Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 351 AM EDT Wed Mar 23 2016 Valid 12Z Wed Mar 23 2016 - 12Z Fri Mar 25 2016 ...Heavy snow expected to spread from the Intermountain West to the Northern/Central Plains and the Upper Midwest... ...Severe weather possible across the Lower Mississippi Valley and parts of the Deep South through Thursday... ...Significant wildfire threat possible for portions of the Southwest and into the Southern Plains/Middle Mississippi Valley... Valley rain and higher elevation snowfall across the Intermountain West and the Northern/Central Rockies will continue through midweek as another Pacific cold front approaches the Northwest Coast. Chances for snow will decrease somewhat over the Rockies as high pressure builds in over the region. A developing winter storm system will track across the Central Plains today and through the Middle Mississippi Valley on Thursday. Showers and thunderstorms will develop over portions of the Central/Southern Plains as the southern flank of the cold front sweeps through. The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted an area from northeast Texas to western Illinois as having a slight risk for severe weather today. This area will shift to the east, resulting in a slight risk on Thursday and Friday for the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians. On the backside of this system, very warm and dry air coming off the mountains combined with strong winds will increase the fire weather threat Wednesday and Thursday. In fact, the Storm Prediction Center has depicted much of the Southwest/Southern Rockies as having an extreme risk and the Southern/Central Plains as having critical conditions for the spread of wildfires. Numerous Red Flag Warnings have been issued. On the north side of this system, cold air should allow for heavy snow to spread from the Central/Northern Plains to the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, where as much as 6 to 12 inches of snow is forecast. A swath from southeast Minnesota to Lake Huron may have accumulations of 10 to 15 inches. Freezing rain will be possible along the southern edge of the cold air from southern Wisconsin to central Michigan. Many locations along this corridor could see up to 0.25 inch of ice. Areas along and north of Lake Erie could see ice amounts up to 1 inch. Meanwhile in the Southeast and the East, strong southerly flow will allow for seasonably warm temperatures to persist over the next few days. Afternoon temperatures could be as much as 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of the year, especially across the Mid-Atlantic region. Campbell/Ryan Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php