018  
FXUS02 KWBC 141859  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
259 PM EDT SAT SEP 14 2024  
 
VALID 12Z TUE SEP 17 2024 - 12Z SAT SEP 21 2024  
 
...POSSIBLE SUBTROPICAL OR TROPICAL LOW COULD SPREAD HEAVY RAIN TO  
THE CAROLINAS AND MID-ATLANTIC INTO TUESDAY...  
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
RELOADING UPPER TROUGHING WILL BE IN PLACE ACROSS THE WESTERN U.S.  
THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK, PROMOTING COOLER WEATHER AND RAIN PLUS  
HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW. SOME RAIN MAY SPREAD INTO THE PLAINS AS  
WELL, POSSIBLY BECOMING MODERATE TO HEAVY AT SOME LOCATIONS, BUT  
WITH WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. MEANWHILE IN THE EAST, A  
PERSISTENT UPPER LOW WILL MEANDER WHILE POTENTIALLY ACCOMPANIED BY  
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS. IN PARTICULAR, NHC AND WPC ARE  
MONITORING POSSIBLE SURFACE LOW DEVELOPMENT IN THE SHORT TERM OFF  
THE SOUTHEAST COAST (MAY BECOME TROPICAL OR SUBTROPICAL) WITH A  
TRACK REACHING INTO NORTH CAROLINA OR VICINITY BY THE START OF THE  
PERIOD TUESDAY. HOWEVER THERE HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY  
WITH THIS SYSTEM'S EVOLUTION AND PATH ALONG WITH THE  
COVERAGE/INTENSITY OF ASSOCIATED RAINFALL.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
THE EASTERN U.S. IS THE AREA OF GREATEST UNCERTAINTY DURING THE  
PERIOD, DESPITE GENERAL AGREEMENT IN AN UPPER LOW SOUTH OF AN  
EAST-WEST ORIENTED RIDGE THAT SHOULD BE ERODING OVER THE NORTHEAST  
TUESDAY. THIS UPPER LOW MAY OPEN UP, WITH UNCERTAINTY OVER HOW MUCH  
NORTHERN STREAM TROUGHING OVER THE CANADIAN MARITIMES/NEW ENGLAND  
COULD INTERACT BY LATE WEEK. HOWEVER, DETAILS OF LOWER  
PREDICTABILITY SMALL-SCALE ENERGY WITHIN THE UPPER LOW AND TROUGH  
WILL IMPACT THE PATTERN AT THE SURFACE, INCLUDING A LOW PRESSURE  
SYSTEM THAT COULD SHOW TROPICAL OR SUBTROPICAL DEVELOPMENT EARLY TO  
MIDWEEK. THE LOW MAY BE MOST LIKELY SUBTROPICAL FOR A TIME AS  
CYCLONE PHASE SPACE DIAGRAMS FROM VARIOUS MODELS ARE GENERALLY  
SHOWING A SYMMETRIC WARM CORE LOW, BUT BORDERLINE AT TIMES, WHILE  
THERE SEEM TO BE SOME MOISTURE/TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS THAT WOULD  
SUGGEST FRONTS NEARBY. THERE IS NOTABLE UNCERTAINTY WITH THE LOW  
TYPE AND ALSO THE LOW TRACK. RECENT MODEL RUNS/CYCLES HAVE STARTED  
TO SHOW A BIT MORE PERSISTENCE FOR THE LOW TO MOVE INLAND INTO  
NORTH CAROLINA BY TUESDAY, WHILE GUIDANCE DIVERGES IN HOW FAR  
INLAND IT COULD MAINTAIN A LOW. AI MODELS THROUGH 00Z HAVE FAVORED  
A NEAR-COASTAL OR MORE OF AN OFFSHORE TRACK, BUT NEW 12Z GUIDANCE  
IS SHOWING BETTER CLUSTERING A MORE INLAND TRACK (BUT STILL UP FOR  
DEBATE HOW FAR NORTHWEST, WITH THE GFS/CMC/UKMET ULTIMATELY  
REACHING THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY BUT THE ECMWF REMAINING SLOWER AND  
FARTHER EAST/SOUTHEAST). IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM, WEAK  
WAVINESS/FRONTS MAY MAY PERSIST OR REFORM NEAR THE COAST OR OVER  
THE WESTERN ATLANTIC INTO LATE WEEK ON THE LEADING SIDE OF THE  
LINGERING UPPER TROUGH.  
 
IN THE WEST, THERE IS GENERALLY BETTER MODEL AGREEMENT FOR AT LEAST  
THE FIRST THREE DAYS OF THE PERIOD, AS AN UPPER LOW OVER THE GREAT  
BASIN EARLY TUESDAY PIVOTS NORTHEASTWARD WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY ALONG  
WITH A SURFACE LOW FOLLOWED BY TRAILING ENERGY DIGGING INTO  
CALIFORNIA/NEVADA WITH ANOTHER POTENTIAL EMBEDDED LOW. BY FRIDAY-  
SATURDAY THE DYNAMICAL/ML MODELS ALONG WITH ENSEMBLES SHOW  
INCREASING SPREAD REGARDING NORTH PACIFIC FLOW ENTERING THE WESTERN  
NORTH AMERICA MEAN TROUGH AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THURSDAY'S  
CALIFORNIA/NEVADA TROUGH OR UPPER LOW. THE MOST COMMON THEME IS FOR  
MORE NORTHERN STREAM INFLUENCE AND FASTER UPPER LOW EJECTION THAN  
DEPICTED BY THE 00Z CMC, AND THE NEW 12Z CMC HAS ADJUSTED MORE  
TOWARD CONSENSUS. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE NEW 12Z GFS TRENDS  
SOMEWHAT FAST/FLAT WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM BY NEXT SATURDAY.  
 
FOR ABOUT THE FIRST HALF OF THE PERIOD, THE UPDATED FORECAST BASED  
ON THE 00Z/06Z GUIDANCE STARTED WITH A 70 PERCENT MODEL/30 PERCENT  
ENSEMBLE MEAN (06Z GEFS/00Z ECENS) TO ACCOUNT FOR A PREFERRED  
INTERMEDIATE SOLUTION NEAR THE EAST COAST WHILE REFLECTING  
CONSENSUS ELSEWHERE. WEIGHTING SHIFTED TOWARD A 50/50 MIX LATER IN  
THE PERIOD AND REMOVED THE CMC GIVEN INCREASING DETAIL UNCERTAINTY  
WITHIN THE MORE AGREEABLE LARGER SCALE PATTERN. LATE ADJUSTMENTS  
WERE MADE ALONG THE EAST COAST TO ACCOMMODATE A COMPROMISE OF NEW  
12Z GUIDANCE AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN THE PROCESS OF WPC/NHC MEDIUM  
RANGE COORDINATION.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
THE SURFACE LOW THAT MAY BE TROPICAL OR SUBTROPICAL PER NHC  
REMAINS UNCERTAIN, BUT IS CURRENTLY FORECAST TO COME INTO THE  
CAROLINAS BY TUESDAY, SPREADING RAIN THERE AND INTO THE MID-  
ATLANTIC AND APPALACHIANS. MARGINAL RISK AREAS S ARE IN PLACE FOR  
NORTH CAROLINA INTO MUCH OF THE MID-ATLANTIC DAY 4/TUESDAY AND  
SHIFTING A BIT FARTHER NORTH ACROSS THE MID-ATLANTIC TOWARD  
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE NORTHEAST DAY 5/WEDNESDAY. IF THE FORECAST  
PANS OUT WITH A RELATIVELY DEEP LOW COMING INTO THESE AREAS, A  
RISK LEVEL HIGHER THAN A MARGINAL WOULD LIKELY BE WARRANTED  
PARTICULARLY ON TUESDAY, BUT GIVEN THE LINGERING UNCERTAINTY IN THE  
LOW TRACK MAINTAINED THE MARGINAL FOR NOW. SHOWERS COULD BE  
PERSISTENT INTO THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK AS UPPER TROUGHING  
REMAINS OVERHEAD. FRONTAL BOUNDARIES COULD ALSO HELP FOCUS MOISTURE  
ACROSS PARTS OF THE SOUTHEAST FOR RAIN AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES. A  
MARGINAL RISK REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR DAY 4/TUESDAY FOR THE FLORIDA  
PANHANDLE PARTICULARLY DUE TO THEIR WET ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS. INTO  
WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, THE URBAN AREAS OF SOUTHEAST FLORIDA MAY BE A  
FOCUS FOR CONVECTION, POTENTIALLY PROMPTING MARGINAL RISK AREAS IN  
FUTURE FORECAST CYCLES IF GUIDANCE AGREES.  
 
THE UPPER LOW/TROUGH ACROSS THE WEST WILL PROVIDE AMPLE  
LIFT/FORCING TO SUPPORT ROUNDS OF PRECIPITATION THERE NEXT WEEK.  
FOR DAY 4/TUESDAY, A MARGINAL RISK ERO IS IN PLACE FOR PARTS OF  
NORTHERN IDAHO TO THE WESTERN HALF OF MONTANA AS THE REGION COULD  
SEE HEAVY RAIN RATES NEAR THE LOW TRACK THAT PERSIST OVER THE SAME  
AREAS FOR MULTIPLE HOURS, AND THERE COULD BE SOME INSTABILITY IN  
PLACE. THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS CAN EXPECT SNOW WITH THIS SYSTEM GIVEN  
THE DEPTH OF THE UPPER LOW. ANOTHER ROUND OF ENERGY WILL CAUSE THE  
PACIFIC NORTHWEST TO SEE PRECIPITATION ON TUESDAY, SHIFTING INTO  
MUCH OF THE GREAT BASIN MIDWEEK AND THEN INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES.  
FARTHER EAST, SCATTERED RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY IN THE  
PLAINS FOR MULTIPLE DAYS NEXT WEEK NEAR AND AHEAD OF FRONTAL  
SYSTEMS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS MAY INCREASE IN THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S. BY  
LATER NEXT WEEK.  
 
THE WEST CAN EXPECT MUCH COOLER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES NEXT WEEK  
UNDER THE UPPER TROUGH. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE 15-20F BELOW  
NORMAL ACROSS MUCH OF THE WEST, GRADUALLY MODERATING CLOSER TO  
NORMAL ACROSS THE WEST COAST STATES BUT PERSISTING IN THE INTERIOR  
WEST AS THE WEEK PROGRESSES. SOME AREAS MAY REACH THE FREEZING MARK  
IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE GREAT BASIN/ROCKIES. MEANWHILE,  
THE CENTRAL U.S. SHOULD SEE WARMER THAN NORMAL HIGHS BY 10-15F AND  
LOWS BY 15-20F, INCLUDING HIGHS IN THE 90S IN THE SOUTHERN HALF OF  
THE PLAINS. WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WILL STRETCH INTO THE  
GREAT LAKES AND NORTHEAST (UNTIL A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE IN THE  
NORTHEAST LATE WEEK), WITH MORE TYPICAL TEMPERATURES SOUTH OF  
THERE.  
 
RAUSCH/TATE  
 
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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