333  
FXUS02 KWBC 030657  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
157 AM EST MON MAR 3 2025  
 
VALID 12Z THU MAR 6 2025 - 12Z MON MAR 10 2025  
 
   
..GENERAL OVERVIEW
 
 
THE STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CROSSING THE CENTRAL U.S. EARLY THIS  
WEEK IS EXPECTED TO BE OVER SOUTHERN QUEBEC BY THURSDAY MORNING,  
WITH THE COLD FRONT EXITING THE EAST COAST, FOLLOWED BY COOLER  
CONDITIONS TO CLOSE OUT THE WORK WEEK. OUT WEST, A BROAD UPPER  
TROUGH OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST WILL LIKELY EVOLVE INTO TWO  
SEPARATE SHORTWAVES, WITH ONE MORE PROGRESSIVE AND MERGING WITH THE  
NORTHERN STREAM FLOW, AND THE OTHER LINGERING LONGER OVER THE  
SOUTHERN ROCKIES, PROGRESSING EASTWARD AS A POSITIVELY TILTED  
TROUGH THAT WILL LIKELY SUPPORT A SURFACE LOW NEAR THE GULF COAST  
THROUGH SUNDAY. MEANWHILE, A PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL LIKELY  
APPROACH THE WEST COAST SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY WITH RAIN AND  
MOUNTAIN SNOW RETURNING TO THE REGION.  
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
THE 00Z MODEL GUIDANCE SUITE HAS COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT  
REGARDING THE EXPECTED OVERALL EVOLUTION OF THE WESTERN U.S. UPPER  
TROUGH COMPARED TO THE PAST FEW MODEL CYCLES. IT APPEARS LIKELY  
THAT TWO SEPARATE SURFACE LOWS WILL DEVELOP, WITH THE FIRST ONE  
OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS ON FRIDAY, AND A SECOND ONE NEAR THE GULF  
COAST ON SATURDAY. THE UKMET IS A LITTLE SLOWER WITH THE FIRST LOW  
ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY ON SATURDAY AND FARTHER TO THE NORTH WITH  
THE GULF COAST LOW OVER THE WEEKEND. THE CMC HOLDS THE UPPER TROUGH  
BACK TO THE WEST MORE SO THAN THE BETTER CLUSTERED GFS/ECMWF AND  
THEIR RESPECTIVE MEANS GOING INTO SUNDAY, SO THE BLEND FAVORED MORE  
OF THOSE SOLUTIONS INSTEAD OF THE CMC BY THAT TIME. THE ENSEMBLE  
MEANS WERE GRADUALLY INCREASED TO ABOUT 40-60% BY SUNDAY-MONDAY.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
AN AMPLIFIED UPPER LEVEL TROUGH REACHES THE NORTHEAST U.S. BY  
THURSDAY AFTERNOON, ALONG WITH A STRONG SURFACE LOW THAT WILL  
TRACK ACROSS QUEBEC, WITH SECONDARY SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS NEAR NOVA  
SCOTIA THURSDAY NIGHT. MOST OF THE SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL SHOULD  
ALREADY BE OFF THE COAST BY THIS TIME, WITH SOME LINGERING SHOWERS  
OVER MAINE AND SNOW ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF NEW ENGLAND AND  
UPSTATE NEW YORK.  
 
THE LARGE UPPER TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN U.S. LATE IN THE WEEK, IN  
COMBINATION WITH EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE ENERGY, WILL RESULT IN NUMEROUS  
SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST AND CENTRAL/NORTHERN  
ROCKIES, WITH HEAVY SNOW LIKELY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA, THE  
WASATCH RANGE, AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF WYOMING AND WESTERN  
COLORADO. MAINLY MODERATE HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED FOR SOUTHERN  
CALIFORNIA AND THE PENINSULAR AND TRANSVERSE MOUNTAIN RANGES, AND  
GIVEN RECENT BURN SCAR SENSITIVITIES FOR PORTIONS OF THIS REGION, A  
MARGINAL RISK REMAINS VALID FOR THE NEW DAY 4 PERIOD THURSDAY. THE  
OVERALL QPF SIGNAL IS NOT AS IMPRESSIVE GOING INTO FRIDAY (DAY 5)  
ACROSS THE ROCKIES AND THE CENTRAL PLAINS, AND THEREFORE NO RISK  
AREAS ARE NECESSARY FOR THE DAY 5 PERIOD. LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT  
WEEKEND, SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP  
NEAR THE GULF COAST AS THE SURFACE LOW EVOLVES, AND THE NEXT ROUND  
OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW REACHES THE WEST COAST BY SUNDAY.  
 
COOLER THAN AVERAGE READINGS ARE LIKELY FROM THE INTERMOUNTAIN  
WEST TO THE WESTERN HIGH PLAINS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE UPPER  
TROUGH SITUATED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES FOR THE END OF THE WEEK.  
LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT SUNDAY/MONDAY, THERE WILL LIKELY BE A WARM-  
UP ACROSS THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S., WITH DAYTIME HIGHS POTENTIALLY  
10-20+ DEGREES ABOVE EARLY MARCH AVERAGES, WITH HIGHS POTENTIALLY  
REACHING WELL INTO THE 60S FROM THE DAKOTAS INTO PORTIONS OF THE  
UPPER MIDWEST.  
 
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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