


Prognostic Meteorological Discussion
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
Versions:
1
2
431 FXUS02 KWBC 041904 PMDEPD Extended Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 304 PM EDT Thu Sep 4 2025 Valid 12Z Sun Sep 7 2025 - 12Z Thu Sep 11 2025 19Z Update: The overall synoptic scale pattern is well handled by the 12Z model guidance suite for Sunday, and a multi-deterministic model blend suffices as a good starting point in the forecast process, followed by gradually increasing contributions from the ensemble means. Some differences in a shortwave trough over central Canada late Sunday work their way downstream across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Monday, but otherwise good agreement elsewhere. Looking ahead to the middle of the week, the GFS and GEFS mean become more amplified with the upper trough over the Southeast U.S. compared to the non-NCEP consensus, and also more amplified with the upper ridge developing across the Plains. There is some potential for an Omega block type pattern to develop next week with upper troughs situated over both the West and East Coasts, and a ridge over the Plains. A lingering stationary front just off the southeast coast will likely keep scattered to numerous showers across much of Florida, and a Marginal Risk has been added for Sunday and Monday for the eastern coast of Florida. The previous forecast discussion is appended below for reference. /Hamrick ----------------- ...Overview... The medium range pattern begins Sunday with an upper trough axis over the east-central U.S. promoting cooler than average temperatures. A frontal boundary ahead of the trough is forecast to push offshore of the East Coast but linger over the western Atlantic for some coastal showers in the Carolinas and south into Florida with the front meandering across the peninsula. On Sunday especially, the back end of the front curling into Texas could cause some heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding there. In the West, an upper low looks to slowly move inland and bring multiple days of modest rain to the Northwest along with cooler temperatures. Upper ridging is forecast over the Rockies into the central U.S. as the week progresses in between the two troughs, for warming temperatures. ...Guidance/Predictability Assessment... Model guidance is in fairly good agreement with the larger scale pattern described above. Embedded shortwaves in the flow show typical spread that can influence sensible weather -- one such feature is a potential shortwave in the southern Plains that ECMWF runs are particularly strong with on Sunday, which increases its QPF and is really the main model that would support the Slight Risk ERO on Sunday. But especially the newer 00Z models have the depth of the northeastern trough pretty agreeable and it lifting toward midweek, while the 12Z CMC was weaker with the southern stream troughing in the Southeast by midweek (but 00Z CMC improved). Guidance also shows good consensus with the timing and depth of the upper low pushing toward the West Coast (after the 12Z ECMWF was a little hesitant to close off the low early in the week). There is increasing spread with the evolution of the western low/trough by Wednesday-Thursday, as model differences with possible influence from a British Columbia shortwave causes some phasing differences, but the discrepancies between models are not too large for a Day 6-7 forecast. Thus the WPC forecast began with a multi-model deterministic blend, and as the period progressed, lessened the proportion of deterministic guidance in favor of the ensemble means, with the means reaching half the model blend by Day 7 amid increasing spread. ...Weather/Hazards Highlights... Some enhanced moisture left over from Lorena will be in place atop the southern Plains into Sunday, while a front stretches west from the Gulf into Texas. This combination along with instability in place could allow for some locally heavy rain, and will show a Slight Risk across the Edwards Plateau to south-central Texas in the Day 4/Sunday ERO, with a broader Marginal stretching through much of Texas into the southern High Plains and Colorado. Rainfall amounts should generally decrease by Monday but some showers are still possible, and showers and storms could reach into much of the Plains to Upper Midwest with a tongue of instability near another front. Consider this activity less than a 5 percent chance of flash flooding for no ERO risk on Day 5/Monday for now. Central U.S. convection could continue as the week progresses. Farther east, the frontal system over Florida and northeast in the western Atlantic will provide a focus for moisture to pool, leading to at least scattered diurnal convection each day. Moisture levels look to decrease slightly over Florida compared to the short range period, but the saturated grounds from rainfall before Sunday warrant the addition of Marginal Risk areas for both Sunday and Monday from roughly Cape Canaveral to the greater Miade-Dade metro area. Rainfall across the Carolinas into Georgia is rather uncertain with how much convection may occur onshore or offshore on any given day. Small shifts in the frontal boundary could produce significant differences in the rainfall amounts. The upper low pushing through the eastern Pacific toward the Northwest will produce multiple days of rainfall next week, expanding eastward with time from the Pacific Northwest/northern California into the northern Great Basin and Intermountain West. This cool season type of rainfall should be marked by moderate rates that are generally not enough to cause flooding concerns. The lowering heights aloft yielding cooler temperatures could produce snow for the highest peaks. Cooler than normal temperatures are likely to continue into early next week across the Plains and Midwest underneath the broad upper trough, with anomalies around 10-15 degrees. This brings highs in the 70s as far south as parts of the southern Plains, while lows could reach the 30s in the Dakotas to Minnesota and potentially cause frost concerns (partially dependent on wind) Sunday morning. The cooler airmass should moderate as it moves into the East Tuesday and beyond, while the central U.S. sees a warming trend as upper ridging moves overhead. Meanwhile, the West can expect average to above average minimum temperatures especially in the Northwest, but high temperatures will cool considerably under the upper low that approaches the West Coast and Great Basin through next week. Tate 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 forecast (QPF), excessive rainfall outlook (ERO), winter weather outlook (WWO) probabilities, heat indices, and Key Messages can be accessed from: 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 https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/#page=ovw $$