456  
FXUS02 KWBC 032053  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
353 PM EST SUN NOV 3 2024  
 
VALID 12Z WED NOV 06 2024 - 12Z SUN NOV 10 2024  
 
...WATCHING POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE EIGHTEEN AS IT TRACKS INTO  
THE GULF OF MEXICO TOWARDS THE CENTRAL GULF COAST...  
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
LATEST GUIDANCE MAINTAINS THE RECENT THEME OF A STRONG WESTERN  
ATLANTIC UPPER RIDGE EXTENDING INTO PARTS OF THE EAST WHILE  
STRONGLY DIGGING WESTERN U.S. TROUGH ENERGY LIKELY CLOSES OFF A LOW  
NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS AROUND MIDWEEK, FOLLOWED BY A SLOW EASTWARD  
DRIFT AND SOME ACCELERATION NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE PLAINS BY THE  
WEEKEND. EXPECT THE UPPER LOW TO PRODUCE AN AREA OF POTENTIALLY  
SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL-SOUTHERN ROCKIES  
AROUND MIDWEEK AND THEN DEVELOP MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN OVER  
THE PLAINS LATER IN THE WEEK, WITH MOISTURE CONTINUING TO PROGRESS  
DURING THE WEEKEND. AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF THE ATLANTIC UPPER  
RIDGE, GUIDANCE SHOWS POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE EIGHTEEN TRACKING  
INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO AROUND MID WEEK BUT STILL WITH A LOT OF  
GUIDANCE SPREAD FOR THE EXACT TRACK, AS WELL AS FOR THE PATH OF  
MOISTURE TO ITS NORTH/EAST. THE NORTHWEST SHOULD SEE A WETTER TREND  
BY NEXT WEEKEND WITH THE APPROACH/ARRIVAL OF A COUPLE FRONTAL  
SYSTEMS.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE  
EVOLUTION/TRACK OF THE FOUR CORNERS UPPER LOW. THE 06Z GFS WAS  
QUITE A BIT FASTER THAN CONSENSUS, BUT THE 12Z RUN HAS TRENDED  
SLOWER/MORE WESTWARD AND MUCH MORE IN LINE WITH CONSENSUS AND THE  
WPC FORECAST BLEND. THERE REMAINS SOME QUESTION ON ITS STRENGTH AND  
WHETHER IT BECOMES MORE OF AN OPEN WAVE OR A CLOSED LOW AS THE  
SYSTEM TRACKS NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST NEXT WEEKEND.  
 
THERE IS STILL A LOT OF SPREAD AMONG THE DYNAMICAL AND ML MODELS  
REGARDING THE COMBINATION OF POSSIBLE LEADING MOISTURE REACHING THE  
SOUTHEAST/FLORIDA AND PTC EIGHTEEN. THE CMC HAD TENDED TO BE ON  
THE FAST/EASTERN SIDE OF THE DYNAMICAL MODEL SPREAD FOR THE  
POSSIBLE SYSTEM BUT THE LATEST 12Z RUN DID COME IN MORE WESTWARD  
AND CLOSER TO CONSENSUS. THE ECMWF CONTINUES TO BE MORE SUPPRESSED  
AND WEST WITH THE TRACK OF EIGHTEEN INTO THE WESTERN GULF. THE  
OFFICIAL NHC FORECAST TRACKS PTC EIGHTEEN TOWARDS THE CENTRAL GULF  
COAST, REPRESENTING A BLEND CLOSEST TO CONSENSUS AND THE 12Z  
GFS/CMC.  
 
AS FOR OTHER DETAILS, THERE IS SOME MODEL SPREAD FOR  
AMPLITUDE/TIMING OF THE PACIFIC SHORTWAVE TROUGH EXPECTED TO  
PROGRESS INTO WESTERN NORTH AMERICA DURING THE WEEKEND. THERE IS  
ALSO SOME SPREAD FOR THE DETAILS OF EASTERN CANADA/NORTHEASTERN  
U.S. TROUGHING LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND AS UPSTREAM RIDGING  
PROGRESSES ACROSS CANADA.  
 
THE UPDATED FORECAST STARTS WITH AN OPERATIONAL MODEL BLEND  
EMPHASIZING THE 00Z ECMWF WITH MODEST 00Z UKMET AND 06Z GFS FOR THE  
FIRST HALF OF THE PERIOD. ADDED MORE OF THE ENSEMBLE MEANS LATER  
IN THE PERIOD TO REFLECT THE GROWING UNCERTAINTY. OVERALL, THIS  
MAINTAINED GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE PREVIOUS WPC FORECAST.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO HAVE DIFFICULTY IN RESOLVING THE DETAILS OF  
MOISTURE AND SHORTWAVE ENERGY ROUNDING THE WESTERN ATLANTIC DEEP-  
LAYER RIDGE AND POTENTIALLY BRINGING AREAS OF SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL  
TO THE SOUTHEAST/FLORIDA, WITH PTC EIGHTEEN PROVIDING ANOTHER  
POTENTIAL RAINFALL INFLUENCE. OVER THE COURSE OF THE DAYS 4/5  
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK PERIOD (WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY  
NIGHT) THERE IS A FAIR CLUSTERING OF DYNAMICAL/ML GUIDANCE  
SUGGESTING AN AREA OF ENHANCED FOCUS OVER OR NEAR GEORGIA/SOUTH  
CAROLINA WITH SOME GUIDANCE A LITTLE FARTHER SOUTH INTO PARTS OF  
FLORIDA. THESE SOLUTIONS ALL LIE WITHIN A GENERAL AREA OF ANOMALOUS  
MOISTURE AND SOME INSTABILITY, SUPPORTING A BROAD MARGINAL RISK  
AREA IN BOTH ERO DAYS AS THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF THE SITUATION  
AT THIS TIME. RAINFALL DETAILS CONTINUE TO BE UNCERTAIN BEYOND  
EARLY FRIDAY, AGAIN DEPENDING ON THE ULTIMATE EVOLUTION AND TRACK  
OF PTC EIGHTEEN.  
 
THE CURRENT FORECAST PATH OF THE UPPER LOW TRACKING THROUGH THE  
FOUR CORNERS REGION WOULD BRING THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT  
SNOWFALL TO PORTIONS OF THE COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO ROCKIES IN THE  
WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY TIME FRAME. GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT IN GUIDANCE  
CLUSTERING FOR UPPER LOW SPECIFICS OVER THE PAST DAY HAS RAISED THE  
PROBABILITIES FOR SOME OF THIS SNOW TO EXTEND INTO THE HIGH  
PLAINS. JUST TO THE EAST, THIS SYSTEM SHOULD PRODUCE SOME AREAS OF  
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE SOUTHERN/CENTRAL PLAINS THURSDAY-  
FRIDAY. THE MARGINAL RISK AREA DEPICTED OVER THE SOUTHERN-CENTRAL  
PLAINS IN THE DAY 5 ERO REPRESENTS THE MOST AGREEABLE REGION OF  
FOCUS IN THE GUIDANCE DURING THE FIRST PART OF THIS EVENT. EXPECT  
THE PRECIPITATION SHIELD TO PROGRESS EASTWARD/NORTHEASTWARD INTO  
THE WEEKEND, GENERALLY WITH LIGHTER AMOUNTS BUT WITH UNCERTAINTY  
OVER HOW MUCH INTERACTION THERE COULD BE WITH GULF MOISTURE AND THE  
POSSIBLE SURFACE SYSTEM. THUS POTENTIAL STILL EXISTS FOR SOME  
AREAS OF HEAVIER RAIN INTO THE WEEKEND.  
 
THE NORTHWEST SHOULD BE DRY AROUND MIDWEEK AND THEN SEE INCREASING  
RAIN/HIGH ELEVATION SNOW BY LATE WEEK AND THE WEEKEND, AS A  
LEADING DYING FRONT APPROACHES FRIDAY AND THEN STRONGER SYSTEMS  
APPROACH/ARRIVE DURING THE WEEKEND.  
 
FOR THE MOST PART, EASTERN U.S. TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE ABOVE  
NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD DUE TO PERSISTENT UPPER RIDGING OVER THE  
WESTERN ATLANTIC AND EXTENDING INTO PARTS OF THE EAST. WEDNESDAY  
INTO EARLY THURSDAY SHOULD BE PARTICULARLY WARM WITH BROAD COVERAGE  
OF PLUS 15-25F ANOMALIES, CHALLENGING DAILY RECORDS FOR HIGHS/WARM  
LOWS. BY LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND EXPECT HIGHS TO MODERATE  
SOMEWHAT (5-15F ABOVE NORMAL) WHILE SOME AREAS OVER THE SOUTHERN  
HALF OR SO OF THE EAST COULD STILL SEE MORNING LOWS 15-20F ABOVE  
NORMAL. CANADIAN FLOW COULD BRING TEMPERATURES CLOSER TO NORMAL  
OVER NEW ENGLAND. MEANWHILE, AS THE FOUR CORNERS UPPER LOW FORMS  
AND THEN EVENTUALLY EJECTS INTO THE PLAINS, MUCH OF THE WEST WILL  
SEE WELL BELOW NORMAL HIGHS ON WEDNESDAY FOLLOWED BY PERSISTENCE OF  
VERY CHILLY HIGHS OVER/NEAR THE CENTRAL-SOUTHERN ROCKIES THROUGH  
FRIDAY (SOME LOCATIONS POSSIBLY 20-30F BELOW NORMAL FOR A DAY OR  
TWO) WHILE THE INTERIOR WEST MODERATES. THEN THE UPPER LOW'S  
DEPARTURE SHOULD SUPPORT A WARMER TREND OVER THE CENTRAL-SOUTHERN  
ROCKIES DURING THE WEEKEND.  
 
SANTORELLI/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.PHPSCHICHTEL/HAMRICK  
 
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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