Chris Swafford
on August 7, 2023
9 views
US Day 3-7 Hazards Outlook
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
430 PM EDT Fri Aug 04 2023
Valid Monday August 07 2023 - Friday August 11 2023
Hazards:
- Heavy rain across portions of the Lower Great Lakes and Interior Northeast, Mon, Aug 7.
- Severe weather across portions of the Lower Great Lakes, Interior Northeast, and Appalachians,
Mon, Aug 7.
- Flooding possible across portions of the Middle Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley.
- Hazardous heat across portions of the Southwest, the Southern Plains, the Lower Mississippi
Valley, and the Southeast, Mon-Fri, Aug 7-Aug 11.
- Hazardous heat across portions of California, Mon, Aug 7.
- Hazardous heat across portions of the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley, Wed-Fri, Aug
9-Aug 11.
- Hazardous heat across portions of the Southeast, Mon-Tue, Aug 7-Aug 8.
- Hazardous heat across portions of mainland Alaska, Mon-Tue, Aug 7-Aug 8.
Detailed Summary:
...CONUS...
Oppressive heat across much of the southern tier of the country will remain the focus of the
medium-range hazards forecast covering next week (Monday, August 7 - Friday, August 11). A stagnant
upper-level high anchored over the south-central U.S. will expand once again from the Atlantic to
Pacific coasts, shifting a bit west and northward with time, with only some minor areal
modifications in the extent of the current heat wave. Upper-level energy dipping south over the
eastern U.S. will likely provide some relief for northern portions of the Southeast by Wednesday
(August 9th), with relatively lower high temperatures closer to August averages and higher
precipitation chances. Meanwhile, as the upper-high shifts a bit westward and upper-level ridging
expands overall across the western U.S., hazardous heat will return further northward over portions
of the south-central U.S. and Lower Mississippi Valley. After a brief reprieve, hazardous heat will
also be returning to the Southwest this weekend and continue through the forecast period. For
eastern portions of the outlook area, high temperatures will range between the mid-90s in the
Southeast/Florida, the upper-90s to low-100s for the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Southern
Plains, and the low to mid-100s for eastern portions of Texas. When combined with high humidity
values, this will lead to oppressive daytime heat indices of 105-115, locally higher. To the west,
while humidity will not be as high, air temperatures will be hotter, with highs in the upper 100s
for west Texas and portions of the Southwest to the mid-110s in the deserts. The heat is expected
to be most oppressive over Texas, where daily near-record-tying/breaking high temperatures are
forecast through next week. In addition, overnight lows will stay much above average, around or
above 80 degrees for many locations, which is at or above record-tying/breaking levels. This will
provide little relief from the heat overnight. Portions of central California seeing above average
temperatures and hazardous heat this weekend may see one more day of hot temperatures Monday, with
highs in the low to mid-100s, before temperatures lower closer to summertime averages.
To the north, an energetic upper-level pattern will persist with multiple shortwaves passing
through the central-eastern U.S. through the period. One shortwave is forecast to swing through the
Midwest/Great Lakes/Northeast during the Monday (Aug 7) - Tuesday (Aug 8) timeframe. Lift ahead of
the upper-level wave as well as a well-organized accompanying surface low pressure system pushing
eastward is forecast to lead to widespread showers and thunderstorms across portions of the Lower
Great Lakes/Interior Northeast southward through the Appalachians on Monday. Notably high surface
moisture, with precipitable water (pw) values running around 1.5 standard deviations above the
mean, will help promote some locally heavy downpours. In addition, wind speeds with the shortwave
aloft will provide sufficient deep-layer shear for some organized, severe storms, with damaging
wind gusts the primary threat. Additional heavy rainfall may fall across New England Tuesday as the
system pushes east but totals look to remain lighter compared to Monday. The energetic,
northwesterly flow setup over the Mississippi Valley into portions of the Southeast, along with
seasonable summer moisture, will likely lead to additional storms and heavy rainfall chances. This
appears most likely over the Southeast on Tuesday and then further west/north into the Mississippi
and Lower Ohio/Tennessee Valleys on Wednesday and Thursday. However, areal rainfall totals will
likely be influenced by mesoscale storm organization hard to predict at this timeframe.
...Alaska...
The strong upper ridge currently over Southcentral Alaska will move into northwestern Canada over
the next few days while an intensifying storm moves into the Bering Sea. The combination of the two
will support a highly amplified and blocky pattern next week. Strong southerly flow through the
eastern and central parts of the mainland during the weekend into early next week will support much
above normal temperatures across much of northern and interior Alaska. Temperatures over the Yukon
Flats region will range into the mid 80s to lower 90s. Temperatures will also be above average
(well into the 70s) across interior portions of the North Slope. These high temperatures look to
cool off by mid-week, but a trend in the guidance for the ridge to persist may lead to a bit longer
period of above average temperatures. Moist, onshore flow sourced from the central Pacific ahead of
a storm system in the Gulf of Alaska may help to focus precipitation chances along the southern
coast into southeastern Alaska next week. However, significant differences in amounts/timing remain
in the guidance and the rainfall may ultimately remain moderate and below hazardous levels. The
strongest signal for heavy rainfall looks to come towards the end of next week, but will defer to
future forecasts to see if this remains a trend before introducing any hazards areas.
Putnam
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