY. THERE ARE SPORADIC MODEL RUNS THAT HAVE BEEN  
SHOWING A LITTLE MORE SPLIT TO THE FLOW. GUIDANCE COMPARISONS FOR  
THE 12Z/18Z CYCLES LED TO AN OPERATIONAL MODEL COMPOSITE EARLY,  
TRENDING TOWARD A MODEL/MEAN MIX LATER, AND INCORPORATING A LITTLE  
LESS 12Z ECMWF INPUT THAN USUAL DUE TO ITS LESS FAVORABLE  
COMPARISONS.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW THE POTENTIAL FOR EPISODES OF LOCALLY  
HEAVY RAINFALL WITHIN A CORRIDOR OF ENHANCED MOISTURE FROM  
SOUTHERN/EASTERN TEXAS TO THE SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC/SOUTHEAST  
COAST LATE THIS WEEK. THUS THE DAYS 4-5 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOKS  
COVERING THE FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT PERIOD DEPICT A BROAD  
MARGINAL RISK AREA ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER. WITHIN THE DAY 4  
MARGINAL RISK, THE REGION ENCOMPASSING EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND  
NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA HAS SHOWN CONTINUITY IN THE GUIDANCE  
FOR RELATIVELY GREATER HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL AS AN EASTERN U.S. COLD  
FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTH, WHILE WET GROUND CONDITIONS  
PREVAIL AS WELL. THUS A SLIGHT RISK AREA HAS BEEN INTRODUCED FOR  
THIS REGION. SOME ENHANCED ACTIVITY MAY CONTINUE ALONG THE  
SOUTHEAST COAST INTO DAY 5 WITH UPGRADE POTENTIAL IF GUIDANCE  
SIGNALS PERSIST IN FUTURE RUNS. THE WESTERN GULF COAST LOOKS TO BE  
ANOTHER AREA OF INTEREST FOR POTENTIALLY ORGANIZED HEAVY RAINFALL  
ON DAY 5, BUT SIGNALS ARE CURRENTLY TOO DIFFUSE FOR A SLIGHT RISK.  
FINALLY, IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT DIVERGING GUIDANCE FOR FLOW  
DETAILS ALOFT OVER THE EAST BY DAY 5 LEADS TO BELOW AVERAGE  
CONFIDENCE FOR THE NORTHERN PERIPHERY OF MEANINGFUL RAINFALL. FOR  
NOW THE MARGINAL RISK AREA LEANS TO THE CONSERVATIVE SIDE  
(REPRESENTING THE MOST COMMON OVERLAP) WITH SOME NORTHWARD  
EXPANSION POSSIBLE DEPENDING ON TRENDS OF FUTURE RUNS.  
 
MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT EPISODES OF DIURNALLY  
FAVORED CONVECTION OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION INTO THE GREAT  
BASIN, WITH SOME SHIFTING OF COVERAGE OVER THE COURSE OF THE PERIOD  
BASED ON PATTERN EVOLUTION. INSTANCES OF FLASH FLOODING WILL BE  
POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY NEAR STEEP TERRAIN AND BURN SCARS. THE DAYS  
4-5 EROS BOTH DEPICT MARGINAL RISK AREAS, WITH DAY 5 REPRESENTING  
A TRIMMING OF THE WESTWARD EXTENT OF POTENTIALLY HEAVY CONVECTION  
AS THE BEST MOISTURE/INSTABILITY SHIFT EASTWARD SOMEWHAT. EMBEDDED  
SLIGHT RISK UPGRADES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN FUTURE CYCLES, WITH  
SPECIFICS DEPENDING ON HOW GUIDANCE CLUSTERS RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER  
AND WITH SENSITIVE BURN SCAR AREAS/REGIONS WITH WETTEST GROUND  
CONDITIONS.  
 
BY SATURDAY-SATURDAY NIGHT THE GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT A WAVY FRONT  
MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS MAY START TO PRODUCE AREAS OF  
HEAVIER RAINFALL GIVEN POTENTIAL INTERACTION OF SHORTWAVE ENERGY  
AND DEEP MOISTURE BEING CARRIED ALONG IN SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT.  
THE DAY 5 ERO INTRODUCES A MARGINAL RISK CENTERED OVER THE EASTERN  
HALF OF NORTH DAKOTA INTO NORTHERN MINNESOTA, AS GROUND CONDITIONS  
ARE STILL ON THE WET SIDE OVER THIS REGION.  
 
BEYOND EARLY SUNDAY, NORTHERN TIER CONVECTION SHOULD GRADUALLY  
CONTINUE EASTWARD WHILE AREAS OF RAINFALL MAY EXPAND ACROSS THE  
EAST-CENTRAL U.S. DEPENDING ON THE DETAILS OF INITIAL PLAINS ENERGY  
ALOFT THAT MAY LIFT NORTHEASTWARD. DIURNALLY FAVORED CONVECTION  
SHOULD CONTINUE ACROSS PARTS OF THE SOUTHERN TIER WHILE WESTERN  
U.S. MONSOONAL ACTIVITY SHOULD BECOME MORE CONFINED TO SOUTHERN  
AREAS.  
 
EXPECT THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS TO SEE THE MOST PERSISTENT  
ANOMALOUS HEAT FROM LATE THIS WEEK INTO NEXT WEEK, WITH BEST  
POTENTIAL FOR SOME HIGHS 10-15F ABOVE NORMAL TO SHIFT FROM THE  
DAKOTAS ON FRIDAY INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS BY SUNDAY-TUESDAY. THESE  
ANOMALIES WOULD YIELD HIGHS IN THE UPPER 90S TO LOW 100S. SOME OF  
THIS HEAT SHOULD SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES/NORTHEAST  
BY SUNDAY-TUESDAY, WITH HIGHS 5-10F ABOVE NORMAL (UPPER 80S TO  
AROUND 90). MUCH OF THE WEST WILL LIKELY SEE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW  
NORMAL HIGHS THROUGH THE PERIOD, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE  
SOUTHWEST WHICH SHOULD SEE SOME LINGERING ABOVE NORMAL READINGS  
THROUGH FRIDAY AND POSSIBLY SATURDAY. THE WET PATTERN ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN TIER LATE THIS WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND WILL KEEP MOST  
AREAS BELOW NORMAL FOR HIGHS, ESPECIALLY SOUTHERN/EASTERN TEXAS.  
THE REST OF THE SOUTHERN TIER SHOULD TREND CLOSER TO NORMAL BY  
EARLY NEXT WEEK WHILE SOUTHERN TEXAS MAY REMAIN A BIT ON THE COOL  
SIDE.  
 
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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