047  
FXUS02 KWBC 041858  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
158 PM EST WED DEC 4 2024  
 
VALID 12Z SAT DEC 07 2024 - 12Z WED DEC 11 2024  
 
...RETURN FLOW TO FUEL EMERGING RAINFALL FROM THE WEST-CENTRAL  
GULF COAST TO THE APPALACHIANS THIS WEEKEND TO EARLY NEXT WEEK...  
 
19Z UPDATE: THE MODELS AND ENSEMBLE MEANS ARE WELL CLUSTERED  
THROUGH NEXT MONDAY WITH A RELATIVELY AMPLIFIED FLOW PATTERN IN  
PLACE. THE 00Z UKMET WAS DEEMED AN OUTLIER SOLUTION ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN TIER OF THE U.S. AND BECAME OUT OF PHASE WITH THE RIDGE  
AXIS NEAR THE SOUTHEAST COAST, SO A NON-UKMET BLEND WAS  
INCORPORATED FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. HOWEVER,  
THE 12Z UKMET TRENDED MORE IN LINE WITH THE MODEL CONSENSUS.  
LOOKING AHEAD TO EARLY-MID WEEK, THERE REMAIN SOME TIMING AND  
SURFACE LOW EVOLUTION DIFFERENCES WITH THE COLD FRONT APPROACHING  
THE EASTERN U.S., WITH THE GFS AND CMC PORTRAYING A SLOWER PASSAGE  
WITH A SECONDARY LOW FORMING ALONG THE FRONT, WHEREAS THE ECMWF  
FEATURES A MORE PROGRESSIVE PASSAGE. THE ENSEMBLE MEANS WERE  
GRADUALLY INCREASED TO ABOUT 40% BY NEXT WEDNESDAY TO ACCOUNT FOR  
THESE MESOSCALE DIFFERENCES. THE PREVIOUS FORECAST DISCUSSION IS  
APPENDED BELOW FOR REFERENCE. /HAMRICK  
----------------------  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
THE WPC MEDIUM RANGE PRODUCT SUITE WAS MAINLY DERIVED FROM A  
COMPOSITE OF REASONABLY CLUSTERED GUIDANCE FROM THE LATEST  
GUIDANCE GFS/ECMWF/UKMET/CANADIAN MODELS THAT HAVE GOOD ENSEMBLE  
SUPPORT AND CONTINUITY. PIVOTED TO THE MOST COMPATIBLE SOLUTIONS OF  
THE ECMWF/ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEAN AND CANADIAN/CANADIAN ENSEMBLE MEAN  
AT LONGER TIME FRAME TO MAINTAIN BEST CONTINUITY AMID OTHERWISE GROWING  
FORECAST SPREAD.  
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
 
ARCTIC AIR THAT HAS PERSISTED OVER THE EAST-CENTRAL U.S. WILL  
MODERATE BY THIS WEEKEND AS AMPLIFIED UPPER TROUGHING FINALLY  
LIFTS OUT AFTER A PROLONGED TIME PERIOD. NEVERTHELESS, LAKE EFFECT  
SNOW IS LIKELY TO BE ONGOING INTO EARLY SATURDAY IN THE WAKE OF A  
STRONG CLIPPER-TYPE SYSTEM. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK, TEMPERATURES SHOULD  
BE NEAR TO A LITTLE ABOVE AVERAGE ACROSS MUCH OF THE EASTERN U.S..  
 
MEANWHILE, EMERGING MOIST RETURN FLOW FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO AS  
AMBIENT HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTH RETREATS TO THE EAST WILL  
SUPPORT INCREASING COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS, SOME OF  
WHICH COULD BE HEAVY, FROM THE WEST-CENTRAL GULF COAST STATES UP  
THROUGH THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS THIS WEEKEND THROUGH EARLY NEXT  
WEEK. IN TERMS OF THE WPC EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK, WE MAINTAINED  
A DAY 4/SATURDAY MARGINAL RISK AREA CENTERED OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS  
TO COVER EVENT GENESIS, WITH A SMALL EXPANSION TO THE NORTHWEST  
COMPARED TO THE EARLIER OUTLOOK AREA. THE EXISTING MARGINAL AND  
SLIGHT RISK AREAS HAVE BEEN MAINTAINED WITH VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY  
OF CHANGES FOR DAY 5/SUNDAY INTO MONDAY MORNING CENTERED OVER THE  
ARKLAMISS REGION AS CONVECTION ERUPTS IN A FAVORED RIGHT ENTRANCE  
REGION OF THE UPPER JET PATTERN TO SUPPORT MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF  
CONVECTION AS STRONG MOISTURE FLUX FROM THE CENTRAL GULF CONTINUES  
AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. THERE MAY ALSO BE SOME SEVERE  
WEATHER THAT DEVELOPS IN THE WARM SECTOR OF THIS LOW PRESSURE  
SYSTEM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IS  
MONITORING IN THE DAYS AHEAD.  
 
UPSTREAM, MODERATELY HEAVY TERRAIN ENHANCED PRECIPITATION IS  
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS WEEKEND OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WITH  
ENERGETIC UPPER TROUGH PASSAGE AND LONG LEAD MOISTURE FEED.  
TERRAIN ENHANCED SNOWS WILL THEN SPREAD INCREASINGLY INLAND ACROSS  
THE NORTHWEST TO THE NORTH-CENTRAL ROCKIES WITH COLD FRONTAL  
PASSAGE OVER THE WEST INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. EXPECT A NICE WARMING  
TREND IN ADVANCE OF THIS FRONT OUT FROM THE WEST THROUGH OVER THE  
CENTRAL U.S. THIS WEEKEND/EARLY NEXT WEEK PRIOR TO COOLING  
PASSAGE.  
 
SCHICHTEL/HAMRICK  
 
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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