944  
FXUS02 KWBC 071900  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
200 PM EST FRI FEB 7 2025  
 
VALID 12Z MON FEB 10 2025 - 12Z FRI FEB 14 2025  
 
...HEAVY RAIN AND POTENTIAL FLOODING CONCERNS DEVELOPING IN THE  
SOUTHEASTERN QUADRANT OF THE LOWER 48 MONDAY-WEDNESDAY...  
 
...ROUNDS OF SNOW AND ICE ARE POSSIBLE STRETCHING FROM THE  
CENTRAL PLAINS TO MID-ATLANTIC/NORTHEAST NEXT WEEK...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW
 
 
GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW MEAN TROUGHING ALOFT OVER THE WEST AND  
SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW DOWNSTREAM, WITH EJECTING SHORTWAVES SUPPORTING  
A SERIES OF PROGRESSIVE FRONTAL SYSTEMS WHOSE TRACK AND TIMING  
REMAIN SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN. THIS PATTERN WILL PRODUCE AN AXIS OF  
POTENTIALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING CONCERNS FROM THE  
SOUTHEASTERN PLAINS INTO THE MID-ATLANTIC. SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ON  
THE NORTHERN SIDE OF THE MOISTURE SHIELD, MOST LIKELY FROM THE  
CENTRAL PLAINS INTO THE NORTHEAST, AND SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN WILL  
BE POSSIBLE BETWEEN THE RAIN/SNOW AREAS. MEANWHILE, THE CHARACTER  
OF WESTERN UPPER TROUGHING WILL CHANGE AFTER WEDNESDAY AS WESTERN  
CANADA FLOW ELONGATES WESTWARD, ALLOWING AN EASTERN PACIFIC SYSTEM  
TO TRACK INTO THE WEST BY FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM SHOULD BRING A BROAD  
AREA OF PRECIPITATION TO THE REGION LATE IN THE WEEK BUT WITH  
UNCERTAINTY REGARDING COVERAGE/LOCATION OF HIGHEST TOTALS.  
CORRESPONDING TO THE MEAN PATTERN, EXPECT BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES  
OVER MUCH OF THE WESTERN/CENTRAL U.S. AND ABOVE NORMAL READINGS  
OVER THE FAR SOUTHEAST. ARRIVAL OF PACIFIC FLOW BY NEXT FRIDAY  
SHOULD BEGIN A MODERATING TREND OVER SOME AREAS.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
MOST GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW SIMILAR IDEAS FOR THE LARGE SCALE  
PATTERN, BUT THERE ARE STILL IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES YET TO BE  
RESOLVED FOR INDIVIDUAL SHORTWAVES EJECTING FROM THE WESTERN U.S.  
MEAN TROUGH, AND IN TURN ASSOCIATED SURFACE WAVES THAT WILL  
DETERMINE PRECIPITATION COVERAGE/TYPE/AMOUNTS. GUIDANCE  
PREFERENCES LED TO FAVORING A GENERAL 00Z/06Z DETERMINISTIC MODEL  
COMPOSITE FOR MONDAY-TUESDAY GIVEN A GOOD OVERALL HANDLE OF THE  
MAJOR SYNOPTIC SCALE FEATURES. FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, THE  
DETERMINISTIC BLEND RAPIDLY INCREASED WEIGHTING TOWARDS THE 00Z  
EC/GEFS/CMC ENSEMBLE MEANS. SIMILAR TO LAST NIGHT, NEITHER THE 00Z  
OR 06Z RUNS OF THE DETERMINISTIC GFS WERE CONSIDERED BEYOND DAY 4.  
THESE RUNS WERE STILL MUCH TOO SLOW WITH THE EVOLUTION OF THE  
SHORTWAVE THAT IS PROGGED TO EJECT OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST DAY 5 AND  
INTO THE ATLANTIC MARITIMES BY DAY 7. THE DETERMINISTIC RUNS OF THE  
GFS WERE ALSO TOO WEAK AND SPRIEST WITH THE RESULTING LOW PRESSURE  
SYSTEM THAT WILL TRACK INTO THE OHIO VALLEY AND NORTHEAST BY LATE  
IN THE WEEK (THOUGH THE LATEST 12Z RUN IS AT LEAST STARTING TO  
TREND TOWARDS THE OTHER MORE AMPLIFIED SOLUTION). ML MODELS SEEMED  
TO AGREE WITH THE FASTER AND MORE AMPLIFIED CLUSTER OF GUIDANCE SO  
THUS DECIDED TO LEAN HEAVILY ON THAT BLEND WITH ANCHORING FROM THE  
MORE STABLE ENSEMBLE MEANS.  
 
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF SPREAD AND VARIABILITY FOR THE NORTHEASTERN  
PACIFIC/WESTERN CANADA PATTERN TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK. ML  
MODELS SUPPORT A PATTERN CLOSEST TO THE ENSEMBLE MEANS, IN CONTRAST  
TO EARLIER ECMWF RUNS THAT WERE MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH  
WESTWARD/SOUTHWESTWARD ELONGATION OF WESTERN CANADA TROUGHING OR  
GFS RUNS THAT MAY LEAN TOO MUCH TOWARD WEAK RIDGING ALONG THE  
BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
DURING THE MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT PERIOD COVERED BY THE  
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOKS, EXPECT RAIN TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTH-  
CENTRAL PLAINS AND THEN TREND HEAVIER AS IT EXPANDS INTO THE  
SOUTHEAST. GUIDANCE AGREES ON THE PRESENCE OF ABOVE NORMAL MOISTURE  
ANOMALIES ALONG WITH POSSIBLY SOME INSTABILITY, IN ADDITION TO A  
PATTERN THAT COULD FAVOR TRAINING GIVEN A STATIONARY BOUNDARY  
NEARBY. ONLY MINOR CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE INHERITED DAY 4 ERO,  
WITH A MARGINAL RISK AREA FROM EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHEASTERN TEXAS  
INTO WESTERN KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE. MEANWHILE, THE DAY 5 ERO  
MAINTAINS A BROAD MARGINAL RISK AREA FROM EASTERN TEXAS INTO THE  
SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. HOWEVER, FOR THIS UPDATE, DECIDED TO GO  
AHEAD AND INTRODUCE A TARGETED SLIGHT RISK AREA FROM NORTHERN  
MISSISSIPPI TO SOUTH CENTRAL TENNESSEE AND EXTREME NORTHWEST  
GEORGIA GIVEN INCREASED CONFIDENCE FOR AN AXIS OF HEAVY RAINFALL  
(POTENTIALLY IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES) AMONGST THE LATEST GUIDANCE.  
 
THE NORTHERN SIDE OF THE PRECIPITATION SHIELD MAY CONTAIN ROUNDS  
OF POTENTIALLY DISRUPTIVE WINTRY PRECIPITATION NEXT WEEK. THE  
FAVORED BAND FOR WINTER WEATHER SHOULD EXTEND FROM THE CENTRAL  
PLAINS THROUGH THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, OHIO VALLEY, CENTRAL  
APPALACHIANS, AND MID-ATLANTIC/NORTHEAST WHERE MOISTURE  
OVERRUNNING SOUTHERN TIER FRONTS WILL INTERACT WITH COLD AIR.  
LAST NIGHT'S 50 TO 70 PERCENT PROBABILITIES FOR A QUARTER INCH OF  
LIQUID EQUIVALENT SNOW/SLEET LARGELY REMAIN IN PLACE FROM THE  
CENTRAL APPALACHIANS INTO PARTS OF THE MID-ATLANTIC FOR TUESDAY TO  
WEDNESDAY MORNING, INCLUDING SOME OF THE LARGER I-95 METROPOLITAN  
AREAS. FOR THIS UPDATE, CONFIDENCE INCREASED ENOUGH TO INTRODUCE 70  
TO 90 PERCENT PROBABILITIES FROM THE HIGH ELEVATIONS OF WEST  
VIRGINIA EASTWARD TO NEAR WASHINGTON DC. MEANWHILE SLEET AND  
FREEZING RAIN ARE POSSIBLE BETWEEN THE CHANCES FOR HEAVY RAIN TO  
THE SOUTH AND SNOW TO THE NORTH. STAY TUNED FOR REFINEMENTS TO THE  
FORECAST AS THE PLACEMENT, AMOUNT, AND TYPE OF PRECIPITATION  
REMAINS UNCERTAIN AT ANY INDIVIDUAL LOCATION. THERE MAY BE ANOTHER  
EPISODE OF ENHANCED PRECIPITATION WITH A THURSDAY WAVE, BUT  
SPECIFICS IN TIMING AND THE RAIN/SNOW LINE ARE MORE UNCERTAIN.  
 
PRECIPITATION WILL LIKELY TAPER OFF OVER THE WEST EARLY NEXT WEEK,  
WITH JUST SOME LIGHT AMOUNTS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND PARTS OF  
THE NORTHERN-CENTRAL ROCKIES. MODELS VARY WITH THE CHARACTER OF A  
PACIFIC SYSTEM/ASSOCIATED ATMOSPHERIC RIVER FORECAST TO REACH THE  
WEST LATER IN THE WEEK, BUT GENERALLY SUGGEST SOME AREAS MAY SEE  
SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW. CONTINUE TO MONITOR  
FORECASTS FOR REFINEMENT OF IMPORTANT DETAILS.  
 
NORTHWESTERN AND NORTH-CENTRAL PARTS OF THE LOWER 48 WILL SEE  
COLDER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES NEXT WEEK. THE COLD WILL BE  
ESPECIALLY PRONOUNCED ACROSS MONTANA AND NORTH DAKOTA INTO  
MINNESOTA AS THE WORKWEEK BEGINS, WITH LOWS FORECAST TO BE  
IN THE -10S AND -20S, ALONG WITH SOME BELOW ZERO HIGHS. COLDER  
THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WILL SPREAD SOUTH BEHIND A COLD FRONT  
NEXT WEEK, DISPLACING UNSEASONABLE WARMTH ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER  
DURING THE WEEKEND. WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE  
LIMITED TO FLORIDA AND THE ADJACENT SOUTHEAST BY MIDWEEK.  
INTRODUCTION OF PACIFIC FLOW SHOULD PROMOTE A MODERATING TREND OVER  
THE WESTERN-CENTRAL U.S. BY NEXT FRIDAY (BUT REMAINING QUITE COLD  
OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS).  
 
MILLER/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.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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