Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
209 PM EDT Fri Sep 30 2022
Valid 12Z Mon Oct 03 2022 - 12Z Fri Oct 07 2022
...Overview...
A wavy pattern should be in place by the start of the medium range
period on Monday, with a trough/upper low over the East (which
includes the extratropical reflection of Ian) and a slow moving
northern Rockies into High Plains upper low. The latter is
sandwiched between ridges over the West Coast and central-southern
Plains into the Midwest. Troughing looks to be maintained over the
East even as the remnants of Ian move offshore Tues-Wed, but upper
level ridging building over the West which should act to
accelerate the second shortwave towards the Upper Midwest and
further amplify troughing over the East late next week. Sensible
weather threats however during the medium range period look to
mainly surround the remnants of Ian as they move through the
Mid-Atlantic next Monday-Tuesday with some locally heavy rainfall
and gusty winds lingering along mainly coastal regions from the
Outer Banks, NC to southern New England.
...Guidance Evaluation/Predictability Assessment...
Guidance has trended more progressive with Ian's remnant tropical
moisture early next week. Elsewhere, the high frequency pattern
across the lower 48 is captured well by a general model blend. A
deterministic blend consisting of the 00z EC/UKMET/CMC and 06z GFS
were used to depict the wavy pattern on day 3 and amplifying ridge
in the West on day 4. The 00z ECE and 06 GEFS were introduced on
day 5 to account for uncertainty, particularly in the 00z EC,
regarding the orientation of a trough in the Southern
Plains/Southwest. This trough uncertainty in the EC continues into
day 6 before ridging discrepancies presented by the EC and CMC
arise over the eastern Pacific/West Coast on day 7. The ensemble
means negotiate the amplified western ridge and eastern trough
axes reasonably well on day 7, which is why they make up a
majority of the blend.
...Weather/Hazards Highlights...
The potentially slow moving eastern U.S. upper low and associated
low pressure (whether initially from Ian or eventual redevelopment
just off the East Coast) may continue to produce locally heavy
rainfall over parts of the Mid-Atlantic into early next week.
Brisk to strong winds, aided by high pressure to the north, should
be most noticeable over coastal areas. Lingering guidance
differences for specifics at the surface and aloft directly
related to the extratropical transition of Ian this weekend
continue to offer a lower confidence forecast in rainfall coverage
and amounts, so adjustments to the current forecast is likely in
the days to come.
The remainder of the CONUS looks to be fairly quiet in terms of
any larger scale precipitation focus areas next week. The upper
low emerging from the northern Rockies should produce areas of
precipitation from the Southwest/Four Corner region into the High
Plains and sufficient moisture could support some areas of locally
moderate to heavy rainfall early next week. Highest elevations of
the Colorado/Southern Rockies under the upper low may see some
snow as well. This precipitation should become lighter/more
scattered by the middle of next week and onward as the upper
feature opens up and moves eastward.
Much of the East will see below normal highs during the first half
of next week. Parts of the Mid-Atlantic into Southeast may be
10-15F below normal into early next week with the clouds/rain
originally associated with Ian, while cool high pressure prevails
over New England. Out West, persistent upper ridging will keep
much of the region warmer than average with some locations in the
Northwest potentially seeing highs 10-15F above normal for most of
the period. Modestly above normal temperatures over the Plains
will eventually shift more over southern areas while locations
over the northern tier and into the Midwest/Great Lakes should
trend colder as Canadian High pressure settles over the region.
Kebede/Santorelli
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