Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
423 AM EDT Thu Mar 20 2025

Valid 12Z Thu Mar 20 2025 - 12Z Sat Mar 22 2025

...Major late winter/early spring snowstorm to push into the Upper
Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes...

...Severe weather possible this evening across much of Illinois and
Indiana...

...Light to moderate snow over the Cascades and Northern Intermountain
Region; light snow over the Great Lakes, Central Appalachians, and
Northeast...

...There is a Critical Risk of fire weather over the parts of the Southern
High Plains and Florida on Thursday and an Elevated Risk over the
Central/Southern Plains and Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley on Friday...

A front extending from the Lower Great Lakes to the Eastern Gulf Coast
will move off the East Coast by Friday evening.  The system will produce
light snow over the Great Lakes and rain over parts of the Lower Great
Lakes/Ohio Valley to the Central Gulf Coast on Thursday morning. By
Thursday afternoon into evening, showers and thunderstorms will develop
over parts of the northern Mid-Atlantic to the southern Mid-Atlantic. Rain
will also fall over parts of the Southeast. In addition, light snow will
develop over parts of the Central Appalachians, ending by Friday morning.
Further, light rain and snow will move into the Northeast overnight
Thursday, with the last of the light snow and rain occurring by Friday
evening.  

Meanwhile, on Thursday, a front over the Northern Intermountain Region to
Southern California will move eastward to the Northern Plains to the
Central High Plains overnight Thursday. On Thursday, the boundary will
produce light snow over the Northern Intermountain Region and Northern
Rockies. The front will be ushered by a third front moving out of Central
Canada into the Northern Plains overnight Thursday. By Saturday, the two
fronts will move eastward to the Lower Great Lakes and southward to the
Lower Mississippi Valley/Southern Plains and Middle Mississippi Valley,
respectively.

By Friday evening, the systems will produce light snow over the Upper
Great Lakes into the Upper Mississippi Valley. Showers and thunderstorms
will also develop over parts of the Middle Missouri/Middle Mississippi
Valleys on Friday. Moreover, light rain will move into the Ohio Valley and
Lower Great Lakes overnight on Friday.

Furthermore, on Thursday, upper-level energy and weak onshore flow will
aid in producing coastal rain and higher-elevation snow over the Pacific
Northwest and into parts of Northern California. Early Friday morning, a
fourth front will move onshore over the Northwest, advancing to the
Northern Rockies, and then extend roughly southwestward to southern
Oregon. Coastal rain and higher-elevation snow will continue into Saturday
over parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.

On Thursday, the SPC issued a Critical Risk of fire weather over parts of
the Southern High Plains and Florida. On Friday the fire weather threat
will lessen to an Elevated Risk over part of the Central/Southern Plains
and Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley.


Ziegenfelder


Graphics available at
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php