013  
FOUS30 KWBC 170828  
QPFERD  
 
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
328 AM EST MON NOV 17 2025  
 
DAY 1  
VALID 12Z MON NOV 17 2025 - 12Z TUE NOV 18 2025  
 
...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL FOR PARTS OF  
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA...  
 
A VIGOROUS MID-LEVEL WAVE (INITIALLY CENTERED NEAR 39.9N, 125.5W  
AT THE START OF THE FORECAST PERIOD) WILL MIGRATE SOUTH-  
SOUTHEASTWARD ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST TODAY WHILE CUTTING OFF  
FROM WESTERLIES FARTHER NORTH. AS THIS OCCURS, STRONG ASCENT  
(ASSOCIATED WITH AREAS OF 0.3-0.6 INCH/HR RAIN RATES IN NORTHERN  
CALIFORNIA THIS MORNING) WILL SPREAD SOUTHEASTWARD ALONG A COLD  
FRONT AND ALSO WITHIN A ROBUST UPSLOPE REGIME ON THE WESTERN SIDES  
OF THE SIERRA. 1-1.2 INCH PW VALUES NEAR THE COAST AND AFOREMENTIONED  
SYNOPTIC FACTORS WILL FOSTER SEVERAL AREAS OF 1-2 INCH RAINFALL  
TOTALS, WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE TRANSVERSE  
RANGES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  
 
THE AFOREMENTIONED FRONT WILL RESULT IN A FOCUSED AXIS OF HEAVY  
RAIN THAT WILL TRANSLATE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH ALONG THE SOUTHERN  
CALIFORNIA COAST. ACROSS THE SLIGHT RISK AREA, THIS HEAVY RAINFALL  
WILL OCCUR OVER BOTH SENSITIVE LOCALES (FROM RECENT BURN SCARS AND  
DEBRIS FLOWS) AND URBAN/HYDROPHOBIC SURFACES. THE GREATEST  
CONCENTRATION OF FLASH FLOOD RISK WILL LIKELY OCCUR ACROSS THE  
TRANSVERSE RANGES AND ADJACENT AREAS OF LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN  
AREA THROUGH TONIGHT.  
 
OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA, MODELS INDICATE VERY ISOLATED, BUT SLOW-  
MOVING CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY BENEATH THE UPPER LOW CENTER ACROSS  
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA, WITH HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIALLY  
FALLING OVER SOAKED GROUND CONDITIONS AND BURN SCARS. ISOLATED  
FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL CANNOT BE RULED OUT HERE.  
 
LASTLY, THE CUTTING OFF UPPER LOW WILL SPREAD STRONG MID/UPPER  
DIFLUENCE ACROSS THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY ESPECIALLY IN THE  
03-12Z TIMEFRAME. MODELS ARE CONSISTENT IN DEVELOPING AT LEAST ONE  
OR TWO BANDS OF CONVECTIVE STRUCTURES THAT DRIFT NORTHWARD ACROSS  
THE AREA FAIRLY QUICKLY, BUT ALSO RESULT IN LOCALIZED TRAINING. ONE  
OR TWO INSTANCES OF FLASH FLOODING CANNOT BE RULED OUT IN THIS  
REGIME.  
 
COOK  
 
DAY 2  
VALID 12Z TUE NOV 18 2025 - 12Z WED NOV 19 2025  
 
...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL FOR PORTIONS OF  
THE SOUTHWEST AND LOWER GREAT BASIN...  
 
MAINTAINED THE PREVIOUS;Y ISSUED MARGINAL RISK AREA OVER PORTIONS  
OF ARIZONA WITH LITTLE NEED FOR MORE THAN COSMETIC CHANGES IN  
DEFERENCE TO THE MODEL GUIDANCE. A CLOSED LOW WITHIN A BROADER  
TROUGH DIGS SOUTHWARD ALONG THE THE WEST COAST OF THE US AND THEN  
STARTS TO MOVE INLAND LATE. THE OVERALL SYNOPTIC PATTERN SEEMS TO  
BE HANDLED COMPARABLY BY THE ECMWF/GFS AND UK MODELS FOR MUCH OF  
DAY 2 BUT SOME OF THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES IN THE DETAILS RESULT IN  
NON-NEGLIGIBLE DIFFERENCES IN QPF AND THE ATTENDANT RISK OF  
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL.  
 
PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES GET NEAR 2 STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL  
FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR IN SOUTHERN-WESTERN AZ AND MOST-UNSTABLE  
CAPE VALUES CLIMB ABOVE 500 J/KG SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM AND INTO  
THE DESERTS AND PHOENIX METRO. THIS WILL MAINTAIN THE RISK OF  
ELEVATED (0.50"+) HOURLY RAINFALL RATES TUE-TUE NIGHT AS NOTED FROM  
THE RRFS EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITIES (THROUGH 00Z WED), WHILE ALSO  
IMPLIED FROM THE 16/12Z RRFS 3-HOURLY QPFS. MUCH LIKE THE MODELS  
FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON...THE 24HR QPF GUIDANCE FROM THE 17/00Z MODEL  
CYCLE HAS COME UP. AT THIS POINT THERE IS STILL NOT ENOUGH  
CONFIDENCE FROM A DURATION PERSPECTIVE TO UPGRADE TO A SLIGHT RISK  
OVER THE LOWER TERRAIN SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM, WHICH WOULD  
CONCEIVABLY INCLUDE THE PHOENIX AREA, BUT THE POTENTIAL TO DO SO  
WILL EXIST OVER THE NEXT DAY OR SO. THE MACHINE-LEARNING FIRST  
GUESS FIELDS ALSO HIGHLIGHT PART OF THE MARGINAL RISK AREA WITH  
SOME SPOTTY 5 TO 10 PERCENT OF EXCEEDING FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE. AT  
THIS POINT...THE MACHINE-LEARNING COVERS ONLY THE FIRST HALF OF DAY  
2...SO THE UPCOMING DAY SHIFT WILL HAVE A COMPLETE LOOK AT THE  
OBJECTIVE GUIDANCE FOR THE DAY 2 PERIOD.  
 
BANN  
 
DAY 3  
VALID 12Z WED NOV 19 2025 - 12Z THU NOV 20 2025  
 
...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OVER PORTIONS OF  
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS TO A PORTION OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY...  
 
A MID- AND UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH WILL BE MAKING ITS WAY EASTWARD  
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN ON WEDNESDAY AND INTO  
EARLY THURSDAY. EAST OF THAT SYSTEM...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL START  
TO BE DRAWN NORTHWARD WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE 60S BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON  
WHICH SHOULD HELP FEED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE AFTERNOON  
INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT/EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. MOST UNSTABLE CAPE  
PUSHES 1000 J PER KG AND PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES IN EXCESS OF  
1.5 INCHES BECOMES ESTABLISHED FROM PARTS OF SOUTH-CENTRSL TEXAS  
INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN ARKANSAS. BASED ON THE  
GEFS...THE PRECIPITABLE WATER AXIS IS ROUGHLY BETWEEN 2 AND 2.5  
STANDARDIZED ANOMALIES ABOVE CLIMATOLOGY FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.  
BASED ON THAT COMBINATION...SUSPECT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL RATES  
ARE POSSIBLE. THERE HAS BEEN A TENDENCY FOR THE UPPER TROUGH TO  
SLOW ITS FORWARD SPEED WITH A SIMILAR DELAY IN CONVECTION  
INITIATION. WITH THE EVENT SPANNING INTO THURSDAY WITH BROADER  
AREAL COVERAGE AND AN INCREASING RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL (SEE  
WPC MEDIUM RANGE GRAPHICS AND DISCUSSIONS FOR FURTHER  
DETAILS)...OPTED TO MAINTAIN THE MARGINAL RISK ON THE UNCERTAINTY  
OF TIMING.  
 
BANN  
 
DAY 1 THREAT AREA: HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/QPF/94EPOINTS.TXT  
DAY 2 THREAT AREA: HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/QPF/98EPOINTS.TXT  
DAY 3 THREAT AREA: HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/QPF/99EPOINTS.TXT  
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