This article focuses on what we are paying attention to in the next 48 to 72 hours. The article also includes weather maps for longer-term U.S. outlooks and a six-day World weather outlook which can be very useful for travelers.
First the NWS Short Range Forecast. The afternoon NWS text update can be found here after about 4 p.m. New York time but it is unlikely to have changed very much from the morning update. The images in this article automatically update.
Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
Fri Aug 16 2024
Valid 12Z Fri Aug 16 2024 – 12Z Sun Aug 18 2024…There is a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the
Tennessee Valley and Southern Appalachians on Friday……There is a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the
Central/Southern Plains on Friday……There are Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories over parts of the
Central/Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi/Tennessee Valleys…A front extending from the Upper Great Lakes/Upper Mississippi Valley
across the Middle Mississippi Valley and then to the Central High Plains
will move eastward to the Lower Great Lakes/Mid-Atlantic, then westward to
the Southern Plains by Sunday. Showers and thunderstorms will develop
along and ahead of the boundary from the Great Lakes/Ohio Valley to the
Tennessee/Lower Mississippi Valleys into the Central/Southern Plains.Additionally, the front will intersect a pool of tropical moisture over
the Tennessee Valley, producing heavy rain. Therefore, the WPC has issued
a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over parts of the
Tennessee Valley/Southern Appalachians through Saturday morning. The
associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash
flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and low-lying areas the
most vulnerable.Furthermore, upper-level energy moving over the Central Plains will
trigger showers and severe thunderstorms. Therefore, the SPC has issued a
Slight Risk (level 2/5) of severe thunderstorms over parts of the
Central/Southern Plains and adjacent areas through Saturday morning. The
hazards associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe
thunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a minimal threat of tornadoes.On Saturday, as the front moves eastward, showers and thunderstorms will
develop over parts of the Lower Great Lakes/Eastern Ohio Valley, Central
Appalachians, Tennessee Valley, and Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley.Elsewhere, monsoonal moisture and diurnal heating will produce showers and
thunderstorms over parts of the Southwest, Eastern Great Basin, and
Southern Rockies from late afternoon into late evening on Friday and
Saturday.Moreover, upper-level energy and moisture moving over parts of the Pacific
Northwest will create rain with embedded thunderstorms over parts of the
Northwest on Saturday.Meanwhile, upper-level ridging over parts of the Southern Plains and Lower
Mississippi Valley with high temperatures in the upper-90s to low-100s
with dew points in the low to mid-70s have prompted Excessive Heat
Warnings and Heat Advisories over parts of the Central/Southern Plains and
Lower Mississippi/Tennessee Valleys. The sweltering summer heat will
continue over the south. A prolonged stretch of high temperatures in the
upper 90s and triple digits will be focused over portions of the Southern
Plains and Gulf Coast through Sunday. Low temperatures around 80 degrees
are also forecast along the Gulf Coast. Moreover, the combination of
summer heat and high humidity will support daily maximum heat indices near
110F. People spending greater time or effort outdoors or in a building
without cooling is at an increased risk of heat-related illness.
To get your local forecast plus active alerts and warnings click HERE and enter your city, state or zip code.
Learn about wave patterns HERE.
Then, looking at the world and of course, the U.S. shows here also. Today we are looking at precipitation.
Please click on “Read More” below to access the full Daily Report issued today.
| Notices: What would you like to learn about? Please provide that to me via the comment section at the end of the article. |
Now more detail on the 48-Hour Forecast (It is a 48 to 72 Hour Forecast actually)
Daily weather maps. The Day 1 map updates twice a day and the Day 2 and 3 maps update only once a day. These maps update automatically. But if that does not happen, you can get updates by clicking HERE
TODAY (or late in the day the evening/overnight map will appear) (Key to surface fronts shown on maps and you will then also be able to insert a city name or zip code and get a local NWS forecast).
TOMORROW
NEXT DAY
We have a new animation of the forecast which shows how things may play out over the next 60 hours. To update click ANIMATION. Doing so will get you to the dashboard. You can then step through the animation or hit LOOP on the upper right of the display. You will have to hit the back arrow ← at the top left on your computer to get back into this article. It is a little more trouble than before but I think NOAA scrapped the animation routine I was using so we have to keep up with “progress”.
The NWS Climate Prediction Center’s: Watches, Warnings, and Advisories plus other information can be found HERE. That takes you to the NWC Severe Weather Site. From there you can select among many categories of information. Remember to hit the back arrow ← at the top left of your screen to return to this article.
ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS
This tells us what is approaching the West Coast. Click HERE to update If I have not gotten around to doing the update. Here is some useful information about Atmospheric Rivers.
Below is the current five-day cumulative forecast of precipitation (Updates can be found HERE)
Ski SnowReports will Resume in the Fall.
Now we look at Intermediate-Term “Outlook” maps for three time periods. Days 6 – 10, Days 8 – 14, and Weeks 3 and 4. An outlook differs from a forecast based on how NOAA uses these terms in that an “outlook” presents information as deviation from normal and the likelihood of these deviations.
Below are the links to obtain updates and additional information. They are particularly useful if you happen to be reading this article significantly later than when it was published. I always try to provide readers with the source of the information in my articles. These links may also be useful for those viewing this article on a cell phone or other small screen.
| Days 6 – 10 (shown in Row 1) | Days 8 – 14 (Shown in Row 2) | Weeks 3 and 4 (Shown in Row 3 but updates only on Fridays) |
| https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa. gov/products/predictions/610day/ | https://www.cpc.ncep .noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/ | https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/WK34/ |
Showing the actual maps. They should now update automatically. The Week 3 – 4 Outlook only updates on Fridays. So below is what I call the Intermediate-term outlook. On Fridays, it extends out 28 Days. That declines day by day so on Thursday it only looks out 22 days until the next day when the Week 3 – 4 Outlook is updated and this extends the outlook by one additional week.
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10
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HAZARDS OUTLOOKS
Click here for the latest complete Day 3 -7 Hazards forecast which updates only on weekdays. Once a week probably Monday or Tuesday I will update the images. I provided the link for readers to get daily updates on weekdays. Use your own judgment to decide if you need to update these images. I update almost all the images Friday Night for the weekend edition of this Weather Report. So normally readers do not need to update these images but if the weather is changing quickly you may want to.
Temperature month to date can be found at https://hprcc.unl.edu/products/maps/acis/MonthTDeptUS.png
Precipitation month to date can be found at https://hprcc.unl.edu/products/maps/acis /MonthPNormUS.png
World Forecast [that website is has been intermittent so be patient]
Below are the Day 1 -3 and 4-6 forecasts for temperature and precipitation. Updates and much additional information can be obtained HERE
World Temperature Anomalies
World Accumulated Precipitation
This information is provided by the University of Maine. They draw upon many different sources. There is a lot of information available at the link provided. I have just provided two useful forecasts. There are probably over a hundred different forecasts available from this source.
Worldwide Tropical Forecast (This is a NOAA Product)
This graphic updates on Tuesdays) If it has not been updated, you can get the update by clicking here Readers will only have to do that if they are reading this article much later than the date of it being published.
Information on Tropical Storms can be found HERE. Western Pacific information can be found HERE. Note that unless there is an out-of-season storm the below images will not update until the National Hurricane Center starts their seasonal update of these maps on June 1. I include them simply because there can be an out-of-season event in which case it should show up in these maps.
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I hope you found this article interesting and useful. –
