NWS GSP Official Guidance
KEY MESSAGE 2: WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AND MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL DEVELOP
ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY.
FOLLOWING A PROTRACTED PERIOD OF DRY WEATHER ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY
NIGHT AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE MIGRATES OFFSHORE, THE PATTERN WILL
BECOME ACTIVE AGAIN AS A HIGH-AMPITUDE Z500 TROUGH SHARPENS UP OVER
THE MIDWEST. BY THIS POINT IN TIME, MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN DECENT
AGREEMENT THAT A BAROCLINIC ZONE WILL BE DRAPED ACROSS THE TENNESSEE
VALLEY JUST TO OUR WEST, WHILE A COASTAL FRONT WILL BE LOCATED OFF
THE ATLANTIC COAST. THE ADVANCING TROUGH WILL INCITE ACTIVATION OF
BOTH FEATURES, RESULTING IN THE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE
APPALACHIANS ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...CONTINUING INTO WEDNESDAY
NIGHT AS THE TROUGH PASSES OVERHEAD. THOUGH RECENT GUIDANCE HAS
WAFFLED ON THE EXACT EVOLUTION OF THE ADVANCING SURFACE WAVE, A
CONSENSUS APPEARS TO BE FORMING THAT RATHER THAN CYCLOGENESIS, WE'LL
JUST SEE A ROBUST COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE. THE RESULT, THEN, WILL BE
MAINLY NW FLOW SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE NC MOUNTAINS. MOISTURE
OUTSIDE THE MOUNTAINS WILL BE SEVERELY LIMITED BY THE INFLUENCE OF
THE COASTAL FRONT, SO WHILE A FEW ENSEMBLES SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT
OF PRECIPITATION ALONG THE I-40 CORRIDOR IN THE NC FOOTHILLS AND
PIEDMONT, ACCUMS SHOULD BE LIGHT TO NONEXISTENT, AND IT'S UNCERTAIN
WHETHER TEMPERATURES WILL EVEN BE COLD ENOUGH FOR ANY FLAKES. THE
FORECAST WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED FOR POTENTIAL WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORIES ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AS WE GET CLOSER TO THIS EVENT.
THE TROUGH SHOULD EVOLVE INTO A CLOSED UPPER LOW OVER THE NORTHERN
MID-ATLANTIC BY THURSDAY MORNING, AND IN RESPONSE, THE BULK OF
DETERMINISTIC MODELS AND LONG-RANGE ENSEMBLES STILL DEPICT
CYCLOGENESIS ALONG THE COASTAL FRONT. HOWEVER, THE THINKING HAS NOT
CHANGED THAT THIS FEATURE WILL BE FAR ENOUGH EAST TO PRECLUDE ANY
NOTABLE IMPACTS FOR OUR AREA. RATHER, PRECIPITATION SHOULD TAPER
OFF SMOOTHLY THROUGH THE DAY THURSDAY AS THE FRONT PUSHES EAST OF
US, UNTIL WE'RE MOSTLY DRY AGAIN BY THURSDAY EVENING APART FROM SOME
LINGERING NW FLOW SNOW