468  
FXUS10 KWNH 311845  
PMDHMD  
 
MODEL DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
145 PM EST FRI JAN 31 2020  
 
VALID JAN 31/1200 UTC THRU FEB 04/0000 UTC  
 
...SEE NOUS42 KWNO (ADMNFD) FOR THE STATUS OF THE UPPER AIR  
INGEST...  
 
12Z MODEL EVALUATION WITH FINAL PREFERENCES AND CONFIDENCE  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 
...EVOLUTION OF TROUGH OVER EASTERN HALF OF THE U.S. THROUGH  
SUNDAY...  
...COASTAL LOW TRACKING NORTH OFFSHORE OF NEW ENGLAND LATE  
SATURDAY...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: GENERAL MODEL BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
   
..19Z UPDATE
 
 
THE 12Z ECMWF/UKMET/CMC ADJUSTED TOWARD THE 12Z GFS IDEA OF HAVING  
A STRONGER/SOUTHWARD BASE WITHIN THE NORTHERN STREAM PORTION OF  
THE MID-LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE NORTHEAST SATURDAY NIGHT. THE 12Z  
NAM NOW APPEARS SLIGHTLY WEAK WITH THIS FEATURE BUT IT IS CLOSE  
ENOUGH TO BE INCLUDED AS PART OF A GENERAL MODEL BLEND. SURFACE  
LOW AGREEMENT ALSO INCREASED OFFSHORE OF NEW ENGLAND, WITH  
DIFFERENCES NOT BECOMING MORE SIGNIFICANT UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING  
OFFSHORE OF NOVA SCOTIA.  
   
..PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS
 
 
AN ELONGATED MID-LEVEL TROUGH AXIS WITH NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN  
STREAM COMPONENTS WILL TRACK TO THE EASTERN U.S. THROUGH SATURDAY  
EVENING. DOWNSTREAM OF THE TROUGH AXIS, SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS IS  
EXPECTED TO OCCUR OFF OF THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST ON SATURDAY,  
TRACKING NORTH OFFSHORE OF NEW ENGLAND THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. THE  
AGREEABLE ENSEMBLE MEANS WERE USED AS A BASELINE FOR WHERE THE  
DETERMINISTIC MODELS SHOULD LIE. THE BASE OF THE NORTHERN  
COMPONENT OF THE TROUGH AXIS SHOWS SOME DIFFERENCES SATURDAY NIGHT  
NEAR THE NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC REGION. THE 00Z UKMET IS WEAKER AND  
NORTH WITH THE BASE OF THE TROUGH WHILE THE 00Z CMC IS DEEPER AND  
FARTHER SOUTH. THE REMAINING 12Z NAM, 00Z ECMWF AND 12Z GFS ARE  
SIMILAR BUT THE 12Z GFS IS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH THE STRENGTH  
OF THE BASE OF THE TROUGH AXIS. A BLEND OF THE 12Z GFS WITH THE  
12Z NAM AND 00Z ECMWF ARE RECOMMENDED SINCE THEY FALL WITHIN THE  
MIDDLE OF THE LATEST SPREAD AND MATCH SIMILARLY TO THE LATEST  
ENSEMBLE MEANS.  
 
REGARDING THE OFFSHORE SURFACE LOW, THERE IS GOOD AGREEMENT WITH  
TRACK UNTIL THE LOW IS OFFSHORE OF NOVA SCOTIA, WITH A 12Z GFS AND  
00Z ECMWF BLEND LIKELY CLOSEST TO THE MIDDLE OF THE MINOR SPREAD  
UNTIL THAT POINT. REGARDING STRENGTH, A BLEND OF THE 12Z NAM, 12Z  
GFS AND 00Z ECMWF IS REASONABLE, NOT INCLUDING THE WEAKER/OUTLIER  
00Z CMC.  
 
...PACIFIC NORTHWEST ATMOSPHERIC RIVER LEADING A LONGWAVE TROUGH  
PUSHING INTO THE WEST ON SUNDAY...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: BLEND OF NON 12Z GFS GUIDANCE  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
   
..19Z UPDATE
 
 
NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED WITH THE 12Z ECMWF/UKMET/CMC  
COMPARED TO THEIR PREVIOUS 00Z CYCLES.  
   
..PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS
 
 
THERE IS REASONABLE AGREEMENT WITH THE EVOLUTION OF A LONGWAVE  
TROUGH ACROSS THE WEST COAST INTO THE GREAT BASIN INTO EARLY NEXT  
WEEK. HOWEVER, THE 12Z GFS WAS NOTED TO BE A BIT QUICKER THAN THE  
CONSENSUS WITH THE LEADING EDGE OF THE TROUGH BY EARLY SUNDAY. THE  
FASTER GFS ALSO STANDS OUT WHEN VIEWING ENSEMBLE SPAGHETTI HEIGHTS  
(540 DAM AT 500 MB), WITH A TIGHTENING OF ENSEMBLE MEMBERS TOWARD  
THE 00Z ECMWF MEAN OVER THE PAST FEW CYCLES VALID MONDAY EVENING  
BUT WITH THE 12Z GFS AHEAD OF 95% OF THE AVAILABLE ENSEMBLE  
MEMBERS. A NON 12Z GFS BLEND OF GUIDANCE LOOKS REASONABLE FOR THE  
WESTERN U.S. TROUGH SINCE DIFFERENCES AMONG THE NON-GFS  
DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE ARE MINOR.  
 
...LEADING SHORTWAVE TRACKING THROUGH SOUTHERN CANADA ON SUNDAY  
WITH ACCOMPANYING SURFACE LOW...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: GENERAL MODEL BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE  
 
   
..19Z UPDATE
 
 
ONLY MINOR TIMING ADJUSTMENTS WERE NOTED WITH THE 12Z  
ECMWF/UKMET/CMC COMPARED TO THEIR PREVIOUS 00Z CYCLES. A GENERAL  
MODEL BLEND STILL LOOKS REASONABLE FOR THIS PORTION OF THE COUNTRY.  
   
..PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS
 
 
A LOW AMPLITUDE SHORTWAVE AT THE LEADING EDGE OF HEIGHT FALLS  
ACROSS THE WESTERN U.S. WILL TRACK THROUGH SOUTHERN CANADA  
SUNDAY/SUNDAY NIGHT WITH A CORRESPONDING LOW AT THE SURFACE. A  
WARM FRONT WILL EXTEND SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE LOW AND IMPACT THE  
GREAT LAKES AND NEW ENGLAND WITH WARM ADVECTION DRIVEN  
PRECIPITATION. WHILE THE 12Z GFS IS SLIGHTLY FASTER AND 00Z ECMWF  
A BIT SLOWER, THE DIFFERENCES ARE SMALL ENOUGH THAT A GENERAL  
MODEL BLEND LOOKS APPROPRIATE FOR THIS SYSTEM.  
 
MODEL TRENDS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/HTML/MODEL2.HTML  
500 MB FORECASTS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/H5PREF/H5PREF.SHTML  
 
OTTO  
 

 
 
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