NWS IND
.CLIMATE...
Issued at 300 PM EDT Mon Apr 1 2024
It is now about a week out from eclipse day and as stated in
previous iterations of this discussion, a few signals can be
deciphered from long range guidance.
As mentioned in the discussion above, a deepening/occluding low
pressure system is anticipated to develop over the eastern US. As
this low deepens, it should act to bottle up the upstream wave
pattern. This can be seen in guidance as a deepening trough over the
western US. It`s this trough that could be the determining factor as
to what kind of weather we see on Monday April 8th.
Taking a step back, global teleconnections show strongly negative
phases in both the NAO and AO. This means that the synoptic scale
will dictate our weather going forward, and with a very strong and
occluded low over the east coast...it is likely that the position
and longevity of this system will determine the evolution of the
west coast trough.
Latest ensemble guidance depicts both the eastern and western
troughs becoming highly amplified with an increasingly squeezed
ridge in between. A flow pattern similar to a classic omega block
looks to take shape by Friday. With strongly negative
teleconnections, a pattern featuring blocking is not a surprise.
Guidance begins to diverge over the weekend as models struggle to
depict how the aforementioned features interact within the bottled up
flow. Guidance typically struggles in blocking patterns, and can be
too fast with synoptic-scale features. This can be seen in recent
trends with today`s system that has been gradually shifting westward
with time.
It`s tough to downscale this pattern into a cloud cover forecast for
the 8th. The primary questions are how much does the occluded east
coast low affect the upstream pattern, and in what form the western
trough ejects eastward. As guidance comes into greater consensus,
the answers to these questions will likewise come into focus. Stay
tuned for further updates.
Might as well stick a fork in seeing the eclipse on Monday