349  
FXUS02 KWBC 062011  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
411 PM EDT SUN OCT 6 2024  
 
VALID 12Z WED OCT 09 2024 - 12Z SUN OCT 13 2024  
 
 
...HURRICANE MILTON COULD BRING LIFE-THREATENING IMPACTS ACROSS  
PARTS OF FLORIDA THROUGH WEDNESDAY...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
HURRICANE MILTON IS CURRENTLY LOCATED IN THE WESTERN GULF OF  
MEXICO AND IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE TO TRACK GENERALLY EAST-  
NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE GULF WHILE STRENGTHENING A MAJOR  
HURRICANE. MILTON SHOULD BE APPROACHING THE WEST COAST OF THE  
FLORIDA PENINSULA BY EARLY WEDNESDAY, AND THOUGH IT MAY WEAKEN A  
BIT BEFORE LANDFALL, HEAVY RAINFALL/FLOODING, HIGH WIND, AND STORM  
SURGE ARE ALL SIGNIFICANT THREATS. ELSEWHERE, AN UPPER TROUGH  
(ANCHORED BY AN UPPER LOW THAT MAY TRACK OVER OR NEAR NEW ENGLAND)  
WILL MOVE THROUGH THE EAST MIDWEEK WHILE AN UPSTREAM UPPER RIDGE  
TRACKS FROM THE WEST TO CENTRAL U.S. BRINGING A PERIOD OF  
CLIMATOLOGICALLY WARM WEATHER. BY LATER THIS WEEK, A PACIFIC TROUGH  
MAY 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 AS IT HAS FOR MULTIPLE DAYS. UKMET RUNS  
ARE ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE, WHILE THE 12Z GFS CAME IN A BIT NORTH  
WITH THE TRACK AND QPF AXIS. THE 00Z AND 12Z ECMWF RUNS ARE GOOD  
MIDDLE GROUND SOLUTIONS 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 THURSDAY AFTER IT CROSSES THE FLORIDA PENINSULA.  
 
FARTHER NORTH WITH THE MAIN JET STREAM, MODELS ARE REASONABLY  
AGREEABLE WITH THE PATTERN EARLY IN THE PERIOD. THE 00/06Z AND NOW  
NEWER 12Z GUIDANCE HAS BECOME MORE AGREEABLE IN SHOWING AN UPPER  
TROUGH IN SOUTH-CENTRAL CANADA FRIDAY AND MOVING INTO THE GREAT  
LAKES SATURDAY THAT COULD SERVE TO SHUNT THE NORTHERN EXTENT OF THE  
UPPER RIDGE SOUTHWARD, ALONG WITH PUSHING A COLD FRONT  
SOUTHEASTWARD COMPARED TO CONTINUITY. THEN ACROSS THE WEST, THE  
TIMING OF A TROUGH APPROACHING FROM THE EASTERN PACIFIC GETS QUITE  
UNCERTAIN LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND WITHOUT MUCH MODEL OR RUN-TO-  
RUN AGREEMENT AT ALL. RECENT MODELS ARE GENERALLY SHALLOWER WITH  
THE TROUGH COMPARED TO OLDER RUNS, LEADING TO LESS SUPPORT FOR  
MODERATE TO HEAVY QPF IN THE INTERIOR WEST. AS OF THE 00Z/06Z  
CYCLE, THE CMC APPEARED TO BE A FAST OUTLIER COMPARED TO THE  
GFS/EC. GUIDANCE HAS GENERALLY SLOWED IN THE 12Z CYCLE, SO THE 12Z  
CMC'S TIMING OF THE TROUGH/POSSIBLE EMBEDDED UPPER LOW PROGRESSION  
IS NOW PRETTY SIMILAR TO THE 00/06Z RUNS OF THE GFS AND EC, WHILE  
THE 12Z GFS/EC HAVE SLOWED EVEN FURTHER. EXPECT CHANGES TO THIS  
ASPECT OF THE FORECAST SINCE MODELS ARE WAFFLING SO MUCH AT THIS  
TIME.  
 
THE WPC FORECAST WAS BASED ON A BLEND OF THE DETERMINISTIC 00Z  
ECMWF, 06Z GFS, AND SOME 00Z UKMET EARLY IN THE PERIOD, WITH  
INCREASING PROPORTIONS OF THE ENSEMBLE MEANS TO HALF BY DAY 6 AND  
OVER HALF DAY 7 GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY PARTICULARLY IN THE WEST.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
MILTON IS FORECAST TO BE A MAJOR HURRICANE AS IT APPROACHES THE  
WEST COAST OF FLORIDA BY THE START OF THE MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD  
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 POTENTIALLY EVEN TUESDAY NIGHT.  
RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD FOLLOW ANY ADVICE GIVEN BY LOCAL  
OFFICIALS, AND CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES TO THE FORECAST. 5 TO 10  
INCHES OF RAINFALL WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS TO 15 INCHES IS POSSIBLE FOR  
PARTS OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA, BUT THE EXACT AXIS IS STILL  
UNCERTAIN AND DEPENDENT ON ON THE TRACK MILTON TAKES ACROSS  
FLORIDA. THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY TO BE ALONG MILTON'S TRACK  
AND NORTH CLOSER TO THE SURFACE FRONT AND UPPER SUPPORT. REGARDLESS  
OF THE UNCERTAINTY, THE ERO FOR DAY 4/WEDNESDAY CONTINUES TO SHOW  
A MODERATE RISK ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE PENINSULA,  
INCLUDING THE METRO AREAS OF TAMPA BAY AND ORLANDO AND JUST SOUTH  
OF JACKSONVILLE, WITH MINIMAL CHANGES TO THE PREVIOUS ISSUANCE. BY  
THURSDAY, THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL ASSOCIATED WITH MILTON SHOULD BE  
OFFSHORE OF FLORIDA, THOUGH CONTINUE TO DEPICT 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 WESTERLY FLOW ACROSS THE GREAT  
LAKES/INTERIOR NORTHEAST ON WEDNESDAY. A FRONT PASSING THROUGH THE  
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BY MIDWEEK SHOULD PRODUCE SOME LIGHT RAIN AND  
NONZERO CHANCES OF SNOW IN THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS. THEN ANOTHER  
ROUND OF PRECIPITATION IS LIKELY TO COME INTO THE WEST WITH UPPER  
TROUGHING ON FRIDAY, FOR MODERATE AMOUNTS OF RAIN AND SOME HIGHER  
ELEVATION SNOW IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS INTO  
THE INTERIOR WEST LATE WEEK-WEEKEND ARE MORE UNCERTAIN RELATED TO  
THE EVOLUTION OF THE TROUGH.  
 
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. THE HIGHEST ANOMALIES ARE LIKELY FOR THE  
NORTHERN PLAINS BY WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, AND SOME LOCATIONS SHOULD  
REACH 20-30F ABOVE NORMAL AS HIGHS IN THE 80S MAY EXTEND TO THE  
CANADIAN BORDER. NORTHERN STREAM TROUGHING AND A COLD FRONT COULD  
PUSH THE GREATEST WARM ANOMALIES SOUTHEAST INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS  
AND MID/UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY FRIDAY-SATURDAY. MEANWHILE HEIGHT  
FALLS SLOWLY PUSHING IN OVER THE WEST COAST WILL SUPPORT A TREND  
TOWARD NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES BY WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY. HOWEVER,  
TEMPERATURES AROUND 10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL IN THE SOUTHWEST COULD  
SET ADDITIONAL DAILY RECORDS THOUGH THE TEMPERATURES HAVE MODERATED  
COMPARED TO RECENT DAYS AND THE SHORT RANGE. MEANWHILE, COOLER  
THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST ACROSS MOST OF THE EAST AS  
UPPER TROUGHING SETS UP NEAR THE EAST COAST, WITH SOME POTENTIAL  
FROST/FREEZE CONCERNS ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION  
INTO THE APPALACHIANS AND INTERIOR NORTHEAST. EXPECT TEMPERATURES  
TO MODERATE NEXT WEEKEND AS THE UPPER LOW SCOOTS OUT OF THE REGION.  
 
TATE/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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