Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
106 PM EDT Sun Aug 07 2022
Valid 12Z Wed Aug 10 2022 - 12Z Sun Aug 14 2022
...Heavy rainfall/flash flooding threat for the Ohio/Tennessee and
Lower Mississippi Valleys and south-central Appalachians...
...Monsoonal moisture/rainfall threat continues for the Southwest
and south-central Great Basin/Rockies this week...
...Overview...
It remains the case that the overall weather pattern across the
contiguous U.S. through the latter half of this week is forecast
to amplify into a trough-ridge-trough pattern, as shortwaves
combine to deepen a trough in the East, an upper low off the West
Coast lifts northeastward toward the Pacific Northwest, and an
upper high nudges eastward from the central Rockies into the
central/southern Plains. Moisture lifted ahead of the eastern
trough and associated cold front will likely lead to areas of
heavy rain and thunderstorms mainly across the Ohio and Tennessee
Valleys into the Appalachians/Mid-Atlantic and Northeast
Wednesday, with scattered convection possible farther south as
well. Meanwhile, persistent monsoonal moisture looks to continue
across the Southwest and south-central Great Basin/Rockies this
week.
...Guidance Evaluation/Predictability Assessment...
Model guidance remains quite agreeable with the upper high/ridge
persisting and meandering a bit across the central U.S. through
the week into next weekend, and also agrees upon the trough
deepening across the East late week, with detail differences
decreased from past runs oevr medium range time scales. This
bolsters pattern forecast confidence.
The WPC medium range product suite was primarily derived from a
composite blend of now overall well clustered gudiance from the
latest GFS/ECMWF/UKMET/Canadian and GEFS/ECMWF ensembles along
with the 13 UTC National Blend of Models and WPC product
continuity. Targeted changes to the 13 UTC NBM
QPF included some increase of afternoon/evening convective amounts
over the West but in particular across the central Gulf of Mexico
coast mid-later this week and with frontal passage across the
Upper Midwest/Great Lakes next weekend.
...Weather/Hazards Highlights...
As the medium range period begins Wednesday, an axis of locally
heavy rain and thunderstorms ahead of a cold front is expected to
continue pushing southeastward across the Ohio Valley to Northeast
into the Tennessee Valley and Mid-Atlantic region. The relatively
slow movement of the front could lead to training storms that
could cause flash flooding. Flooding concerns are particularly
enhanced across portions of Kentucky/Tennessee/West Virginia, as
they have received abundant rainfall recently and are sensitive to
additional rain amounts, so a Slight Risk remains in the
experimental Day 4 ERO. The Northeast/New England also may receive
heavy rain that could cause flash flooding given a sharpening
trough aloft providing upper level support and above average
moisture, but model spread in the exact placement of the heaviest
rainfall precluded adding a Slight Risk. The front continuing to
push southeastward into the latter half of the week should clear
rainfall out of the northeastern quadrant of the country, but
scattered convective activity is forecast to continue in the
Southeast. In this pattern there is also increased potential for
locally enhanced lead rains across the lower MS Valley/central
Gulf Coast mid-late week with moist flow and slow cell
translation. Meanwhile, monsoonal moisture (that could be enhanced
due to T.D. Nine-E) continues to impact the Southwest with
rainfall, with a trend toward increasing chances for rain farther
north as the moisture plume expands into the Intermountain
West/Great Basin and the Rockies, with some locally heavy totals
possible.
Very warm to hot temperatures around 10-15F above average, though
not quite to record-breaking levels, are forecast across the
northern/central Plains through the latter part of the week, with
a slight eastward trend as the upper high moves that direction.
Farther east, slightly below normal highs are possible in the Ohio
and Tennessee Valleys behind the cold front, while temperatures
along the Eastern Seaboard will flip from slightly above to
slightly below average. Given the rainfall and cloudiness over the
Southwest and Great Basin, highs are likely to be several degrees
below normal there through next weekend.
Tate/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, experimental excessive rainfall
outlook, winter weather outlook probabilities and heat indices 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