665  
FXUS02 KWBC 290659  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
259 AM EDT THU AUG 29 2024  
 
VALID 12Z SUN SEP 01 2024 - 12Z THU SEP 05 2024  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
AN UPPER TROUGH CROSSING THE GREAT LAKES/NORTHEAST AROUND THE START  
OF THE WEEK WILL GIVE WAY TO RISING HEIGHTS THEREAFTER AS A PORTION  
OF INITIAL ROCKIES RIDGING DRIFTS INTO THE PLAINS/MIDWEST. THE  
REMAINDER OF THE RIDGE SHOULD SETTLE INTO THE SOUTHWEST AS AN  
EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER LOW TRACKS THROUGH THE NORTHWESTERN STATES.  
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF SPREAD FOR DETAILS OF INCOMING PACIFIC FLOW  
AND ITS POSSIBLE INTERACTION WITH EJECTING UPPER LOW ENERGY AFTER  
TUESDAY, BUT THE MOST COMMON THEME IS FOR SOME DEGREE OF RIDGING TO  
REBUILD OVER THE NORTHWEST U.S. INTO WESTERN CANADA. ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN TIER OF THE LOWER 48 FROM THE HIGH PLAINS EASTWARD,  
GUIDANCE STILL DIFFERS IN RESOLVING LOWER-PREDICTABILITY SHORTWAVE  
FEATURES THAT WILL INFLUENCE RAINFALL COVERAGE COVERAGE AND  
AMOUNTS, WITH NORTHERN STREAM FLOW UNCERTAINTIES POSSIBLY PLAYING A  
ROLE AS WELL. AT THE VERY LEAST, A COUPLE FRONTS SETTLING INTO THE  
SOUTH AND A PERSISTENT SURFACE TROUGH/EMBEDDED WAVES NEAR THE  
WESTERN GULF COAST SHOULD PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR SOME OF THE ACTIVITY.  
AN AREA OF WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES SHOULD PROGRESS FROM THE  
NORTHWEST INTO NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS SUNDAY- TUESDAY FOLLOWED BY A  
REBOUND IN TEMPERATURES OVER THE WEST COAST STATES BY WEDNESDAY-  
THURSDAY. MODERATELY BELOW NORMAL DAYTIME HIGHS WILL EXPAND FROM  
THE PLAINS TOWARD THE EAST COAST EARLY IN THE WEEK, FOLLOWED BY  
MODERATION OVER MOST AREAS EXCEPT FOR THE SOUTHEAST.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
FORECAST ISSUES CAN BE MOST BROADLY BROKEN DOWN INTO TWO ASPECTS,  
ONE BEING UNCERTAIN SPECIFICS OF INCOMING PACIFIC FLOW BY  
MIDWEEK/POTENTIAL INTERACTION WITH EJECTING PACIFIC-NORTHWEST U.S.  
UPPER LOW ENERGY, AND POSSIBLE EVOLUTION/PROGRESSION OF SOUTHERN  
PLAINS ENERGY AND RELATIVE DOMINANCE OF NORTHERN STREAM FLOW (WITH  
SOME DEPENDENCE ON DEVELOPING SPREAD TO THE NORTH).  
 
REGARDING THE PACIFIC/NORTHERN TIER PART OF THE FORECAST, DYNAMICAL  
AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML) MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW SIGNIFICANT  
DISAGREEMENTS AMONG EACH OTHER AND IN CONSECUTIVE RUNS. ENSEMBLE  
SPAGHETTI PLOTS DEVELOP A LOT OF SPREAD AS WELL. STRAY RUNS LIKE  
THE 18Z GFS AND OLD 00Z/28 ECMWF WERE ON THE EXTREME SIDE OF THE  
SPREAD FOR HOW MUCH INCOMING FLOW AMPLIFIES INTO THE NORTHERN TIER  
BEHIND THE EJECTING NORTHWEST UPPER LOW. AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT  
THERE IS RELATIVELY GREATER CLUSTERING TOWARD THE IDEA OF LESS  
NORTHERN STREAM INFLUENCE ON THE NORTHWEST UPPER LOW, ULTIMATELY  
CORRESPONDING TO THE FEATURE REACHING THE NORTHERN PLAINS/NORTH-  
CENTRAL ROCKIES BY AROUND NEXT THURSDAY. THE 12Z CMC WAS A SLOW  
EXTREME IN LEAVING THE ENERGY STUCK OVER THE NORTHWEST. IN  
ADDITION, A DEVELOPING FORECAST PROBLEM UPSTREAM BY THURSDAY  
INVOLVES WHETHER PACIFIC TROUGH ENERGY SPLITS OR REMAINS PHASED.  
 
AS FOR THE SOUTHERN TIER, THERE IS A CONTINUED SIGNAL FOR SOME  
AMOUNT OF ENERGY ALOFT TO EVOLVE OVER OR NEAR THE SOUTHERN PLAINS  
BUT IN A VARIETY OF WAYS AND DIFFERING DEGREES OF PROGRESSION. AN  
ADDITIONAL COMPLICATION IS THAT DIFFERENT DYNAMICAL AND ML MODELS  
VARY IN HOW MUCH NORTHERN STREAM INFLUENCE THERE MAY BE. BY LATE  
IN THE PERIOD THIS LEADS TO A RANGE OF SOLUTIONS FROM A PROGRESSIVE  
SOUTHERN TIER SHORTWAVE THAT BRINGS A LOT OF MOISTURE THROUGH THE  
SOUTHEASTERN QUADRANT OF THE LOWER 48 AND PERHAPS EXTENDING EVEN A  
LITTLE NORTHWARD (00Z CMC/ICON, 18Z GFS) TO GREATER NORTHERN  
STREAM DOMINANCE OVER THE EAST AND A MUCH MORE SUPPRESSED RAINFALL  
PATTERN (LATEST ECMWF RUNS AND 00Z GFS). ML MODELS DO NOT FAVOR THE  
NORTHWARD EXTREME OF RAINFALL COVERAGE BUT OTHERWISE DO NOT FALL  
INTO A PARTICULAR SIDE OF THE ENVELOPE. ENSEMBLE MEANS/BLENDED  
SOLUTIONS WITH MAX AMOUNTS TEMPERED IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE  
RAINFALL SHIELD SEEM TO PROVIDE A REASONABLE ACCOUNT FOR THE HIGH  
UNCERTAINTY AT THIS TIME.  
 
THE LATEST FORECAST STARTED WITH A 12Z/18Z OPERATIONAL MODEL  
COMPOSITE EARLY IN THE PERIOD. WITH THE 18Z GFS BECOMING MORE  
UNFAVORABLE MID-LATE PERIOD, THE GFS COMPONENT SWITCHED TO THE 12Z  
RUN. ALSO 18Z GEFS/12Z ECENS INPUT WAS INTRODUCED FOR THE LATTER  
HALF OF THE PERIOD, REACHING HALF WEIGHT BY NEXT THURSDAY.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
THE DAYS 4-5 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOKS COVERING THE SUNDAY  
THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT PERIOD FOCUS ON THREE PRIMARY REGIONS OF  
INTEREST, ALL WITH MARGINAL RISK AREAS BOTH DAYS. ONE IS OVER THE  
SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC WEST INTO THE APPALACHIANS WHERE A COUPLE OF  
FRONTS WILL BE SAGGING SOUTHWARD OVER THE COURSE OF THE PERIOD,  
WITH ASSOCIATED INSTABILITY AND MODERATELY ANOMALOUS MOISTURE.  
MEANWHILE RAINFALL SHOULD CONTINUE ALONG PARTS OF THE  
LOUISIANA/TEXAS COAST, WITH PRIOR DAYS OF RAINFALL PROVIDING WET  
GROUND CONDITIONS HEADING INTO THE DAYS 4-5 PERIOD. THERE IS STILL  
UNCERTAINTY IN THE COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE  
SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS AND VICINITY BUT STILL ENOUGH OF A SIGNAL TO  
FAVOR MAINTENANCE OF THE MARGINAL RISK. AT THE MOMENT THERE SEEMS  
TO BE A LITTLE BETTER AGREEMENT ON DAY 5 RELATIVE TO DAY 4, WITH  
BETTER CONSENSUS WITH RESPECT TO ANOMALOUS MOISTURE.  
 
PRECIPITATION COVERAGE AND TOTALS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER AFTER  
EARLY TUESDAY REMAIN VERY UNCERTAIN DUE TO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES  
IN UPPER FLOW DETAILS. SOME AREAS OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL APPEAR  
LIKELY GIVEN THE FRONTS SETTLING OVER THE SOUTH HELPING TO SERVE AS  
A FOCUS, BUT WITH VERY LOW CONFIDENCE IN RESOLVING THE DETAILS OF  
COVERAGE AND TOTALS. EXPECT THE NORTHWEST TO SEE SCATTERED  
RAINFALL EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER LOW EJECTS  
INLAND. SOME SCATTERED RAINFALL COULD REACH THE NORTHERN PLAINS BY  
MIDWEEK OR SO.  
 
UPPER RIDGING WILL SUPPORT AN AREA OF WELL ABOVE NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES DRIFTING FROM THE NORTHWEST INTO THE NORTHERN HIGH  
PLAINS DURING SUNDAY-TUESDAY, WITH SOME LOCATIONS SEEING HIGHS  
10-15F OR SO ABOVE NORMAL. THIS WARM AIR SHOULD QUICKLY MODERATE  
FARTHER EASTWARD. A RETURN OF UPPER RIDGING OVER THE WEST COAST  
STATES BY WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY SHOULD PROMOTE ABOVE NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES WITH ANOMALIES FOR HIGHS AGAIN REACHING PLUS 10-15F AT  
SOME LOCATIONS. BELOW NORMAL HIGHS OVER THE CENTRAL U.S. ON SUNDAY  
WILL EXPAND TOWARD THE EAST COAST EARLY NEXT WEEK, SUPPRESSING WHAT  
HEAT LINGERS OVER THE SOUTHEAST TO START THE WEEK. MOST OF THE  
CENTRAL/EASTERN U.S. SHOULD TREND CLOSER TO NORMAL BY NEXT THURSDAY  
BUT THE SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC/SOUTHEAST MAY REMAIN BELOW NORMAL FOR  
HIGHS.  
 
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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