095  
FXUS02 KWBC 131959  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
359 PM EDT WED MAY 13 2026  
 
VALID 12Z SAT MAY 16 2026 - 12Z WED MAY 20 2026  
 
   
..CENTRAL U.S. HEAVY RAINFALL/RUNOFF AND SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
 
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT
 
 
THE LATEST GUIDANCE CAPTURES THE EVOLUTION FROM A ZONAL FLOW  
PATTERN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD, THIS WEEKEND, TO A MORE  
AMPLIFIED ONE NEXT WEEK. THERE'S UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE TIMING AND  
AMPLITUDE OF CERTAIN EMBEDDED SHORTWAVES WITHIN THE BROADER DIGGING  
TROUGH IN THE WEST NEXT WEEK. THERE'S CONSENSUS ON A BROAD  
DIFFLUENT PATTERN SETTING UP OVER THE CENTRAL U.S., WHICH WILL  
SUPPORT SEVERE STORMS AND HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL. THERE'S ALSO A  
STRONG SIGNAL FOR AN STRONG UPPER RIDGE TO SET UP OVER THE EAST.  
 
A GENERAL MODEL BLEND CONSISTING OF THE AVAILABLE DETERMINISTIC  
GUIDANCE WAS USED ON DAY 3, FOLLOWED BY SOME INCLUSION OF AN  
ENSEMBLE MEAN ON DAY 4 DUE TO SOME OF THAT UNCERTAINTY OUT WEST.  
MEANS ARE GRADUALLY INCREASED IN THE BLEND THROUGH THE END OF THE  
PERIOD DUE TO SOME NOTABLE DIFFERENCES IN ANOTHER POTENTIAL SPLIT  
FLOW PATTERN ILLUSTRATED BY THE DETERMINISTIC MODELS.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS
 
 
ENERGETIC UPPER TROUGH/DEEPENED SURFACE LOW EJECTION OVER SOUTH-  
CENTRAL THEN EASTERN CANADA WILL LAY DOWN A TRAILING FRONT WITH  
FROM THE NORTH-CENTRAL U.S TO THE NORTHEAST. IMPULSES, RIGHT  
ENTRANCE REGION UPPER JET LIFT AND MOISTURE/INSTABILITY FOCUS INTO  
THE UPPER MIDWEST PORTION OF THIS FRONT MAY SUPPORT EMERGING  
CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT AND POTENTIAL FOR LOCAL TRAINING HAS  
PROMPTED THE EXPANSION OF A WPC EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK  
MARGINAL RISK AREA VALID FOR DAY 5/SUNDAY.  
 
FARTHER UPSTREAM SYSTEM ENERGIES SUBSEQUENTLY WORK INTO THE WEST  
AND DOWNSTREAM UP ACROSS THE CENTRAL U.S. WITH LESS CERTAINTY THIS  
WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK IN AMPLIFYING FLOW. PASSAGE MAY YIELD  
ENHANCED WEEKEND WINDS AND WILDFIRE THREAT POTENTIAL ACROSS THE  
SOUTHERN ROCKIES/HIGH PLAINS. THERE IS ALSO THEN AN INCREASING  
SIGNAL THAT PLAINS CYCLOGENESIS/FRONTOGENESIS, UPPER JET SUPPORT  
AND GROWING LEAD GULF RETURN FLOW MAY FURTHER SET THE STAGE TO  
FUEL AN EXPANDING CENTRAL U.S. CONVECTIVE RAINFALL/RUNOFF AND  
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT PATTERN TO MONITOR AS INDICATED BY SPC.  
 
MEANWHILE, AN EASTWARD SPREADING UPPER RIDGE WILL SPREAD WELL  
ABOVE NORMAL PRE-FRONTAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE CENTRAL TO EASTERN  
U.S. DOWNSTREAM THIS PERIOD THAT MAY SUPPORT SOME LOCAL HIGH  
TEMPERATURE VALUES. TO THE SOUTH, LOW LEVEL ONSHORE FLOW WILL BRING  
SHOWER INTO FLORIDA IN PROXIMITY TO UPPER LOW DEVELOPMENT  
NEAR/EAST OF THE BAHAMAS.  
 
KEBEDE/SCHICHTEL  
 
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, EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK, WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK PROBABILITIES, HEAT INDICES AND KEY MESSAGES ARE AT:  
 
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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