387  
FXUS10 KWNH 231826  
PMDHMD  
MODEL DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
226 PM EDT THU APR 23 2020  
 
VALID APR 23/1200 UTC THRU APR 27/0000 UTC  
 
...SEE NOUS42 KWNO (ADMNFD) FOR THE STATUS OF THE UPPER AIR  
INGEST...  
 
12Z EVALUATION WITH MODEL PREFERENCES AND FORECAST CONFIDENCE  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 
OHIO VALLEY SYSTEM TODAY THROUGH NORTHEAST FRI INTO EARLY SAT...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: GENERAL MODEL BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: THE ECMWF SLOWED A BIT, WHILE THE CMC/UKMET TRENDED A  
BIT FASTER. THERE REMAINS A MODEST SPREAD IN PLACEMENT OF THE  
COASTAL SURFACE LOW, BUT OVERALL A GENERAL MODEL BLEND WILL  
SUFFICE AT SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE CONFIDENCE.  
 
---PRIOR DISCUSSION---  
MATURE CLOSED LOW ACROSS TRI-RIVERS OF W KENTUCKY CONTINUES TO  
PRESS EAST, WITH ACTIVE WARM CONVEYOR BELT WELL DISPLACED FROM THE  
COLD FRONT ACROSS THE LOWER MS VALLEY. GUIDANCE IS FAIRLY SOLID  
INITIALLY, BUT FASTER SOLUTIONS OF THE 12Z GFS/NAM BOTH SUGGEST A  
STRONGER MCV GROWTH OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST SUPPORTING A COASTAL LOW  
TO TAKE OVER THE FILLING SURFACE WAVE THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY BY  
LATER FRIDAY. WHILE THE GFS APPEARS TO BECOME A TAD TO FAST (OUT  
OF ENSEMBLE/CONTINUITY TOLERANCE BY 36HRS), A BLEND WITH THE  
SLIGHTLY SLOWER 00Z ECMWF AND NAM SHOULD OFFSET THE NEGATIVE BIAS.  
THE 00Z CMC IS SIGNIFICANTLY SLOWER AND LINGERS ACROSS THE  
SOUTHEAST AND WESTERN ATLANTIC A TAD TOO MUCH IN THIS PROGRESSIVE  
PATTERN. THE 00Z UKMET IS ALSO SLOW, BUT THAT APPEARS TO BE DUE  
TO THE FACT THERE IS NO MCV REFLECTION/UPSCALE GROWTH MOVING OFF  
THE EAST COAST INTO FRIDAY; SO IT FAVORS A STRONGER INNER CORE TO  
THE FILLING CLOSED LOW, WHICH APPEARS INCREASINGLY LESS LIKELY  
GIVEN OBSERVATIONAL TRENDS. CONFIDENCE IS SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
IN A 12Z NAM/GFS AND 00Z ECMWF BLEND.  
 
CONGLOMERATION OF SHORTWAVES TOWARD MID-MS/OHIO VALLEY SAT/SUN...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: 12Z GFS/ECMWF BLEND (INCL GEFS/ECENS BY D3)  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: THE CMC TRENDED A BIT WEAKER ACROSS AR AND SHIFTED  
NORTH, CLOSER TO THE ECMWF/GFS/NAM SOLUTIONS, BUT EVENTUALLY SLOW  
A BIT. GIVEN THE ECMWF DID TREND SLOWER/SOUTH AS WELL, IT IS  
PLAUSIBLE THE CMC HAS SOME SORT OF HANDLE ON THIS EVOLUTION;  
HOWEVER, WILL CONTINUE TO SUGGEST ITS EXCLUSION AND REMAIN WITH A  
GFS/ECMWF BLEND AT SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE CONFIDENCE.  
 
---PRIOR DISCUSSION---  
BROAD LARGE SCALE RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WITH VERY STRONG  
GLOBAL SCALE VORTEX OVER THE ARCTIC LEAVE A VERY DIFFUSE NORTHWEST  
FLOW PATTERN ACROSS THE WEST INTO THE PLAINS OVER THE NEXT DAY OR  
SO. A JET MAX AND ASSOCIATED SPEED VORTICITY CENTER CURRENTLY  
OVER WA/ID WILL DROP SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND  
SUPPORT A SURFACE WAVE OUT OF THE LEE OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES.  
WITH THE EXITING WAVE THERE IS SUBTLE RIDGING AND WITH UPSTREAM  
UPPER LEVEL JET ENERGY; THE SHORTWAVE IS ABLE TO AMPLIFY ACROSS E  
OK/AR HAVING TAPPED SOME RETURN MOISTURE. THE 00Z CMC BEING MUCH  
SLOWER TO EXIT WITH THE PRIOR WAVE, ALLOWS FOR GREATER RIDGING  
BETWEEN THE SYSTEMS; ALLOWING FOR THE GREATEST DEEPENING AND WELL  
AS SOUTHWARD TRACK. GIVEN THE CMC IS UNFAVORED DOWNSTREAM; IT IS  
EQUALLY DISCOURAGED WITH THIS EVOLUTION.  
 
WHILE THE WAVE IS DEEPENING ON FRIDAY, SMALL NORTHERN STREAM  
SHORTWAVE ENERGY WILL CARVE OUT ACROSS THE MIDWEST AND HELP TO  
DRAW THE GROWING BASE OF THE TROF NORTHWARD. THIS BINARY  
INTERACTION IS ALWAYS A LOWER PREDICTABILITY, AS TIMING OF THE  
INTERACTION IS CRITICAL. ADDITIONALLY, WITH THE AMPLIFICATION,  
ADDITIONAL JET ENERGY IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW WILL FURTHER HELP TO  
SLOW/AMPLIFY THE WAVE. THE UKMET/CMC BOTH SUGGEST UPSTREAM  
DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS BY LATE SATURDAY, WHICH WILL  
ACT MORE OF A KICKER TO THE SYSTEM THAN HELPING TO AMPLIFY IT.  
THE 12Z NAM HAS THIS FEATURE BUT ALSO SHOWS A MUCH STRONGER  
COMPACT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE MID-MS VALLEY ON SAT...PERHAPS  
WITH INCREASED LATENT HEAT RELEASE FROM STRONGER  
CONVECTION...EVENTUALLY HAVING A STRONGER WAVE AND AN UPSTREAM  
KICKER; THE NAM STARTS TO PRESS EASTWARD THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY  
AND MID-ATLANTIC BY SUNDAY. THE 00Z ECMWF AND 12Z GFS EVENTUALLY  
SLOW RELATIVE TO THEIR ENSEMBLE SUITE, SO PERHAPS TRENDING A BIT  
MORE TOWARD THE MEANS PARTICULARLY BY SUNDAY IS PRUDENT GIVEN THE  
PROGRESSIVE PATTERN, THE CONUS HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING. STILL A 12Z  
GFS/00Z ECMWF BLEND IS PREFERRED WITH SOME INCLUSION OF THE 06Z  
GEFS/00Z ECENS ON DAY 3 TO ACCOUNT FOR THE MODERATE UNCERTAINTY.  
GIVEN THE SPREAD, LOWER PREDICTABILITY PATTERN (DUE TO BROAD  
STREAM/BINARY INTERACTIONS) CONFIDENCE IS SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE  
IN THE BLEND.  
 
SHORTWAVE ENTERING PACNW LATE SAT, CLIPPING THROUGH NORTHERN TIER  
BY SUN...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: NON-NAM BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: THE UKMET REMAINS A BIT NORTH OF THE OVERALL SUITE,  
BUT HAS TRENDED TOWARD THE CMC/ECMWF (WHICH KEEP WITH CONTINUITY)  
AND THE GFS. AS SUCH, A NON-NAM BLEND IS PREFERRED AT ABOVE  
AVERAGE CONFIDENCE.  
 
---PRIOR DISCUSSION---  
ACTIVE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE PACIFIC NORTHERLIES WILL PRESS A  
SUBTLE JET MAX AND SHORTWAVE THROUGH VANCOUVER ISLAND BY MIDDAY  
FRIDAY...THIS HELPS TO PRESS THE LARGER SCALE PACIFIC RIDGE A BIT  
EASTWARD IN ADVANCE OF A STRONGER SHORTWAVE THAT APPROACHES LATE  
SAT. THIS WAVE IS FAIRLY COMPACT BUT ALSO A TAD SOUTH. THE 12Z  
NAM IS MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS SOLUTION AND SUPPORTS A COMPACT  
CLOSED LOW OFF THE NORTHWEST TIP OF VANCOUVER ISLAND. THIS IS  
SUPPORTED BY THE GFS, FOLLOWED BY THE CMC AND LESSER SO THE ECMWF  
SOLUTIONS, WHILE THE UKMET IS WELL NORTHEAST WITH THE INNER CORE  
OF THE UPPER LOW. STILL THE TIMING OF THE TROF/FRONTAL ZONE IS  
FAIRLY SOLID WITH SIMILAR FLOW REGIME/STRENGTH MINUS THE NAM.  
THIS CONTINUES AS THE SHORTWAVE PRESSES THROUGH THE CANADIAN  
ROCKIES SAT INTO SUNDAY WITH STRONG SURFACE LEE-CYCLONE PRESSING  
EAST ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL ALBERTA/SASKATCHEWAN. THIS CLIPS THE  
NORTHERN ROW OF COUNTIES WITH SENSIBLE WEATHER BY DAY 3, BUT WITH  
LITTLE FANFARE, HAVING WRUNG OUT THE MOISTURE ACROSS THE COASTAL  
RANGE AND INTO THE ROCKIES OF ID/W MT. SO FOR AFFECTS IN THE  
CONUS, WOULD SUPPORT A NON-UKMET BLEND, BUT WOULD TAMP DOWN OR  
REMOVE THE NAM FOR LIKELY BEST POSSIBLE BLEND. OVERALL, THE  
SPREAD IS FAIRLY SMALL FOR DAY 2-3 AND THE AFFECTS ARE FAIRLY  
SMALL TO HAVE ABOVE AVERAGE CONFIDENCE IN THIS BLEND, ACROSS THE  
CONUS.  
 
FRONTAL ZONE OF GULF OF AK CLOSED LOW APPROACHING PACNW LATE SUN...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
PREFERENCE: NON-UKMET BLEND  
CONFIDENCE: SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE  
 
19Z UPDATE: THE UKMET TRENDED A BIT BETTER BUT REMAINS A BIT TOO  
FAST GIVEN THE OTHERWISE TIGHTER CLUSTER. THE ECMWF ALSO TRENDED  
A BIT SLOWER BUT STILL WELL WITHIN THE ENSEMBLE SUITE AND NEAR THE  
12Z CMC, GFS. AS SUCH WILL KEEP WITH NON-UKMET BLEND AT SLIGHTLY  
ABOVE AVERAGE CONFIDENCE.  
 
---PRIOR DISCUSSION---  
 
THE NEXT STRONG SHORTWAVE HELPS TO ANCHOR THE LARGER SCALE TROUGH  
INTO THE GULF OF AK BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. WHILE  
THERE ARE SOME RESIDUAL DIFFERENCES DUE TO THE PRIOR SHORTWAVE  
EXITING (IE THE ECMWF/CMC A BIT NORTH; GFS/NAM A BIT FURTHER  
SOUTH), THERE IS ACTUALLY SOLID MODEL AGREEMENT FOR THE  
TIMING/STRENGTH AND POSITION OF CLOSED LOW OFF OF HAIDA GWAII BY  
00Z MONDAY. WHILE THE FRONT IS STILL WELL OFFSHORE, ITS AFFECTS  
START TO ENCROACH THE PACIFIC NW. BEING A TAD NORTH, THE MOISTURE  
TRANSPORT (QPF) IS DELAYED IN THE CMC/ECMWF RELATIVE TO THE  
FASTER/SOUTH GFS/NAM. ONLY THE UKMET IS WELL TOO FAST, TOO STRONG  
(LIKELY DUE TO TIMING WITH THE PRIOR SYSTEM, ACCELERATING IT  
EASTWARD EARLIER), ENOUGH TO SUGGEST A NON-UKMET BLEND THIS FAR  
OUT IN THE FORECAST PERIOD AT FAIRLY HIGH CONFIDENCE (SLIGHTLY  
ABOVE AVERAGE).  
 
MODEL TRENDS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/HTML/MODEL2.SHTML  
500 MB FORECASTS AT WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/H5PREF/H5PREF.SHTML  
 
GALLINA  
 
 
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