825  
FXUS02 KWBC 190700  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
300 AM EDT MON AUG 19 2024  
 
VALID 12Z THU AUG 22 2024 - 12Z MON AUG 26 2024  
   
..HAZARDOUS HEAT TO PERSIST FOR THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS WEEK  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
THE PREVAILING AMPLIFIED UPPER PATTERN ACROSS MUCH OF OUR COUNTRY  
IS FORECAST TO PERSIST THROUGH THE END OF THIS WEEK. THIS PATTERN WILL  
BE HIGHLIGHTED BY AN UPPER HIGH CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS  
TO SUSTAIN HAZARDOUS HEAT THERE AND MOIST MONSOONAL FLOW ON THE  
WESTERN PERIPHERY OVER THE SOUTHWEST/FOUR CORNERS. THE NORTHWARD  
BUILDING RIDGE/HEAT OVER TIME WILL BE SANDWICHED BY AN AMPLIFIED  
UPPER TROUGH UPSTREAM INTO THE WEST COAST AND AN AMPLIFIED UPPER  
TROUGH DOWNSTREAM OVER THE EAST IN A PATTERN WITH A COOL HIGH  
PRESSURE SYSTEM AT THE SURFACE. TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL LURK NEAR  
THE GULF COAST AND ACROSS FLORIDA.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
FORECAST SPREAD REMAINS THE MAIN CONCERN IN THE WESTERN U.S.  
THROUGH THE MEDIUM-RANGE FORECAST PERIOD, PRIMARILY AS ATTRIBUTED  
TO DIFFERENCES WITH THE HANDLING OF DEEP EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER  
TROUGH/LOW ENERGIES INLAND INTO THE WEST/NORTHWEST STARTING LATE  
THIS WEEK. THE 18 UTC GFS HAS BEEN THE LATEST MODEL TO FAVOR A  
SOLUTION ON THE MORE PROGRESSIVE SIDE OF GUIDANCE WHILE MOST OTHER  
GUIDANCE HAS BEEN TRENDING SLOWER WITH RECENT RUNS THROUGH 12/00  
UTC. PREFER TO HOLD THE LINE AND CONTINUE TO FAVOR A SLOWER  
SOLUTION AND THAT TREND SEEMS AT LEAST MODESTLY SUPPORTED BY LATEST  
00 UTC GUIDANCE.  
 
A 12 UTC GFS/UKMET/ECMWF/CANADIAN MODEL COMPOSITE BLEND WAS USED TO  
DERIVE THE WPC MEDIUM RANGE PRODUCT SUITE IN CONJUCTURE WITH THE  
01 UTC NATIONAL BLEND OF MODELS.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
AN EASTERN U.S. UPPER TROUGH OFFERS SOME LINGERING UNSETTLED  
CONDITIONS GIVEN SLOW TRANSLATION, BUT RAINFALL WILL TAPER OFF  
MIDWEEK AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN BEHIND A QUITE  
REFRESHING COLD FRONTAL PUSH IN THE WAKE OF ERNESTO LIFTING WELL  
OFF INTO THE NORTH ATLANTIC. HOWEVER, TRAILING FRONTS SLATED TO  
STALL FARTHER SOUTH ACROSS FLORIDA AND VICINITY WILL MAINTAIN  
PERIODIC THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THERE OVER A MULTI-DAY PERIOD LATER  
WEEK THROUGH THE WEEKEND. FLOODING ISSUES ARE A POSSIBILITY IF  
HEAVY RAIN FALLS IN URBAN AREAS. THIS FRONT MOVES SLOWLY AS IT  
BENDS BACK TO THE WEST ATOP THE WEST-CENTRAL GULF COAST AND BACK  
NORTH INTO THE PLAINS. SCATTERED STORMS ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THE FRONT  
AS IMPULSES RIDE AND DIG TO THE LEE OF THE UPSTREAM RIDGE ALOFT,  
BUT WITH GENERALLY LOW CONFIDENCE IN THE PREDICTED PLACEMENT.  
 
A MONSOONAL CONVECTIVE PATTERN WILL LINGER OVER THE SOUTHWEST/FOUR  
CORNERS STATES THIS WEEK WITH MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW WEST OF A SLOW  
TO DISLODGE UPPER RIDGE AXIS. THE WPC DAY 4/5 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OUTLOOKS FOR THURSDAY/FRIDAY DEPICT A MARGINAL RISK AREA FOR  
PORTIONS OF ARIZONA, UTAH, SOUTHERN NEVADA AND WESTERN COLORADO.  
LOCAL STORMS WITH EMBEDDED HEAVY RAIN COULD CAUSE ISOLATED  
FLOODING, PARTICULARLY IN VULNERABLE AREAS.  
 
UPPER TROUGH AMPLIFICATION PROXIMITY ALONG THE WEST COAST PORTENDS  
A COOLER AND WETTER PATTERN FOR THE NORTHWEST AND VICINITY THROUGH  
LATER THIS WEEK. RAINS AND SPOTTY HIGH ELEVATION MOUNTAIN SNOWS  
MAY WORK INLAND ACROSS THE NORTH-CENTRAL INTERMOUNTAIN WEST/ROCKIES  
THIS WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK DEPENDENT ON THE UNCERTAIN TRACK/TIMING  
OF SUPPORTING UPPER TROUGH/LOW EJECTION. RAINS/CONVECTION MAY ALSO  
CONSOLIDATE DOWNSTREAM OVER THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S. GIVEN POSSIBLE  
MODERATE CYCLOGENESIS/FRONTOGENESIS FOR FOCUS IN THIS SCENARIO.  
 
UPPER RIDGING FOCUS OVER THE SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S. WILL SUPPORT 5-15  
DEGREE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. HIGHS WELL INTO THE 100S IN MUCH  
OF TEXAS IN PARTICULAR COULD SET DAILY RECORDS AND HIGH DEWPOINTS  
SHOULD PRODUCE HEAT INDICES LIKELY ABOVE 110 DEGREES. LOW  
TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S WILL EXACERBATE HEAT  
STRESS AND COULD SET RECORDS FOR WARM MINIMUM TEMPERATURES.  
EXPERIMENTAL HEATRISK CONTINUES TO INDICATE MAJOR TO EXTREME  
IMPACTS FROM THIS HEAT. THIS WILL BE IN CONTRAST TO COOLING  
CONDITIONS INTO THE WEST/NORTHWEST AND OVER THE EASTERN U.S. WHERE  
SOME RECORD COOL OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURE VALUES ARE POSSIBLE.  
 
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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