183  
FXUS02 KWBC 140659  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
259 AM EDT MON OCT 14 2024  
 
VALID 12Z THU OCT 17 2024 - 12Z MON OCT 21 2024  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
UPPER TROUGHING AND REINFORCING ENERGY IN THE WEST WILL LEAD TO A  
COOL AND WET PATTERN THERE, INCLUDING HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW. RAIN  
CHANCES COULD INCREASE IN THE SOUTHERN/CENTRAL PLAINS BY THE  
WEEKEND. 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 THE WEEKEND.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
MODEL GUIDANCE IS RATHER AGREEABLE ON THE LARGE SCALE THROUGH MUCH  
OF THE PERIOD. THE UPPER PATTERN AS THE PERIOD BEGINS THURSDAY  
WILL CONSIST OF A BROAD TROUGH ATOP THE WEST, A RIDGE AXIS ALIGNED  
ATOP THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND MIDWEST, AND LINGERING TROUGHING  
ATOP THE EASTERN SEABOARD. THE RIDGE AND EASTERN TROUGH SHOULD  
SHIFT SLOWLY EASTWARD LATE WEEK, WHILE THE TROUGH IN THE WEST IS  
FORECAST TO DIG AND CREATE A CLOSED UPPER LOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST BY  
LATE FRIDAY-SATURDAY. RECENT ECMWF RUNS FROM 12Z AND THE NEWER 00Z  
RUNS ARE FINALLY ON BOARD WITH FORMING THIS UPPER LOW, AFTER  
EARLIER RUNS MAINTAINED A PHASED UPPER TROUGH. THERE IS SOME SPREAD  
IN PLACEMENT WITH THE CLOSED LOW AS IT MEANDERS OVER THE WEEKEND  
AND MAY SLOWLY EJECT NORTHEAST BY DAY 7/MONDAY, BUT RELATIVELY  
MINOR SPREAD FOR A FEATURE LIKE THIS IN THE LATE MEDIUM RANGE  
PERIOD. AMONG THE 12/18Z MODEL CYCLE, THE CMC BECOMES A  
SLOW/SOUTHWEST OUTLIER BY THE END OF THE PERIOD. THE 12/18Z GFS AND  
12Z ECMWF AND MOST AI/ML MODELS WERE MORE AGREEABLE, BUT  
INTERESTINGLY THE 12/18Z AIFS WAS THE MAIN OUTLIER TAKING THE UPPER  
LOW FARTHER EAST OF CONSENSUS AS EARLY AS SATURDAY. ALSO  
INTERESTINGLY THOUGH, THE NEW 00Z CMC IS MORE LIKE THESE AIFS RUNS  
WITH AN EASTWARD/FAST TREND. PREFER THE MAJORITY CLUSTER FARTHER  
WEST, BUT THIS WILL CONTINUE TO BE MONITORED. GUIDANCE SHOWS UPPER  
RIDGING RETROGRADING A BIT BY EARLY NEXT WEEK IN RESPONSE TO THIS  
CUTOFF LOW.  
 
THE WPC FORECAST USED A MULTI-MODEL BLEND OF THE DETERMINISTIC  
GUIDANCE EARLY IN THE FORECAST PERIOD. GIVEN THE RELATIVELY GOOD  
MODEL AGREEMENT EVEN INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK, WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN A  
MAJORITY OF DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE THROUGH THE PERIOD THOUGH WITH  
SOME GEFS AND EC ENSEMBLE MEANS TO SMOOTH OUT THE MINOR  
DIFFERENCES. SINCE RECENT MODELS ARE MORE AGREEABLE WITH A CUTOFF  
UPPER LOW FORMING AND MOVING SLOWLY THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST, QPF  
TRENDED UP FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL ROCKIES  
AND HIGH PLAINS, A WESTWARD SHIFT FROM WHERE IN THE PLAINS THE  
HEAVIER TOTALS WERE PREVIOUSLY.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
THE UPPER TROUGH/LOW PUSHING ACROSS THE WEST LATER WEEK WILL PUSH  
PRECIPITATION FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTO THE INTERMOUNTAIN  
WEST/ROCKIES LATER WEEK, WITH ENHANCED PRECIPITATION TOTALS IN  
TERRAIN. 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. SOME RAIN AND SNOW COULD CONTINUE ACROSS THE  
CENTRAL/SOUTHERN ROCKIES INTO THE WEEKEND. MEANWHILE, GULF MOISTURE  
MAY STREAM IN JUST AHEAD OF THE UPPER LOW FOR INCREASING RAIN  
CHANCES IN THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS LATE WEEK INTO THE  
WEEKEND. WHILE FORECAST DETAILS VARY, RECENT MODELS SHOW SOME  
MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN TOTALS THERE, BUT WITH DRY  
ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS AND RAIN RATES NOT FORECAST TO BE EXTREME,  
THIS MAY NOT CAUSE AN EXCESSIVE RAIN THREAT. LIGHTER RAIN MAY  
SPREAD INTO THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S. LATE WEEK TOO. MORE ROUNDS OF  
PRECIPITATION ARE LIKELY FOR THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTO THE WEEKEND  
WITH ADDITIONAL IMPULSES COMING THROUGH.  
 
MEANWHILE, THE EASTERN U.S. IS FORECAST TO BE GENERALLY DRY LATE  
WEEK INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PARTS OF THE  
FLORIDA PENINSULA. THERE, RETURN FLOW OF MOISTURE COULD INCREASE  
RAIN AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ESPECIALLY FOR SOUTH FLORIDA BY  
FRIDAY AND PERHAPS SPREADING NORTHWARD INTO THE WEEKEND. MODELS  
CONTINUE TO VARY ON HOW MUCH RAIN MAY FALL ONSHORE VERSUS OFFSHORE,  
SO NO AREA IS CURRENTLY DELINEATED IN THE DAY 5/FRIDAY ERO, BUT  
THERE MAY BE A NONZERO CHANCE FOR FLASH FLOODING ESPECIALLY IF  
HEAVY RAIN RATES OCCUR IN THE SENSITIVE URBAN AREAS.  
 
AN UPPER RIDGE ALIGNED OVER THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THURSDAY AND  
SHIFTING INTO THE EAST FRIDAY WILL PROMOTE WELL ABOVE NORMAL  
TEMPERATURES IN ITS VICINITY. THE BIGGEST ANOMALIES ARE FORECAST  
ACROSS THE NORTH-CENTRAL PLAINS ON THURSDAY, WHERE HIGHS INTO THE  
70S AND 80S ARE 15-25 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE FOR MID-OCTOBER. COOLER  
THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BY 10-15 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED TO  
CONTINUE ACROSS THE EASTERN THIRD OF THE U.S. INTO THURSDAY UNDER  
COOL HIGH PRESSURE. ANOTHER ROUND OF CHILLY MORNING LOWS MAY CAUSE  
FROST/FREEZE CONCERNS FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION INTO THE  
NORTHEAST/APPALACHIANS. GRADUAL MODERATION/WARMING IS LIKELY THERE  
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. THEN THE RIDGE REBUILDING OVER THE CENTRAL U.S.  
EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL LEAD TO WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IN  
THE NORTHERN PLAINS TO UPPER MIDWEST ONCE AGAIN. ON THE OTHER HAND,  
THE UPPER TROUGH AND FRONTAL SURGES IN THE WEST WILL CAUSE BELOW  
NORMAL TEMPERATURES SPREADING ACROSS THE WEST COAST TO GREAT  
BASIN/INTERMOUNTAIN WEST AND SOUTHWEST PARTICULARLY THROUGH LATE  
WEEK. THESE COLDER TEMPERATURES MAY ALSO LEAD TO ADDITIONAL  
FROST/FREEZE CONCERNS FOR ANY 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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