327  
FXUS02 KWBC 270658  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
258 AM EDT FRI SEP 27 2024  
 
VALID 12Z MON SEP 30 2024 - 12Z FRI OCT 04 2024  
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
INCOMING PACIFIC FLOW, WITH LEADING ENERGY REACHING THE NORTHERN  
PLAINS BY EARLY NEXT WEEK, WILL FINALLY DISLODGE THE PERSISTENT  
EASTERN U.S. UPPER TROUGH/LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR MULTIPLE DAYS OF  
RAINFALL ENHANCED BY HELENE'S MOISTURE. THE NEW PATTERN WILL FAVOR  
PROGRESSIVE MEAN FLOW ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER, PUSHING ALONG A  
COUPLE FRONTAL SYSTEMS, AND SOUTHERN TIER RIDGING (THOUGH WITH  
POSSIBLE BREAKS IN PLACES). THE MID-ATLANTIC/NORTHEAST WILL  
GRADUALLY TREND DRIER OVER THE COURSE OF NEXT WEEK WHILE FLORIDA  
AND POSSIBLY PORTIONS OF THE GULF COAST COULD SEE SOME RAINFALL AT  
TIMES. FRONTS ASSOCIATED WITH NORTHEASTERN PACIFIC SYSTEMS COULD  
BRING LIGHT RAIN TO THE NORTHERN PACIFIC NORTHWEST. EXPECT THE MOST  
NOTABLE TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES NEXT WEEK TO BE ON THE WARM SIDE OF  
NORMAL, OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE WEST ON A CONSISTENT BASIS  
AND MORE BRIEFLY OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL U.S.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
DYNAMICAL AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML) MODELS/ENSEMBLES AGREE FAIRLY  
WELL FOR NEXT MONDAY-TUESDAY, AS A PROGRESSIVE CANADIAN/NORTHERN  
TIER U.S. SHORTWAVE LEADS TO AN OPENING OF THE UPPER LOW OVER THE  
EAST. THE FRONT AHEAD OF THE UPPER SHORTWAVE WILL CROSS THE CENTRAL  
U.S. AND WEAK MID-ATLANTIC WAVE SHOULD EVOLVE ALONG A FRONT  
LINGERING NEAR THE EAST COAST. A STORM TRACKING TOWARD THE ALASKA  
PANHANDLE SHOULD BRING ANOTHER FRONT INTO THE NORTHWEST BY TUESDAY.  
 
GUIDANCE STEADILY DIVERGES IN VARIOUS RESPECTS BY THE LATTER HALF  
OF NEXT WEEK. ONE ISSUE IS HOW THE LEADING TROUGH ENERGY EVOLVES  
ONCE IT REACHES THE NORTHEAST AND VICINITY. IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS,  
THE 12Z/00Z CMC RUNS ARE ON THE AGGRESSIVE SIDE OF THE SPREAD  
THOUGH THE 12Z CMC'S CLOSED LOW DOES HAVE SOME SIMILARITY TO ONE OF  
THE 12Z ML MODELS. THERE ARE HINTS FROM SOME OTHER SOLUTIONS FOR  
WEAKER ENERGY TO PASS THROUGH THE NORTHEAST. SPECIFICS OF THIS  
ENERGY WILL AFFECT RAINFALL DETAILS ACROSS THE REGION.  
 
FARTHER WEST, DIFFERENCES ARISE WITH ENERGY ENTERING WESTERN NORTH  
AMERICA BY WEDNESDAY AND THEN UPSTREAM PACIFIC FLOW. BY NEXT  
FRIDAY THE MOST COMMON THEME EXISTS AMONG MOST ML MODELS/AIFS MEAN  
AND DYNAMICAL MEANS, REFLECTING AN EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER TROUGH  
(SUPPORTING A WELL-DEFINED SURFACE SYSTEM), WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN  
RIDGE, AND DOWNSTREAM EAST-CENTRAL TROUGH THAT SHOULD BE FAIRLY  
SHALLOW OVER THE LOWER 48. ECMWF RUNS COMPARE BEST TO THIS IDEA.  
12Z/18Z GFS RUNS ALSO FIT THIS PATTERN OVER THE PACIFIC/WESTERN  
NORTH AMERICA BUT THE 18Z GFS STRAYED OUT OF PHASE DOWNSTREAM.  
MEANWHILE THE 00Z GFS HAS STRAYED FASTER WITH THE PACIFIC TROUGH  
AND THE 00Z CMC SPLITS PACIFIC ENERGY WELL WESTWARD.  
 
LATE IN THE PERIOD, GUIDANCE ALSO DIFFERS REGARDING SIGNALS FOR  
TROPICAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN/GULF OF MEXICO,  
WITH GFS/CMC RUNS SHOWING GREATER POTENTIAL THAN OTHER GUIDANCE.  
REMAINING SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE SOME INDICATION OF LOW PRESSURE OVER  
THE REGION SUGGEST IT MAY BE WEAKER AND OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN GULF  
BY NEXT FRIDAY.  
 
GUIDANCE COMPARISONS LED TO UPDATING THE FORECAST WITH AN  
OPERATIONAL MODEL COMPOSITE EARLY IN THE PERIOD, FOLLOWED BY A  
50-70 PERCENT 18Z GEFS/12Z ECENS WEIGHT WHILE PHASING OUT GFS/CMC  
INPUT AND MAINTAINING SOME 12Z ECMWF. THIS YIELDED FAIRLY GOOD  
CONTINUITY FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
THE LINGERING UPPER LOW OVER THE EAST AND ACCOMPANYING MOISTURE  
FROM HELENE WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS  
OVER PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS AND MID-ATLANTIC INTO  
MONDAY, THOUGH MUCH LIGHTER IN INTENSITY COMPARED TO  
ONGOING/SHORT-TERM RAINFALL. THE MARGINAL RISK AREA DEPICTED ON THE  
DAY 4 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK IS UNCHANGED FROM THE PRIOR DAY 5  
OUTLOOK BASED ON SUPPORT FROM LATEST GUIDANCE. HEAVY RAINFALL  
DURING THIS PERIOD SHOULD NOT BE AS WIDESPREAD BUT WET CONDITIONS  
FROM PRIOR DAYS OF RAINFALL MAY BE AN AGGRAVATING FACTOR IN TERMS  
OF THE FLOODING POTENTIAL. BY DAY 5/TUESDAY THE GUIDANCE DEVELOPS A  
MORE SPREAD FOR FINER DETAILS AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT, LEADING TO  
A MORE DIFFUSE SIGNAL FOR WHERE ANY POCKETS OF ENHANCED RAINFALL  
MAY EXIST. THEREFORE THE DAY 5 ERO DEPICTS NO RISK AREAS AT THIS  
TIME. BEYOND TUESDAY, SOME RAIN MAY CONTINUE NORTHEASTWARD FROM  
THE APPALACHIANS/MID-ATLANTIC BUT WITH LOW CONFIDENCE IN THE  
COVERAGE AND AMOUNTS.  
 
ELSEWHERE, FLORIDA AND EVENTUALLY PARTS OF THE GULF COAST FARTHER  
TO THE WEST MAY SEE SOME RAINFALL AT TIMES. NORTHERN PARTS OF THE  
PACIFIC NORTHWEST MAY SEE A COUPLE EPISODES OF LIGHT RAIN, ONE WITH  
A FRONT REACHING THE REGION ON TUESDAY AND ANOTHER AROUND FRIDAY.  
 
EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO REMAIN QUITE WARM TO HOT ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN HALF OR SO OF THE WEST NEXT WEEK, ESPECIALLY MONDAY-  
WEDNESDAY WHEN PLUS 10-15F ANOMALIES WILL BE COMMON FOR HIGHS WITH  
NUMEROUS DAILY RECORDS POSSIBLE. MORE TRANSIENT ANOMALOUS WARMTH  
WILL BE LIKELY OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL U.S. AHEAD OF COLD FRONTS,  
INCLUDING AREAS FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST SOUTHWESTWARD ON MONDAY AND  
THEN THE NORTH-CENTRAL TO SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS ON WEDNESDAY (AND  
LINGERING TO SOME DEGREE INTO THURSDAY OVER SOUTHERN AREAS). THE  
NORTHWEST INTO NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS WILL TEND TO BE NEAR TO BELOW  
NORMAL. THE EAST WILL TEND TO SEE HIGHS VARY SOMEWHAT BUT AVERAGE  
NEAR NORMAL, WHILE CLOUDS/RAIN WILL KEEP HIGHS ABOVE NORMAL DURING  
THE FIRST HALF OF THE 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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