751  
FXUS02 KWBC 120708  
PMDEPD  
 
EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
308 AM EDT WED AUG 12 2026  
 
VALID 12Z SAT AUG 15 2026 - 12Z WED AUG 19 2026  
 
   
..HAZARDOUS HEAT IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST U.S  
 
...HEAVY RAIN THREATS FOR THE SOUTHWEST, ROCKIES, MIDWEST, AND  
MID-ATLANTIC...  
 
   
..OVERVIEW  
 
A BROAD UPPER RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD THROUGH MID-WEEK ACROSS  
THE SOUTHERN TIER, BRINGING A PROLONGED PERIOD OF HAZARDOUS HEAT  
ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S. AND SOUTHEAST. FURTHERMORE, AN ACTIVE  
REGIME CONTINUES AS SHORTWAVE ENERGY PROGRESSES THROUGH THE  
NORTHERN STREAM. THIS WILL LEAD TO CYCLOGENESIS OVER THE NORTHERN  
PLAINS. MULTIPLE CONVECTIVE EPISODES ARE POSSIBLE FROM PARTS OF THE  
PLAINS/MIDWEST INTO THE GREAT LAKES, MID-ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST,  
LEADING TO FLOODING CONCERNS. HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE  
WITH DAILY MONSOONAL THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE SOUTHWEST INTO THE  
GREAT BASIN AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES.  
 
   
..GUIDANCE/PREDICTABILITY ASSESSMENT  
 
THE LATEST GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW REASONABLE AGREEMENT ON THE  
LARGER-SCALE PATTERN, BUT MEANINGFUL SPREAD DEVELOPS WITH THE  
EVOLUTION OF INDIVIDUAL SHORTWAVES AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE FEATURES.  
ENSEMBLE MEANS PROVIDE A MORE STABLE SIGNAL THAN THE  
DETERMINISTIC, PARTICULARLY TOWARDS LATE PERIOD. THE FORECAST  
THEREFORE FAVORS A MULTI-MODEL APPROACH, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE  
ECMWF/ECMEANS AND GFS/GEFS FOR THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN. CONFIDENCE IS  
HIGHER IN THE BROAD PLACEMENT OF RIDGING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER  
AND THE PRESENCE OF PERIODIC SHORTWAVE ENERGY WITHIN THE ZONAL FLOW  
ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL STATES, WHILE CONFIDENCE IS LOWER  
ON THE TIMING AND MAGNITUDE OF INDIVIDUAL SURFACE WAVES AND THEIR  
ASSOCIATED PRECIPITATION MAXIMA.  
 
   
..WEATHER/HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTS  
 
THE PERSISTENT UPPER RIDGE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER WILL CONTINUE  
TO SUPPORT WIDESPREAD WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE  
SOUTH- CENTRAL U.S. TO THE SOUTHEAST. PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN  
PLAINS AND LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL REACH THE LOWER 100S,  
WHILE WIDESPREAD 90S EXTEND EASTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST. HIGH DEW  
POINTS/HUMIDITY WILL KEEP HEAT INDICES ELEVATED, RESULTING IN  
DANGEROUS HEAT CONDITIONS, AND RECORD WARM OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES  
WILL PROVIDE LITTLE RELIEF. WIDESPREAD MAJOR TO EXTREME HEATRISK  
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THESE REGIONS. SEVERAL CONSECUTIVE  
DAYS OF HIGH HEAT STRESS CAN LEAD TO HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES.  
 
MEANWHILE, MONSOONAL MOISTURE AND FLOW EMBEDDED VORTS WILL CHANNEL  
OVER THE SOUTHWEST, GREAT BASIN, AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES BETWEEN AN  
EASTERN PACIFIC UPPER TROUGH AND THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE  
SOUTHERN U.S. UPPER RIDGE THIS PERIOD. THIS WILL LEAD TO DAILY  
ROUNDS OF SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS, PARTICULARLY OVER  
PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL PLAINS, WHERE THE DAY  
4/SATURDAY AND DAY 5/SUNDAY EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK (ERO)  
DEPICTS A BROAD MARGINAL RISK AREA ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHWEST  
INTO CENTRAL PLAINS, WHILE A SLIGHT RISK FOCUSES IN ON NORTHEAST  
COLORADO ON DAY 4. SOME STORMS WILL PRODUCE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL  
OVER SHORT PERIODS WHILE MOVING RATHER SLOWLY. REPEATED CONVECTION  
MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING IN VULNERABLE TERRAIN, INCLUDING BURN  
SCARS, SLOT CANYONS, AND URBANIZED AREAS. OVER INTO THE PACIFIC  
NORTHWEST, THE APPROACHING TROUGH WILL BRING SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS  
BY EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHERN-STREAM FLOW WILL  
INTERACT WITH A MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS ALONG A FRONTAL BOUNDARY  
FROM THE NORTHERN PLAINS INTO THE MIDWEST, WHICH WILL LEAD TO  
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE WEEKEND. ABUNDANT  
LOW- LEVEL MOISTURE, INSTABILITY, AND FORCING WILL SUPPORT  
CLUSTERED CONVECTION. ADDITIONALLY, SLOW- MOVING STORMS COULD  
RESULT IN LOCALLY EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING,  
PARTICULARLY ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE UPPER MIDWEST WHERE THERE IS A  
SLIGHT RISK FOR DAY 4/SATURDAY ERO, WHILE A BROAD MARGINAL RISK  
HIGHLIGHTS PARTS OF THE MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES. ON SUNDAY, THE  
FOCUS FOR ORGANIZED CONVECTION AND HEAVY RAINFALL SHIFTS TOWARDS  
PORTIONS OF THE GREAT LAKES, OHIO VALLEY/MID- ATLANTIC, AND  
NORTHEAST AS THE FRONTAL SYSTEM ADVANCES EASTWARD, WHICH IS  
HIGHLIGHTED IN DAY 5/SUNDAY ERO. BY MONDAY, THE SURFACE LOW MOVES  
INTO THE NORTHEAST BRINGING ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS  
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE NORTHEAST, MID- ATLANTIC, AND SOUTHEAST  
ALONG THE BOUNDARY AND SURFACE TROUGH.  
 
OUDIT/DOLAN  
 
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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