Prognostic Meteorological Discussion
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
218 FXUS02 KWBC 052047 PMDEPD Extended Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 447 PM EDT Fri Jun 5 2026 Valid 12Z Mon Jun 08 2026 - 12Z Fri Jun 12 2026 ...Heavy rainfall threats expected to evolve over the Mississippi to Ohio Valley early to mid next week and northern Rockies mid- to late next week... ...Significant heat wave will build over a large portion of the central to eastern U.S. mid- to late next week... ...Overview... Embedded upper-energy within an amplifying ridge over the central to eastern U.S. will support scattered to widespread thunderstorms over the Mississippi/Ohio Valleys early next week with a heavy rainfall/flash flood threat. This upper-ridge will also bring the first significant heatwave of the Summer to much of the central to eastern U.S. next week. Meanwhile, a deep upper-trough over the western U.S. will bring cooler, unsettled conditions to the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies, with a trend towards heavier rainfall into the northern Rockies by mid- to late week. A severe weather/flash flood threat is also expected into the northern Plains/Upper Midwest mid-week as this upper-trough shifts eastward and helps to spin-up a strong low pressure/frontal system at the surface. ...Guidance/Predictability Assessment... Latest 00/06Z model guidance remains reasonably well clustered through most of the period as the pattern transitions next week to become more amplified with mean upper-ridging over the central to eastern U.S. and mean upper-troughing over the central to western U.S. Guidance also has a good handle on an initial shortwave rounding the ridge through the Midwest/Ohio Valley early next week which will likely trigger heavy rainfall given the very warm, moist airmass that will be in place. Additional upper-energy(s) within the mean upper-trough should eventually begin to impinge on the upper-ridge by mid- to late next week with a potentially significant accompanying surface system over the northern Plains/Upper Midwest lifting into Canada. The latest deterministic guidance shows the deepening surface low potentially reaching the low 990s to mid 980s mb. Guidance begins to diverge a bit more on the track and eventual progression of an accompanying surface cold front which renders temperatures and precipitation forecasts over the northern/central Plains into the Midwest rather tricky, but the potential for impactful severe weather/heavy rainfall is notable. With a prominent upper-ridge in place above average/hot weather is expected over much of the eastern U.S., though there is greater uncertainty with temperatures closer to the East Coast given the proximity of an upper-trough over the Atlantic just to the east. The latest WPC forecast was composed of a composite blend of the 00Z ECMWF/ECMWF AIFS/CMC and 06Z GFS guidance for the early to middle part of the period. A contribution from the 00Z ECens and then GEFS means was introduced with a reduction in the deterministic guidance for the latter part of the period as the guidance begins to diverge with the evolution/progression of the upper-flow over the western to central U.S. overall, as well as with the track and evolution of the noted strong surface system. ...Weather/Hazards Highlights... At the surface, wavy frontal boundaries lingering across the Midwest will support scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms across much of the Middle Mississippi/Ohio Valleys on Monday into Tuesday. An embedded upper-wave rounding a prominent upper-ridge with a hot, humid airmass in place will support the potential for robust thunderstorms capable of heavy downpours and flash flooding. A Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall has been outlooked over portions of the Middle Mississippi to Lower Ohio Valley for day 4/Monday to cover this threat. A Marginal Risk has been included for day 5/Tuesday as the threat follows the upper- wave a bit further east into Great Lakes, Upper Ohio/Tennessee Valleys and southern Appalachians. Additional heavy rainfall will remain possible in the Upper Ohio Valley Wednesday, with the potential for more Slight Risks as confidence grows in the coverage and evolution of convection each day. Daily, scattered thunderstorm chances are also expected over the Southeast with the hot, humid airmass in place. A frontal boundary settling over South/southwest Florida may lead to a locally heavy rainfall threat. Meanwhile, a potentially significant low pressure system is expected to spin-up over the northern Plains/Upper Midwest by mid- week as a deep upper-trough approaches from the west. Plentiful shear due to strong low-level and upper-level wind fields with the approaching trough and deepening low as well as a warm, humid airmass leading to more than sufficient instability will support a threat for severe weather, with the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) highlighting portions of the northern Plains Tuesday and Upper Midwest Wednesday. Heavy rainfall/flash flooding also looks to be a concern and a day 5/Tuesday Marginal Risk has been maintained. The deep upper-troughing over the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies and multiple frontal passages will bring cooler conditions and chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms on Monday into Tuesday. As the upper-trough shifts eastward mid-week, very moist, persistent upslope flow setting up over Montana will bring an increasing risk of heavy rainfall and flash flooding concerns. Further south into the Great Basin/Four Corners region, gusty winds given the strong upper-flow and multiple frontal passages along with very low relative humidity has lead to a Critical Risk of Fire Weather from the SPC Monday into Tuesday and possibly continuing into Wednesday. An amplifying upper-ridge building over the central to eastern U.S. is expected to bring the first significant heat of the Summer by mid- to late next week. The threat should gradually shift from the central U.S. Tuesday and Wednesday towards the East Coast by Friday and into next weekend. Meanwhile, the deep-upper trough over the western U.S. will lead to some below average conditions over the Pacific Northwest early next week to the northern Rockies/Great Basin mid- to late next week. Putnam 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, excessive rainfall outlook, winter weather outlook probabilities, heat indices and Key Messages 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 https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/#page=ovw $$