575  
FXUS02 KWBC 060626  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
226 AM EDT SUN OCT 6 2024  
 
VALID 12Z WED OCT 09 2024 - 12Z SUN OCT 13 2024  
 
 
...MILTON COULD BRING POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC IMPACTS ACROSS  
PARTS OF FLORIDA THROUGH WEDNESDAY...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
TROPICAL STORM MILTON, CURRENTLY LOCATED IN THE WESTERN GULF OF  
MEXICO AND IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE TO TRACK EAST-NORTHEAST ACROSS  
THE GULF WHILE STRENGTHENING TO POSSIBLY MAJOR HURRICANE STRENGTH.  
MILTON SHOULD BE APPROACHING THE WEST COAST OF THE FLORIDA  
PENINSULA BY EARLY WEDNESDAY WITH SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL/FLOODING,  
HIGH WIND, AND STORM SURGE THREATS. ELSEWHERE, AN UPPER TROUGH  
(ANCHORED BY AN UPPER LOW THAT MAY TRACK OVER OR NEAR NEW ENGLAND)  
WILL MOVE THROUGH THE EAST MID NEXT WEEK AS AN UPPER RIDGE UPSTREAM  
TRACKS FROM THE WEST TO CENTRAL U.S. BRINGING A PERIOD OF  
CLIMATOLOGICALLY WARM WEATHER. BY LATER NEXT WEEK, A PACIFIC TROUGH  
WILL PUSH INLAND OVER THE WEST WITH SOME GENERALLY LIGHT  
PRECIPITATION TO ACCOMPANY.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
MODEL GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SUGGEST MILTON WILL STRENGTHEN INTO A  
POSSIBLY MAJOR HURRICANE AS IT TRACKS EAST ACROSS THE GULF. THERE  
REMAIN SOME NORTH-SOUTH WOBBLES AND UNCERTAINTY IN THE TIMING, WITH  
PLENTY OF RUN TO RUN VARIABILITY. THE CMC REMAINS THE SLOWEST OF  
THE DETERMINISTIC MODELS, WITH THE UKMET ON THE FASTER SIDE. THE  
GFS AND ECMWF ARE A GOOD MIDDLE GROUND SOLUTION AND ARE CLOSEST TO  
THE OFFICIAL TRACK FROM THE NHC. TIMING VARIABILITY ALSO EVIDENT IN  
THE LATEST RUNS OF THE AI/ML MODELS AS WELL. MILTON MAY TRANSITION  
TO EXTRATROPICAL QUITE QUICKLY AFTER IT CROSSES THE FLORIDA  
PENINSULA INTO THURSDAY.  
 
FARTHER NORTH WITH THE MAIN JET STREAM, MODELS ARE REASONABLY  
AGREEABLE WITH THE PATTERN DESCRIBED ABOVE. THE PACIFIC TROUGH  
SHOWS THE MOST SPREAD ESPECIALLY WITH REGARDS TO TIMING, BUT SOME  
WEEKEND UNCERTAINTY REGARDING CUT OFF ENERGY MEANDERING OVER THE  
SOUTHWEST. PREFER A BLEND OF THE ENSEMBLE MEANS WITH THE ECMWF FOR  
THIS FEATURE.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
MILTON IS FORECAST TO BE A MAJOR HURRICANE AS IT APPROACHES THE  
WEST COAST OF FLORIDA BY THE START OF THE PERIOD ON WEDNESDAY.  
THERE IS AN INCREASING RISK OF LIFE- THREATENING STORM SURGE AND  
WIND IMPACTS FOR PORTIONS OF THE WEST COAST OF THE FLORIDA  
PENINSULA BEGINNING EVEN BEFORE WEDNESDAY. RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAS  
SHOULD ENSURE THEY HAVE THEIR HURRICANE PLAN IN PLACE, FOLLOW ANY  
ADVICE GIVEN BY LOCAL OFFICIALS, AND CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES TO THE  
FORECAST. 6 TO 12 INCHES OF RAINFALL IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION FOR  
PARTS OF THE FL PENINSULA, BUT WHERE THAT EXACT AXIS OF HEAVY  
RAINFALL SETS UP, IS STILL QUITE UNCERTAIN AND ENTIRELY DEPENDENT  
ON THE EXACT TRACK MILTON TAKES ACROSS FL. REGARDLESS, SIGNIFICANT  
RAINFALL AND IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED TO ACCOMPANY MILTON, AND THE DAY  
4 ERO PERIOD (WEDNESDAY) NOW SHOWS A MODERATE RISK FOR FLASH  
FLOODING ACROSS THE NORTH- CENTRAL PORTION OF THE PENINSULA,  
INCLUDING THE MAJOR POPULATION REGIONS OF TAMPA BAY, ORLANDO, AND  
JACKSONVILLE. BY THURSDAY, THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL ASSOCIATED WITH  
MILTON SHOULD BE OFFSHORE OF FL, BUT DID CONTINUE A MARGINAL RISK  
FOR NORTHEAST FL TO ACCOUNT FOR POSSIBLY SLOWER SPEED.  
 
ELSEWHERE, THE UPPER LOW OVER/NEAR NEW ENGLAND SHOULD ALLOW FOR  
SOME LAKE-ENHANCED RAIN WITHIN IN WESTERLY FLOW ACROSS THE GREAT  
LAKES. 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 LIGHT TO LOCALLY MODERATE RAIN AND NON-  
ZERO CHANCES OF SNOW IN THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS. WIDELY SCATTERED  
SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE AT TIMES ACROSS THE FOUR CORNERS STATES INTO  
PARTS OF THE SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S., BUT ANYTHING BEYOND LIGHT RAIN IS  
UNLIKELY.  
 
THE STRONG AND PERSISTENT WESTERN-CENTRAL U.S. UPPER RIDGE WILL  
PROMOTE AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES OVER  
THAT PART OF THE COUNTRY. GRADUAL EASTWARD DRIFT OF THE RIDGE AXIS  
WILL SHIFT THE HIGHEST ANOMALIES INTO THE NORTH CENTRAL PLAINS BY  
WEDNESDAY, AND SOME LOCATIONS COULD REACH 20-30F ABOVE NORMAL  
PERSISTING INTO LATE WEEK. MEANWHILE HEIGHT FALLS SLOWLY PUSHING IN  
OVER THE WEST COAST WILL SUPPORT A TREND TOWARD NEAR NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES BY WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY. TEMPERATURES OVER MOST OF  
THE EAST SHOULD BE COOLER AS UPPER TROUGHING SETS UP NEAR THE EAST  
COAST, TRENDING BACK TO NORMAL NEXT WEEKEND. FROST/FREEZE MAY BE A  
CONCERN ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE UPPER GREAT LAKES REGION AND  
INTERIOR NORTHEAST MID WEEK BEFORE THE UPPER LOW SCOOTS OUT OF THE  
REGION.  
 
SANTORELLI  
 
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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