Prognostic Meteorological Discussion
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
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977 FXCA20 KWBC 141857 PMDCA TROPICAL DISCUSSION - INTERNATIONAL DESKS NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD 257 PM EDT FRI JUN 14 2024 FORECAST BULLETIN 14 JUN 2024 AT 1845 UTC: THE MAIN STORY OF THE DAY CONTINUES TO BE THE DEVELOPING CENTRAL AMERICAN GYRE...WHICH WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ACROSS CENTRAL AMERICA INTO SOUTHERN MEXICO OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THE MODEL GUIDANCE HAS A 72-HOUR TOTAL ACCUMULATED RAINFALL TOTALS THAT RANGE BETWEEN 250 AND 400MM FROM TODAY INTO MONDAY FOR THE PACIFIC COAST OF WESTERN PANAMA TO EL SALVADOR. WITH COSTA RICA RECEIVING THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS...BUT THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE ISOLATED HIGHEST AMOUNTS...SO IT IS WORTH KNOWING THAT THERE WILL BE PERSISTENT FLOW INTO THE PACIFIC COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA FROM THE MONSOON TROUGH...WHICH IS CARRYING HIGHER MOISTURE THAN NORMAL AND WILL THEN CAUSE THE SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND AND BEYOND. THIS EVENT WILL BE PROLONGED INTO NEXT WEEK AND COULD CAUSE VERY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS OF RAIN THIS WEEKEND...AS MENTIONED ABOVE...IS EXPECTED TO BE IN AND AROUND COSTA RICA...BUT BY THE MIDDLE TO THE LATTER PARTS OF NEXT WEEK...THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS WOULD BE OVER THE PACIFIC COAST OF SOUTHWESTERN NICARAGUA...PORTIONS OF HONDURAS...EL SALVADOR...GUATEMALA AND INTO CHIAPAS OF MEXICO. THE MODEL GUIDANCE IS SUGGESTING UPWARDS OF 500 - 700MM OF RAIN FOR THE ENTIRE EVENT BEFORE IT MAY START TO SETTLE DOWN BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK. FOR TODAY INTO SATURDAY MORNING...WESTERN PANAMA INTO COSTA RICA ARE FORECAST TO OBSERVE RAINFALL MAXIMA UP TO 150MM...WHILE OTHER AREAS OF CENTRAL AMERICA HAVE FORECAST MAXIMA RANGING FROM AROUND 30MM TO 60MM. NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA WILL HAVE A FEW TROPICAL WAVES AND TROUGHS MOVING THROUGH...CAUSING INTERMITTENT PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA. THE RAINFALL MAXIMA WILL BE HIGHEST ACROSS THE GUIANAS INTO EASTERN VENEZUELA...AS WELL AS WESTERN COLOMBIA WITH TOTALS NEAR 60 AND 100MM...WHILE OTHER AREAS WILL OBSERVE MAXIMA OF 25 TO 45MM. THE CARIBBEAN REGION WILL BE RELATIVELY QUIET AS DRIER AIR WITH SAHARAN DUST WILL START MOVING IN...BUT THE EXCEPTION WILL BE WESTERN CUBA AND THE EASTERN SHORE OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA...WHERE MAX VALUES UP TO 60MM COULD BE OBSERVED. FOR SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY...THE HEAVY RAINFALL EXPECTED OVER CENTRAL AMERICA WILL START TO EXPAND TO THE NORTH. COSTA RICA AND PANAMA ARE STILL EXPECTED TO RECEIVE THE HIGHEST RAINFALL MAXIMA OF THE AREA...WITH TOTALS NEAR 75-150MM. HOWEVER...THE REST OF CENTRAL AMERICA...ESPECIALLY THE PACIFIC SIDE INTO PORTIONS OF CHIAPAS...COULD OBSERVE RAINFALL MAXIMA BETWEEN 40-80MM. NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA WILL CONTINUE HAVING THE TROPICAL WAVES AND TROUGHS...CAUSING DAILY RAINFALL MAXIMA BETWEEN 40 AND 80MM IN SOME AREAS. THE CARIBBEAN CONTINUES TO BE RELATIVELY QUIET...THOUGH THE YUCATAN PENINSULA CONTINUES TO HAVE AREAS WITH SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL...POSSIBLY REACHING TOTALS NEAR 40-80MM. SUNDAY INTO MONDAY WOULD BE THE DAY WHERE THE VERY HEAVY RAIN STARTS TO MOVE TO EL SALVADOR AND GUATEMALA IN CENTRAL AMERICA. ALTHOUGH PORTIONS OF COSTA RICA ARE STILL FORECAST TO OBSERVE MAXIMA UP TO 100MM...PORTIONS OF NICARAGUA INTO GUATEMALA AND EL SALVADOR COULD OBSERVE RAINFALL MAXIMA BETWEEN 100 AND 200MM IN A 24-HOUR PERIOD...WHICH IS VERY SIGNIFICANT FOR THAT AREA. OTHER AREAS IN CENTRAL TO NORTHERN GUATEMALA...AS WELL AS THE YUCATAN PENINSULA AND CHIAPAS COULD OBSERVE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...WITH RAINFALL TOTALS REACHING NEAR 50MM. NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA START TO OBSERVE LESS RAINFALL FOR THAT PERIOD...WITH ONLY A FEW AREAS OF WESTERN VENEZUELA AND SOUTHWESTERN COLOMBIA AND ECUADOR HAVING UP TO 50MM OF RAINFALL FORECAST...WHILE THE REST OF THE AREA IS FORECAST RAINFALL MAXIMA OF AROUND 35MM OR LESS. ONCE AGAIN...THE CARIBBEAN IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN RELATIVELY QUIET EVEN THOUGH THERE MAY BE A SFC TROUGH NEAR HISPANIOLA...THE DRY AIR AND SAHARAN DUST WILL LIKELY LIMIT THE SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS THE AREA...AND THUS A MAX RAINFALL OF 10MM ARE FORECAST ACROSS THE ANTILLES. CURRENTLY THERE IS A STRONG SFC HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC CAUSING EASTERLY WINDS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC INTO THE CARIBBEAN. THERE IS ALSO A SFC TROUGH ACROSS THE WESTERN TROPICAL ATLANTIC AND ANOTHER ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO. SEVERAL TROPICAL WAVES WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE REGION AS WELL...THOUGH MOSTLY SOUTH OF 13N...AND MOST OF THEM WOULD DISSIPATE BY THE TIME THEY REACH CENTRAL AMERICA AS THEY WOULD BE ABSORBED BY THE SFC TROUGH AND EVENTUAL CENTRAL AMERICAN GYRE. IN SUMMARY...THE LATEST GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SUGGEST THAT THE SFC TROUGH ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO...AND THE POSITIONING OF THE MONSOON TROUGH IN THE PACIFIC WILL CAUSE A VERY MOIST ONSHORE FLOW INTO CENTRAL AMERICA FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AS A CENTRAL AMERICAN GYRE DEVELOPS. THE ABOVE NORMAL MOISTURE THAT WILL BE PRESENT IN THE ONSHORE FLOW TOWARDS CENTRAL AMERICA WILL COMBINE WITH THE UP-SLOPE EFFECT OF CERTAIN PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA...CAUSING PERSISTENT RAINFALL DEVELOPMENT. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SITUATION IN CENTRAL AMERICA CLOSELY. ALAMO (WPC) CLARKE (CINWS) FERNANDER (BDM) $$