055  
FXUS02 KWBC 261754  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
1254 PM EST TUE NOV 26 2024  
 
VALID 12Z FRI NOV 29 2024 - 12Z TUE DEC 03 2024  
 
...ARCTIC COLD WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS WITH BELOW  
NORMAL TEMPERATURES REACHING MOST AREAS EAST OF THE ROCKIES...  
 
...MULTIPLE DAYS OF HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW LATE THIS WEEK INTO  
EARLY NEXT WEEK...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
A LARGE SCALE UPPER TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO ENCOMPASS MUCH OF THE  
CENTRAL TO EASTERN UNITED STATES FRIDAY INTO THE NEXT WEEK AS THE  
THE THANKSGIVING DAY WEATHER SYSTEM PULLS AWAY FROM NEW ENGLAND  
EARLY ON FRIDAY. IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM, BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL  
SET UP AND WINDS WILL BECOME FAVORABLE FROM THE WEST/NORTHWEST FOR  
A LONG DURATION LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENT. SOME OF THE SNOWFALL  
ACCUMULATIONS COULD BE SIGNIFICANT, ESPECIALLY DOWNWIND IN THE  
FAVORED LOCATIONS. ASIDE FROM THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW POTENTIAL, A  
LARGE AREA OF ARCTIC AIR WILL SPREAD ACROSS MUCH OF THE COUNTRY  
EAST OF THE ROCKIES, BRINGING SOME OF THE COLDEST AIR SO FAR THIS  
SEASON. TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY TO FALL INTO THE NEGATIVE TEENS  
ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA, WHERE WIND CHILL READINGS COULD BE AS LOW AS  
-15F. OUT WEST, AN UPPER RIDGE WILL KEEP THE WEATHER GENERALLY  
BENIGN AND WITH MODERATE TEMPERATURES.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
GIVEN THE HIGHLY AMPLIFIED FLOW PATTERN (DEEP TROUGH EAST, RIDGE  
WEST), THE LATEST MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT  
FROM THE SYNOPTIC LEVEL. THIS RESULTED IN GENERALLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
CONFIDENCE IN THE PATTERN AND LED TO A GREATER USE OF THE  
DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE. HOWEVER, SMALLER SCALE FEATURES EMBEDDED  
WITHIN THE MEAN FLOW COULD HAVE SENSIBLE WEATHER IMPACTS. ONE  
EXAMPLE IS WITH A SHORTWAVE TRACKING THROUGH THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.  
ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE TROUGH FRIDAY-SATURDAY THAT LOOKS TO  
BRING A STREAK OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW GENERALLY FROM THE NORTH-  
CENTRAL PLAINS INTO THE MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. THE DEPTH OF THE  
SHORTWAVE WILL HELP DETERMINE THE AXIS OF THE SNOW, WITH SOME MODEL  
SPREAD THAT IS REASONABLE FOR A SUBTLE FEATURE. CONFIDENCE HERE IS  
ON THE LOWER SIDE, PARTICULARLY FOR LOCATION AS SUBTLE SHIFTS IN  
THE STORM TRACK ARE LIKELY.  
 
THE WPC FORECAST WAS BASED ON A BLEND OF THE DETERMINISTIC MODELS  
EARLY IN THE PERIOD, GRADUALLY RAMPING UP THE ENSEMBLE MEANS TO  
HALF BY DAYS 6-7. THIS MAINTAINED GOOD CONTINUITY FROM THE PREVIOUS  
FORECAST (DAYS 3-6).  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
 
A SIGNIFICANT ARCTIC AIR INTRUSION WILL SPREAD ACROSS MUCH OF THE  
CENTRAL AND EASTERN UNITED STATES, THE FIRST OF THE SEASON. WHILE  
NOT EXPECTED TO BREAK MANY TEMPERATURE RECORDS, IT WILL BE A  
NOTICEABLE CHANGE ACROSS MANY AREAS AND FOR SOME ACROSS THE  
NORTHERN PLAINS, HAZARDOUS TO DANGEROUS COLD TEMPERATURES ARE  
EXPECTED. MINIMUM TEMPERATURES COULD BOTTOM OUT IN THE NEGATIVE  
TEENS AND COMBINED WITH THE WIND, WIND CHILLS AS LOW AS -15F ARE  
LIKELY ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTH DAKOTA. THIS WILL POSE AN INCREASED  
RISK OF HYPOTHERMIA AND FROSTBITE ON EXPOSED SKIN.  
 
A HANDFUL OF RECORD LOW MAX AND MIN TEMPERATURES ARE MORE LIKELY  
FARTHER SOUTH ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY INTO THE APPALACHIANS, WHERE  
TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO BE AROUND 15-20F BELOW AVERAGE AND  
STAY BELOW FREEZING FOR HIGHS IN MANY AREAS. TEMPERATURES ARE  
LIKELY TO MODERATE ACROSS THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S. INTO EARLY NEXT  
WEEK, WHILE THE GREATEST BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES ARE  
FORECAST TO MIGRATE OVER THE EAST IN MODERATED FORM.  
 
HEAVY LAKE-EFFECT SNOW IS EXPECTED THROUGH MUCH OF THE PERIOD, AS  
WESTERLY FLOW DEVELOPS SNOW EAST OF THE LAKES FRIDAY-SATURDAY, AND  
WINDS MAY SHIFT TO A MORE NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION INTO EARLY NEXT  
WEEK FOR A SNOW FOCUS SOUTHEAST OF THE LAKES SUNDAY-MONDAY.  
SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE FOR SOME OF THE FAVORED LAKE  
EFFECT LOCATIONS. WHILE SPECIFIC ACCUMULATIONS WILL BECOME CLEARER  
OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, PEAK AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY DOWNWIND OF LAKE  
ERIE AND LAKE ONTARIO. TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS ARE LIKELY ESPECIALLY ON  
I-90 BETWEEN CLEVELAND AND BUFFALO AND I-81 NORTH OF SYRACUSE.  
 
ELSEWHERE, A QUIETER PERIOD IS LIKELY FOR THE WEST PRECIPITATION-  
WISE. LIGHT TO LOCALLY MODEST PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE AT TIMES IN  
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. EXPECT  
TEMPERATURES IN THE ROCKIES WESTWARD TO BE NEAR AVERAGE LATE THIS  
WEEK AND WARM TO A FEW DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW A GENERAL SIGNAL FOR A ROUND OF LIGHT TO  
MODERATE SNOW ACROSS PARTS OF THE NORTH-CENTRAL PLAINS ON FRIDAY  
INTO THE MID-MISSISSIPPI AND OHIO VALLEYS SATURDAY, THOUGH THE AXIS  
IS UNCERTAIN DEPENDING ON A SHORTWAVE ALOFT. MEANWHILE, SOME RAIN  
SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE IN FLORIDA ON FRIDAY WITH A COLD FRONT. OVER  
THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK, RETURN FLOW OF MOISTURE COULD  
START TO COME INTO THE WESTERN GULF COAST REGION FOR SOME SHOWER  
ACTIVITY.  
 
TATE/TAYLOR  
 
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  
 

 
 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.

The Nexlab HPC Page Main Text Page