ON THE SKILL AND UTILITY OF NMCS MEDIUM-RANGE CENTRAL GUIDANCE

Verification scores are presented to illustrate the general success of NMC forecasters in providing the best day 3, 4, and 5 mean sea level pressure and 6-10-day mean 500-mb height fields given the operationall y available array of often conflicting NWP model solutions. As a prime r on NMC efforts to enhance the utility of the medium-range forecast g uidance, a brief overview is provided on the rationale and expectation s for ensemble prediction.