862  
FXUS02 KWBC 131835  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
235 PM EDT SUN OCT 13 2024  
 
VALID 12Z WED OCT 16 2024 - 12Z SUN OCT 20 2024  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
A PATTERN CHANGE IS FORECAST BY MIDWEEK IN THE WEST, AS UPPER  
TROUGHING AND THEN REINFORCING ENERGY COME IN FROM THE EASTERN  
PACIFIC, LEADING TO MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES AND INCREASING  
PRECIPITATION CHANCES, INCLUDING HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW. UPPER  
RIDGING AHEAD OF THIS TROUGH WILL PROMOTE WARMER THAN AVERAGE  
TEMPERATURES IN THE NORTHERN/CENTRAL PLAINS TO MIDWEST AS IT  
GRADUALLY MOVES EAST, EVENTUALLY DISPLACING THE CHILLY UPPER TROUGH  
AND SURFACE HIGH IN THE EAST BY LATE WEEK INTO NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
THE LATEST SUITE OF MODEL GUIDANCE ARE IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT  
REGARDING THE OVERALL SYNOPTIC PATTERN ACROSS THE CONUS DURING THE  
EARLY STAGES OF THE MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD (WEDNESDAY--THURSDAY). THE  
DETERMINISTIC EURO'S PROGRESSIVE AND PHASED TROUGH PATTERN IN THE  
WEST CONTINUES TO BE AN OUTLIER, COMPARED TO THE UKMET, GFS AND  
CANADIAN SUITES WHICH HAVE PERSISTENTLY DEVELOPED A CUT-OFF  
LOW/SPLIT FLOW UPPER-LEVEL PATTERN. ELSEWHERE, THE DETERMINISTIC  
06Z GFS DEVELOPS A CLOSED MID-LEVEL LOW OVER THE MID- ATLANTIC  
COAST ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, WHICH DEVIATES SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE  
REST OF THE OTHER PIECES OF GUIDANCE AND IS INCONSISTENT WITH PAST  
RUNS, WHICH MAINTAIN A RIDGE OVER THE EAST COAST NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
A NON-06Z GFS BLEND, CONSISTING OF THE 00Z GFS/EC/CMC/UKMET WERE  
UTILIZED ON DAYS 3 AND 4 DUE TO REASONABLE AGREEMENT ACROSS THE  
CONUS. THE 00Z CMCE AND 06Z GEFS WERE INTRODUCED TO THE BLEND ON  
DAY 5, BUT THE DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE STILL CARRIED MOST OF THE  
WEIGHTING IN THAT BLEND. BY DAY 6, THE 00Z ECE IS INCORPORATED INTO  
THE BLEND WHILE THE DETERMINISTIC EURO IS REMOVED. THE 06Z GEFS  
AND 00Z CMCE ARE FAVORED THROUGH DAY 7.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
THE DEVELOPING AND RELOADING UPPER TROUGH AND MULTIPLE SURFACE  
FRONTS MOVING INTO THE WEST WILL PUSH PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE  
NORTHWEST WEDNESDAY, WITH ENHANCED PRECIPITATION TOTALS IN TERRAIN  
LIKE THE COASTAL RANGES AND CASCADES INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES.  
HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW IS LIKELY, WHICH WILL BE THE FIRST SNOW OF  
THE SEASON IN SOME LOCATIONS GIVEN THE WARM FALL IN THE WEST THUS  
FAR. PRECIPITATION IS FORECAST TO SPREAD ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN  
WEST AND ROCKIES THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. BY FRIDAY AND INTO THE  
WEEKEND, GULF MOISTURE COULD STREAM IN JUST AHEAD OF THE UPPER  
TROUGH FOR INCREASING RAIN CHANCES IN THE PLAINS TO UPPER MIDWEST.  
THE FORECAST DETAILS VARY, BUT MODELS GENERALLY SHOW SOME MODERATE  
TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN TOTALS IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS.  
 
IN THE NORTHEASTERN U.S., COOL WESTERLY FLOW UNDERNEATH THE UPPER  
TROUGH TO START THE PERIOD WEDNESDAY WILL LEAD TO SOME CONTINUED  
LAKE-ENHANCED AND TERRAIN-ENHANCED PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE  
CENTRAL/NORTHERN APPALACHIANS AND THE GREAT LAKES REGION INTO THE  
INTERIOR NORTHEAST. COLDER TEMPERATURES SHOULD ALLOW FOR SNOW  
ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. PRECIPITATION SHOULD TAPER OFF  
BY THURSDAY, AND THE EAST IS LIKELY TO BE DRY FOR LATER WEEK AS A  
COOL SURFACE HIGH SETS UP BEHIND A SECONDARY COLD FRONT. THE  
EXCEPTION COULD BE ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA, WHICH IS FORECAST TO SEE  
RETURN FLOW OF MOISTURE BY LATE WEEK FOR INCREASING RAIN AND  
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES.  
 
AN UPPER RIDGE ALIGNED OVER THE CENTRAL U.S. MIDWEEK AND SHIFTING  
EASTWARD LATER WEEK WILL PROMOTE WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN  
ITS VICINITY. THE BIGGEST ANOMALIES ARE FORECAST ACROSS THE  
NORTHERN ROCKIES AND HIGH PLAINS ON WEDNESDAY, WHERE HIGHS INTO THE  
70S AND 80S ARE 15-25 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE FOR MID-OCTOBER. THESE  
WARM TEMPERATURES WILL SHIFT INTO THE CENTRAL/NORTHERN PLAINS AND  
MIDWEST BY THURSDAY-FRIDAY. MEANWHILE, TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO  
BE BELOW AVERAGE BY 10-20 DEGREES ON WEDNESDAY IN MUCH OF THE  
EASTERN U.S. UNDER COOL HIGH PRESSURE. MORNING LOWS MAY CAUSE  
FROST/FREEZE CONCERNS FROM THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S. THROUGH THE  
MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES AND NORTHEAST/APPALACHIANS. SOME GRADUAL  
MODERATION/WARMING IS LIKELY THERE THURSDAY-FRIDAY AND EVEN MORE SO  
INTO THE WEEKEND WHEN UPPER RIDGING COMES OVERHEAD, FOR  
TEMPERATURES AROUND 5-10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL IN THE NORTHEASTERN  
TIER. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE UPPER TROUGH AND FRONTAL SURGES COMING  
INTO THE WEST WILL LEAD TO BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES SPREADING  
GRADUALLY INLAND FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK. THESE COLDER  
TEMPERATURES MAY ALSO LEAD TO ADDITIONAL FROST/FREEZE CONCERNS FOR  
STILL SUSCEPTIBLE GROWING AREAS.  
 
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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