DAY 4-8 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0334 AM CDT MON JUN 29 2009 VALID 021200Z - 071200Z ...DISCUSSION... MODEL CONSENSUS IS THAT BLOCKING PATTERN WILL GRADUALLY BREAK DOWN BY DAY 5 WITH FLOW TRANSITIONING TO MORE OR LESS ZONAL PROGRESSIVE. AS THE UPPER PATTERN DEAMPLIFIES...POSITIVE THETA-E ADVECTION WILL INCREASE OVER THE PLAINS/MID MS VALLEY REGION AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH EVAPOTRANSPIRATION WILL RESULT IN A GRADUAL INCREASE IN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN VICINITY OF WNW-ESE ORIENTED BAROCLINIC ZONE. PATTERN WILL BE CONDUCIVE FOR STORMS TO DEVELOP OVER THE PLAINS AND THE MS VALLEY AND SPREAD SEWD WITHIN ZONE OF ISENTROPIC LIFT NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY WITH SEVERAL MCS CLUSTERS POSSIBLE. THE BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE STRONGER MID LEVEL FLOW FOR ORGANIZED SEVERE STORMS TO DEVELOP. SEVERE THREAT WILL BE MODULATED BY SERIES OF IMPULSES MOVING ESEWD THROUGH THE BELT OF STRONGER WLYS. WHILE SOME THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS IS POSSIBLE DAY 4 IN THIS REGION...THREAT IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN THE DAY 5-6 TIME FRAME. ..DIAL.. 06/29/2009 PRELIMINARY EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD 319 AM EDT MON JUN 29 2009 VALID 12Z FRI JUL 03 2009 - 12Z MON JUL 06 2009 THE MODELS AND THEIR ENSEMBLES SHOW GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THE BLOCKING UPPER LOW SOUTHEAST OF GREENLAND WILL BEGIN TO EJECT TOWARD EUROPE ON DAY 3...WHICH THEN ALLOWS FOR MORE PROGRESSIVE FLOW AND INCREASING UNCERTAINTY TO ACCOMPANY THE DAY-TO-DAY DETAILS OVER THE CONUS THROUGH THE MEDIUM RANGE PERIOD. THE LARGEST UNCERTAINTY APPEARS TO ACCOMPANY THE STRONGER FLOW DEVELOPING OVER WESTERN CANADA AND ITS POTENTIAL INTERACTION WITH THE WEAKENING LOW OVER THE GREAT LAKES...WITH THE FASTER GFS RECEIVING THE LEAST SUPPORT FROM OTHER DETERMINISTIC/ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE. THUS...WILL CONTINUE TO EMPHASIS THE SLOW SIDE OF THE GUIDANCE...INCLUDING THE NEW ECMWF/CANADIAN FOR THIS INTERACTION...WHICH MAINTAINS CONTINUITY/PERSISTENCE WITH PRIOR FORECASTS. THE NEXT LARGEST UNCERTAINTY INVOLVES THE DEEPENING UPPER LOW OVER THE BERING SEA...WITH THE MAJORITY OF GUIDANCE FAVORING A DEEPER SCENARIO...AND ITS SUBSEQUENT INFLUENCE ON A DOWNSTREAM TROUGH NEARING THE WESTERN CONUS AROUND DAY 5. GIVEN THE MIX OF PREFERRED GUIDANCE...WITH AN ECMWF/CANADIAN/GEFS MEAN BLEND PREFERRED OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE CONUS...AND A GFS/CANADIAN/GEFS MEAN BLEND PREFERRED OVER THE PACIFIC/WEST COAST...THIS FORECAST CONTAINS BELOW AVERAGE CONFIDENCE...WITH THE GEFS MEAN GENERALLY USED TO CREATE THE PRESSURES/FRONTS FOR DAYS 5-7. JAMES EAST... THE BLOCKING UPPER LOW SOUTHEAST OF GREENLAND BEGINS TO LIFT...WHICH ALLOWS THE UPSTREAM ELEMENTS TO GRADUALLY MOVE. MODEL AGREEMENT IS EXCELLENT UNTIL THE SHORTWAVE PATTERN BEGINS TO DEAMPLIFY (ABOUT DAY 5)...WITH THE 00Z GFS FASTEST TO TRANSITION OUT OF THE BLOCK AND THE ECMWF/MEANS ABOUT 1/2 DAY SLOWER. PERSISTENCE AND MODEL CONSENSUS SUPPORT THE SLOWER SCENARIO. THE MODELS/ENSEMBLE MEAN SHOW A DEEP LAYER TROUGH/EMBEDDED CLOSED LOW MOVING EAST FROM CENTRAL TO EASTERN CANADA THIS PERIOD...EVENTUALLY REINFORCING THE EASTERN CANADA/GREAT LAKES LONGWAVE TROUGH. THE 06Z GFS TRENDED MUCH SLOWER THAN THE 00Z RUN IN MOVING THE CLOSED 500 MB EAST FRI THROUGH SAT...AND IT BUILDS A HIGHER AMPLITUDE 500 MB RIDGE ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES THAN THE MODEL/ENSEMBLE CONSENSUS. CONFIDENCE IS LOW IN THIS SOLUTION...AS THE DEEP LAYER RIDGE OVER THE HIGH PLAINS/FRONT RANGE SHOULD LEAD TO LOWER HEIGHTS DOWNSTREAM IN THE EAST. THE 12Z GFS WAS SLOWER LIFTING OUT THE GREAT LAKES CLOSED LOW SFC/ALOFT...AND TRENDED TOWARD THE PREFERRED SOLUTION...ALTHOUGH ITS 700-500 MB HEIGHTS ARE A FEW DM DEEPER THAN CONSENSUS/00-12Z NCEP ENSEMBLE MEANS. THE 00Z ECMWF MADE A LARGE CHANGE FROM THE 12Z RUN AND IS STRONGER SFC/ALOFT WITH THE SYSTEM CROSSING NEAR LK SUPERIOR SAT 04 JUL INTO QUEBEC SUN 05 JUL. THE RUN TO RUN CHANGES IN BOTH THE ECMWF AND GFS LEAD TO THE PREFERENCE FOR THE 00-12Z ENSEMBLE MEAN SOLUTIONS. CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH IN PICKING ANY ONE SOLUTION...AND THE 12Z GEFS MEAN HAS SHOWN GOOD RUN TO RUN CONTINUITY. PETERSEN |