802  
FXUS02 KWBC 021900  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
300 PM EDT WED OCT 2 2024  
 
VALID 12Z SAT OCT 05 2024 - 12Z WED OCT 09 2024  
 
...ANOMALOUS HEAT WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AT LEAST INTO  
THE WEEKEND...  
 
...CHANCES FOR HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE FLORIDA PENINSULA WILL  
INCREASE INTO NEXT WEEK...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW THE EXPECTED PATTERN TRANSITION FROM  
PROGRESSIVE NORTHERN TIER FLOW EXTENDING INTO THE WEEKEND TOWARD  
AN AMPLIFYING EASTERN U.S./ATLANTIC COAST TROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK  
(WITH POSSIBLE NEW ENGLAND OR VICINITY UPPER LOW) WHILE A MEAN  
RIDGE COVERING MUCH OF THE WEST EXTENDS INTO THE PLAINS, PRODUCING  
AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF UNSEASONABLY WARM TO HOT WEATHER. AHEAD OF  
THE DYNAMICS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY ESTABLISH THE EASTERN UPPER  
TROUGH, A FRONT CROSSING THE GREAT LAKES AND NORTHEAST SHOULD  
PRODUCE SOME ORGANIZED RAIN, AND POSSIBLE SURFACE LOW DEVELOPMENT  
COULD ENHANCE AMOUNTS FOR PARTS OF NEW ENGLAND. MEANWHILE, DETAILS  
REMAIN UNCERTAIN WITHIN THE GENERAL GULF OF MEXICO EVOLUTION  
FAVORING LOW PRESSURE AND HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL. MOST GUIDANCE  
SUGGESTS HEAVIEST RAINFALL WILL INITIALLY STAY OVER THE GULF BUT  
THEN EVENTUALLY SOME OF IT MAY SPREAD EASTWARD INTO FLORIDA. THERE  
MAY BE MULTIPLE SURFACE FEATURES TO FOCUS RAINFALL, INCLUDING  
COMBINING TROPICAL ENERGIES AND FRONTAL BOUNDARIES IN THE VICINITY.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
ASIDE FROM TYPICAL SMALLER-SCALE DETAILS, THE PRIMARY QUESTION  
MARK WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM FLOW IS HOW UPPER TROUGHING WILL  
EVOLVE ONCE IT REACHES EASTERN NORTH AMERICA DURING THE EARLY TO  
MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK. ALTHOUGH NOT UNANIMOUS, THERE HAS BEEN A  
MAJORITY CLUSTER SUGGESTING THAT AN UPPER LOW WILL CLOSE OFF  
SOMEWHERE OVER EASTERN CANADA OR NEW ENGLAND. THIS IS CERTAINLY  
PLAUSIBLE WITH THE OVERALL PATTERN LOOKING MORE BLOCKY AS AN UPPER  
RIDGE STRENGTHENS OVER/NEAR GREENLAND. CMC RUNS HAVE BEEN LEANING  
TO THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE SPREAD FOR THE OVERALL TROUGH/UPPER LOW,  
ESPECIALLY IN THE NEWER 12Z RUN, AND THE NEWLY ARRIVING 12Z ECMWF  
HAS ACTUALLY FLIPPED TO AN UPPER LOW SPINNING NEAR AND JUST NORTH  
OF THE GREAT LAKES AS ENERGY DIGS SOUTHEAST FROM THE HUDSON BAY.  
EC-BASED AI/ML RUNS FOR THE 00Z CYCLE TEND TOWARD A NEW  
ENGLAND/CANADIAN MARITIMES UPPER LOW ON AVERAGE, THOUGH WITH  
SPREAD, AND IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THE 12Z VERSIONS ARE  
SIMILAR OR LEAN MORE LIKE THE 12Z OPERATIONAL EC.  
 
THE FORECAST OVER AND NEAR THE GULF OF MEXICO CONTINUES TO HAVE  
LOW PREDICTABILITY DUE TO A COMBINATION OF SMALLER-SCALE FEATURES.  
ONE WAVE MAY TRACK INTO THE CENTRAL/EAST-CENTRAL GULF FROM THE  
NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN WHILE ANOTHER FEATURE MAY EVOLVE OVER THE  
WESTERN GULF, WITH THE SURFACE/QPF DETAILS ALSO POTENTIALLY  
AFFECTED BY ENERGY ALOFT NEAR THE WESTERN GULF COAST. THESE  
FEATURES ARE LIKELY TO PHASE EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THEY APPROACH AND  
INTERACT. GUIDANCE SHOWS THE SYSTEM(S) COULD LINGER AND MEANDER  
OVER THE GULF EVEN THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK, THOUGH  
PERHAPS BEGINNING TO DRIFT EASTWARD WITH TIME AS GUIDANCE SHOWS  
SOME PROGRESSION OF A POSITIVELY TILTED UPPER TROUGH. THIS APPEARS  
TO BE A MESSY EVOLUTION AS FRONTS AND MOISTURE GRADIENTS ARE ALSO  
EVIDENT NEARBY, AND SOME LOWS MAY BE OR BECOME FRONTAL. CONTINUE TO  
MONITOR OUTLOOKS FROM THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER FOR THE LATEST  
INFORMATION ON FEATURES OF INTEREST.  
 
THE UPDATED FORECAST STARTED WITH A 00Z/06Z OPERATIONAL MODEL  
COMPOSITE EARLY IN THE PERIOD AND THEN TRANSITIONED TOWARD A BLEND  
OF THE 06Z GFS/00Z ECMWF AND THEIR MEANS LATE, AS THE CMC SEEMED  
LIKE AN OUTLIER OVER THE EAST, THOUGH THE NEWER 12Z ECMWF  
COMPLICATES THIS THINKING.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
 
THE RAINFALL FORECAST FOR AREAS ALONG THE GULF COAST DURING THE  
WEEKEND CONTINUES TO BE IN THE PROVERBIAL HOLDING PATTERN, WITH A  
RELATIVE MAJORITY OF GUIDANCE KEEPING MOST OF THE SIGNIFICANT  
TOTALS OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO, ESPECIALLY ON SATURDAY. THE  
GUIDANCE MESSAGES BECOME MORE MIXED BY SUNDAY. MANY MODELS CONTINUE  
TO SHOW POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL TO REACH WESTERN FLORIDA, WITH  
SOME TREND TOWARD A POSSIBLE RAINFALL AXIS FROM THE TAMPA BAY AREA  
SOUTH. BUT THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT UNANIMOUS AS IT MAY TAKE  
ADDITIONAL TIME FOR THIS ACTIVITY TO REACH FLORIDA. AT THE VERY  
LEAST, REASONABLE CONSENSUS OF THE GFS/ECMWF AND THEIR MEANS WOULD  
HAVE MOISTURE ANOMALIES INCREASING OVER THE STATE AS AN EAST-WEST  
FRONT BECOMES ALIGNED ACROSS THE PENINSULA, SO SOME INCREASE IN  
RAINFALL ON SUNDAY RELATIVE TO SATURDAY SEEMS REASONABLE. THE  
QUESTION IS TO WHAT DEGREE. THE DAYS 4-5 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OUTLOOKS FOR SATURDAY-SUNDAY MAINTAIN NO RISK AREAS FOR NOW, BUT  
WITH AN EYE TO PARTS OF THE FLORIDA GULF COAST REGION FOR POSSIBLE  
INTRODUCTION OF AN AREA ON DAY 5 IF THERE IS FURTHER  
CLUSTERING/CONTINUITY IN FUTURE CYCLES. THE PATTERN CONTINUES TO  
LOOK FAVORABLE FOR ENHANCED RAINFALL OVER FLORIDA DURING THE FIRST  
HALF OF NEXT WEEK WITH A GENERAL AREA OF LOW PRESSURE EXPECTED TO  
DRIFT INTO THE EASTERN GULF AND A POTENTIALLY WAVY FRONT STILL  
DRAPED ACROSS THE PENINSULA.  
 
ELSEWHERE, THE FRONTAL SYSTEM REACHING THE GREAT LAKES AND  
NORTHEAST BY SUNDAY-MONDAY AND POSSIBLE LOW DEVELOPMENT NEAR NEW  
ENGLAND AND THE CANADIAN MARITIMES THEREAFTER MAY GENERATE RAINFALL  
OF VARYING INTENSITY. THERE IS STILL A FAIRLY WIDE RANGE OF  
POSSIBLE QPF TOTALS FROM THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES INTO NEW ENGLAND  
DEPENDING ON EXACTLY HOW THIS SYSTEM EVOLVES. A MEAN FRONTAL ZONE  
WITH ONE OR MORE EMBEDDED WAVES SHOULD REACH NEAR THE NORTHERN  
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BY EARLY-MID WEEK, PRODUCING SOME PERIODS OF  
MOSTLY LIGHT RAIN AND NONZERO CHANCES OF SNOW IN THE HIGHEST  
ELEVATIONS.  
 
THE STRONG AND PERSISTENT UPPER RIDGE COVERING THE WEST AND  
EXTENDING INTO THE PLAINS WILL SUPPORT A LENGTHY PERIOD OF WELL  
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES OVER MANY PARTS OF THE WESTERN/CENTRAL  
U.S. HIGHS 10-20F OR SO ABOVE NORMAL WILL BE COMMON, AND NUMEROUS  
DAILY RECORDS FOR WARM MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES APPEAR  
LIKELY FROM THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE WEST INTO PARTS OF THE HIGH  
PLAINS, ESPECIALLY DURING THE WEEKEND BUT ALSO LINGERING INTO EARLY  
NEXT WEEK TO SOME EXTENT. BEST POTENTIAL FOR SOME HIGHS 20-25F  
ABOVE NORMAL WILL BE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MIDWEST ON  
SATURDAY AND NORTHERN PLAINS BY MIDWEEK. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES  
OVER MOST OF THE EAST DURING THE WEEKEND SHOULD DECLINE TO NEAR OR  
SOMEWHAT BELOW NORMAL AS UPPER TROUGHING SETS UP NEAR THE EAST  
COAST. THIS MAY LEAD TO FROST/FREEZE CONCERNS ACROSS PORTIONS OF  
THE UPPER GREAT LAKES REGION AND INTERIOR NORTHEAST, WITH THE  
TIMING AROUND THE MEDIAN TO A BIT LATE FOR THE FIRST FROST/FREEZE  
OF THE SEASON.  
 
TATE/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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