231  
FXUS10 KWNH 021847  
PMDHMD  
 
MODEL DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
246 PM EDT THU APR 02 2020  
 
VALID APR 02/1200 UTC THRU APR 06/0000 UTC  
 
...SEE NOUS42 KWNO (ADMNFD) FOR THE STATUS OF THE UPPER AIR  
INGEST...  
 
12Z MODEL EVALUATION WITH PREFERENCES AND CONFIDENCE  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
   
..WESTERN ATLANTIC CLOSED LOW AND OFFSHORE SURFACE LOW
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: GENERAL MODEL BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: THE 12Z ECMWF/UKMET/CMC OFFER VERY SIMILAR SOLUTIONS  
TO THE EARLIER GFS/NAM WITH THE EVOLUTION OF THE CLOSED UPPER  
LEVEL LOW AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW THROUGH 48 HOURS. NO CHANGE  
IN THE MODEL PREFERENCE IS NEEDED FOR THE FINAL PREFERENCE.  
 
---PREVIOUS DISCUSSION---  
SEVERAL LOBES OF VORTICITY WILL PIVOT AROUND A LARGE CLOSED UPPER  
LEVEL LOW CURRENTLY CENTERED NEAR 40N/62W, WITH ONE PARTICULAR  
PIECE OF ENERGY SEEN IN RECENT WATER VAPOR OVER QUEBEC/ONTARIO. IN  
THE HIGHLY AMPLIFIED AND BLOCKY PATTERN, THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL  
BE SLOW TO MOVE EAST OVER THE NEXT 24-36 HOURS ACROSS THE WESTERN  
ATLANTIC OCEAN. THE SURFACE LOW WILL RETROGRADE AND DRIFT  
SOUTHWEST, MAKING ITS CLOSET APPROACH TO CAPE COD BY 12Z FRIDAY.  
MODEL DIFFERENCES THIS CYCLE ARE FAIRLY MINIMAL AND THE MOST  
RECENT GFS/NAM OFFER VERY SIMILAR SOLUTIONS OVER THE NEXT 36  
HOURS. BETWEEN 00Z AND 12Z SATURDAY, THE UPPER LEVEL LOW BEGINS TO  
EXIT THE AREA. AT THE SURFACE, THE 00Z UKMET IS THE FURTHEST WEST  
WHILE THE 00Z CMC IS ON THE EASTERN END OF THE MODEL SPREAD, BUT  
OVERALL THERE IS MINIMAL DIFFERENCES. GIVEN THE INCREASED  
CONSENSUS AND MODEL TIGHTENING, A GENERAL MODEL BLEND SHOULD  
SUFFICE FOR THE MODEL MASS FIELDS THROUGH THE NEXT 48 HOURS.  
   
..UPPER MIDWEST/GREAT PLAINS/MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: NON-UKMET BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WITH THE REST OF THE GUIDANCE  
NOW AVAILABLE. THE 12Z UKMET REMAINS AN OUTLIER WITH ITS EVOLUTION  
OF THE MID/UPPER LEVEL ENERGY OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES DAY 2/3,  
AS IT IS MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE INITIAL SHORTWAVE AND THEN  
RESULTS IN UPSTREAM RIDGING WHILE THE OTHER MODELS ARE MUCH  
SLOWER. WILL STILL LEAN ON A NON-UKMET BLEND AT THIS TIME.  
 
---PREVIOUS DISCUSSION---  
LARGE SCALE TROUGHING OVER ALBERTA WILL PUSH A SERIES OF  
SHORTWAVES ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST AND  
GREAT LAKES REGIONS OVER THE PERIOD. WITH A PARENT SURFACE LOW  
DEVELOPING WELL SOUTH IN THE CENTRAL PLAINS, A SECONDARY/WEAKER  
LOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST FRIDAY INTO  
SATURDAY. ALOFT, THE SHORTWAVE IS WELL AGREED UPON BY THE LATEST  
MODEL GUIDANCE. THE GFS AND NAM TO SOME DEGREE ARE A BIT FASTER  
THAN THE REST OF THE GUIDANCE, BUT ITS DIFFERENCES ARE FAIRLY  
MINOR. THE NOTABLE DIFFERENCE HOWEVER IS IN THE UKMET, WHICH IS  
NOT NEARLY AS AMPLIFIED WITH THE TROUGH AXIS FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT.  
QPF DIFFERENCES ARE MOST APPARENT WITH THE NAM, WHICH IS FURTHER  
WEST WITH ITS HEAVIEST QPF AXIS FOR THE 6-HOUR PERIODS LATE  
TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. BUT OVERALL WITH THE MASS FIELDS, THE  
UKMET REMAINS THE BIGGEST OUTLIER AND WILL GO WITH A NON-UKMET  
BLEND FOR THIS AREA.  
   
..NORTHERN ROCKIES
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: GENERAL MODEL BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GFS AND THE REST OF THE  
12Z GUIDANCE NOW APPEARS MINIMAL ENOUGH TO CHANGE THE PREFERENCE  
TO A GENERAL MODEL BLEND.  
 
---PREVIOUS DISCUSSION---  
LARGE CLOSED LOW SITUATED OVER NORTH-CENTRAL ALBERTA WILL HAVE A  
COUPLE OF SHORTWAVES ROUNDING THE BASE THROUGH THE NORTHERN  
ROCKIES OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, ONE FRIDAY AND ANOTHER  
SATURDAY MORNING. MODELS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE  
PASSAGE OF THESE FEATURES WITH THE ONE NOTABLE EXCEPTION BEING THE  
12Z GFS WHICH SHOWS A FASTER PROGRESSION THAN THE REST OF THE  
MODELS. THE SURFACE LOW THAT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA IS FAIRLY WELL  
AGREED UPON AS WELL SPATIALLY AND TEMPORALLY. QPF AMOUNTS DURING  
THIS TIME FRAME ARE FAIRLY LIGHT AND SIMILAR BETWEEN THE  
GFS/ECMWF/UKMET/CMC BUT GIVEN THE TIMING ISSUE WITH THE GFS, WILL  
CONTINUE WITH A NON-GFS BLEND.  
   
..WEST COAST
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: BLEND OF THE 12Z ECMWF AND 12Z GFS  
CONFIDENCE: AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THE REST OF THE 12Z GUIDANCE NOW  
AVAILABLE. THE UKMET AND CMC CAME IN WITH A FLATTER AND SLIGHTLY  
MORE PROGRESSIVE INITIAL SHORTWAVE, WHICH IS TRENDING TOWARD THE  
EARLIER ECMWF, ECENS, AND GEFS MEANS. NOW, THE SPREAD BETWEEN THE  
FASTER GFS/NAM AND THE REST OF THE GUIDANCE IS LESS, AND MORE OF  
THE DETERMINISTIC MODELS CAN BE INCORPORATED. FOR THE SECONDARY  
SHORTWAVE/IMPULSE THAT CLOSES OFF LATE IN THE WEEKEND, THE  
GUIDANCE ALSO TRENDED TOGETHER AND THE OVERALL SPREAD SEEN IN THE  
DETERMINISTIC MODELS TOWARD 84 HOURS IS MUCH LESS. A BLEND TOWARD  
THE GFS/ECMWF WOULD BE A CONSENSUS APPROACH AND IS PREFERRED NOW.  
THE FORECAST CONFIDENCE WILL BE PUMPED UP TO AVERAGE NOW.  
 
---PREVIOUS DISCUSSION---  
A PAIR OF SHORTWAVE TROUGHS WILL DROP SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE  
EASTERN PACIFIC TOWARD THE CALIFORNIA COAST OVER THE NEXT FEW  
DAYS. THE FIRST IMPULSE ARRIVES ON SATURDAY AND THERE ARE SOME  
SIZABLE MODEL DIFFERENCES NOTED. THE 12Z GFS AND NAM SHOW A FASTER  
AND FLATTER PROGRESSION AS THE ENERGY MOVES ONSHORE. MEANWHILE,  
THE UKMET/CMC OFFER A MORE AMPLIFIED SOLUTION WHICH IS SLOWER. THE  
00Z ECMWF LIES IN BETWEEN, MORE PRONOUNCED THAN THE GFS/NAM CAMP  
BUT SLOWER TIMING MORE SIMILAR TO THE UKMET/CMC SIDE. THE  
DETERMINISTIC ECMWF ACTUALLY MIRRORS FAIRLY WELL THE 00Z ECENS AND  
06Z GEFS MEANS. SO GIVEN THE TIMING AND SPATIAL SPREAD, THE  
INITIAL PREFERENCE FOR THIS FEATURE IS FAVORED TOWARD THE ECENS  
AND GEFS MEANS ALONG WITH THE DETERMINISTIC ECMWF.  
 
THE SECOND IMPULSE THAT ROTATES THROUGH IS LARGER AND CLOSES OFF  
THE CALIFORNIA COAST BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
MODEL DIFFERENCES ARE NOTABLE, WITH A SIZABLE LATITUDINAL SPREAD  
IN THE LOW CENTER RANGING FROM THE FURTHER NORTH UKMET TO THE NAM  
WHICH IS ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE MODEL SPREAD. HERE AGAIN, THE  
ECENS AND GEFS ARE FAIRLY AGREEABLE THROUGH 84 HOURS AND SHOW  
SIMILARITIES TO THE DETERMINISTIC ECMWF.  
 
MODEL TRENDS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/HTML/MODEL2.SHTML  
500 MB FORECASTS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/H5PREF/H5PREF.SHTML  
 
TAYLOR  
 

 
 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.

The Nexlab HPC Page Main Text Page