• HVYRAIN: Excessive Rainfall Discussion

    From Mike Powell@618:250/6 to All on Fri May 29 10:00:12 2026
    FOUS30 KWBC 290829
    QPFERD

    Excessive Rainfall Discussion
    NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
    429 AM EDT Fri May 29 2026

    Day 1
    Valid 12Z Fri May 29 2026 - 12Z Sat May 30 2026

    ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL ACROSS PORTIONS OF
    THE SOUTHEAST...

    Largely maintained the previous Slight Risk area that was introduced
    in the Southeast US. A sheared 500mb vorticity maximum approaching
    from the west will be encountering a moist airmass with increasing
    amount of instability later during the day and evening. The latest
    numerical guidance kept expected precipitable water values in the
    2 to 2.25 inch range along and south of a quasi-stationary front
    draped across the region from the TN Valley to the SC coast.
    Instability will be highest over AL on east into central and
    southern GA with MUCAPE between 1,000-2,000 J/kg most often. MUCAPE
    up to 1,000 J/kg will be available later tonight from the Savannah
    River to coastal SC. This combination should be enough to support
    and sustain localized rainfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour
    where warm rain processes predominate from eastern AL eastward to
    the Savannah River this afternoon and tonight.

    ...Middle Mississippi Valley to the Southeast...

    The western portion of the front affecting the Southeast US will
    extend into portions of the Middle Mississippi Valley and provide
    the focus for showers and thunderstorms...some of which may produce
    locally heavy rainfall from the Tennessee Valley into the Middle
    Mississippi Valley into tonight.

    ...Eastern Washington to Northern Rockies...

    A marginal risk remained in place across far northeast Washington
    to northwest Montana due to an increase in the heavy rainfall
    signal for this period as an upper low over the West on Day 1
    places this region in an area with better upper forcing and
    advection of moisture. The presence of anomalous moisture and some
    instability may present a threat for localized heavy rainfall and
    flash flooding, especially for burn scar locations within this region.

    Bann


    Day 2
    Valid 12Z Sat May 30 2026 - 12Z Sun May 31 2026

    ...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL ACROSS THE
    NORTHERN ROCKIES TO HIGH PLAINS AND THE SOUTHEAST...

    ...Southeast...

    Latest numerical guidance has shifted a majority of the rainfall
    eastward enough compared with previous runs to preclude an upgrade
    to a Slight risk. In addition...the spread of model
    guidance both in terms of placement and amounts precluded an
    upgrade. As mentioned previously...some of the region, especially
    western parts of South Carolina and into the Appalachians, has
    been very wet as of late and is well primed, so may by more
    vulnerable to flooding concerns.

    ...Northern Rockies to High Plains...

    The upper level low over the West during the Day 1 period will
    weaken and shift northeastward, moving over the Northern Rockies to
    High Plains region on Saturday. Moisture anomalies will continue
    to be in the 90-90th percentile, supporting moderate to heavy
    rainfall, with widespread QPF greater than 0.5-1" likely across
    western and central Montana. There may not be a lot of instability
    to work with, so any flood or flash flood threats should be mainly
    localized with particular attention to burn scar locations. A
    fairly broad marginal risk remained in place across much of
    western and central Montana, into parts of northern Wyoming as well.

    Bann


    Day 3
    Valid 12Z Sun May 31 2026 - 12Z Mon Jun 01 2026

    ...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OVER PORTIONS OF
    THE NORTHERN ROCKIES AND THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES...

    ...Northern Rockies and Adjacent High Plains...
    The upper level low which has been supporting the prolonged wet
    period over the Northern Rockies will continue to move northward
    across Montana slowly on Sunday. This results in surface low
    pressure and associated surface front to makes its way out over the
    Plains and gradually weaken while the mid and upper level
    circulation keeps precipitation lingering over Montana and far
    northern Wyoming. Moisture remains anomalously high but instability
    still looks to be dependent upon cloud cover. As in the Day 2
    period...any flood or flash flood threats should be mainly
    localized with particular attention to burn scar locations.

    ...Southeast...

    Until surface high pressure builds far enough southward into the
    Southeast states to decrease coverage of lingering convection on
    Sunday evening...the antecedent conditions keep a risk of flooding
    concerns over the area.

    Bann
    $$
    --- MultiMail/DOS
    * Origin: Project Scorpio TEST (618:250/6)
  • From Mike Powell@618:250/6 to All on Sat May 30 08:02:04 2026
    FOUS30 KWBC 300830
    QPFERD

    Excessive Rainfall Discussion
    NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
    430 AM EDT Sat May 30 2026

    Day 1
    Valid 12Z Sat May 30 2026 - 12Z Sun May 31 2026

    ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL ACROSS PORTIONS OF MONTANA...

    ...Northern Rockies to the Plains...

    Maintained the Slight risk across portions of Montana as a mid-
    and upper-level system makes its way northward slowly today. The
    system should foster locally intense rainfall rates...especially in
    the eastern portion of the Slight Risk area...given moderately
    steep lapse rates and some potential for enough breaks in cloud
    cover. The HREF neighborhood probabilities of exceeding 1"/hr in
    the 30-50% range, and 2"/hr around 10%. This results in HREF FFG
    exceedance probabilities broadly over 25 percent. The RRFS shows a
    similar evolution in roughly the same area but was not quite as
    high with its probability of exceedance or with the probability of
    1 inch per hour rainfall. Farther west;..the instability is
    expected to be weaker but the greater coverage of rainfall looks
    to offset the instability shortfall. As mentioned previously...the
    flood risk should gradually transition from flash flood to areal
    flood/river flood as you go west across the state.

    A Marginal Risk area extending eastward from Montana and then
    southward from the Northern Plains and Mid-Mississippi Valley was
    largely left in place given the signal in the HREF for locally
    heavy rainfall rates within an elongated moisture plume originating
    from the Southeast US. It was done so despite convective details
    remaining uncertain. The most organized convective threat may end
    up over portions of NE and SD given a highly difluent flow aloft
    and low level convergent flow. However, there are also signals of
    organized convective clusters within the moisture axis anywhere
    from Arkansas to Iowa, While convection is unlikely along this
    entire axis...where it does develop rainfall rate potential will be
    high enough for localized flash flooding.

    ...Southeast...

    Latest numerical guidance continued to show locally heavy rainfall
    today and tonight along and south of a boundary moving in from the
    north. There was a bit of a westward expansion in the western
    extent shown by the HREF and RRFS of the 1-inch per hour
    probabilities and the probability of exceedance. As a result...the
    Marginal Risk was expanded westward in parts of Georgia to Alabama.

    Bann


    Day 2
    Valid 12Z Sun May 31 2026 - 12Z Mon Jun 01 2026

    ...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL STRETCHING FROM
    MONTANA TO NORTHERN FLORIDA...

    Any heavy to excessive rainfall should be located in or near a
    plume of anomalous moisture plume that will extend from Montana
    into the Southeast United State. Large scale forcing is more
    subtle outside of the Northern Plains/Rockies...but there should be
    some weak shortwave energy embedded within the weak flow that will
    make them difficult or impossible to time. As this shortwave energy
    encounters a late day atmosphere with MUCAPE values in excess of
    3000 J per kg from the Plains into the Mississippi Valley and parts
    of the Southeast US...storms have the potential to produce very
    intense rainfall rates that approach or exceed flash flood
    guidance along this entire corridor. A large and generally
    unfocused Marginal Risk area still seems to handle the localized
    nature of flash flood risk that should exist.

    The Montana portion of the Marginal Risk has the strongest synoptic
    forcing as a mid- and upper-level system gradually moves north of
    the border...keeping the western part of the state in lingering
    wrap-around rainfall before gradually tapering off.

    Bann


    Day 3
    Valid 12Z Mon Jun 01 2026 - 12Z Tue Jun 02 2026

    The probability of rainfall exceeding flash flood guidance is less
    than 5 percent.

    There are some hints in the guidance that the overall risk of
    excessive rainfall is non-zero over the Plains from Kansas into
    Colorado as models show a low level axis of moisture and
    instability moving northward on Monday afternoon. The ensemble and deterministic QPF is fairly low...perhaps due to a component of low
    level flow off the moisture. In addition...lingering deep moisture
    may fuel some late day thunderstorms on Monday that are capable of
    locally heavy rainfall but the model spread limits confidence.

    $$
    --- MultiMail/DOS
    * Origin: Project Scorpio TEST (618:250/6)