Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 301 PM EST Thu Jan 14 2021 Valid 00Z Fri Jan 15 2021 - 00Z Sun Jan 17 2021 ...A developing winter storm is expected to bring blizzard conditions across parts of the Upper Midwest into Friday... ...Heavy rain could impact parts of New England on Saturday while wet snow should fall well inland... ...High Wind Warnings across much of the northern and central Plains... ...Elevated to Critical fire weather threat over southern California as well as parts of the central and southern Plains... A developing low pressure system over the north-central U.S. will be the main weather story for the next couple of days. Blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the upper Midwest to the northern Plains in anticipation of increasingly strong and gusty winds together with periods of moderate to heavy snow developing to the west of the intensifying system. This system is expected to remain stationary over the region through Friday, bringing widespread 6 to 12 inches of snow across the warned area. In additions, the tight pressure gradient behind the system will result in a area of strong to gale force winds over the northern and central Plains into Friday morning, where High Wind Warnings are in effect. Lighter amounts of snowfall is forecast farther to the east as the low pressure system begins to weaken and move in the Great Lakes. However, much of the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley, along the western slopes of the Appalachians, and the interior Northeast will see snowfall from this system. On Saturday, a new low pressure center forming along the trailing cold front near the northern Mid-Atlantic coast is expected to spread moderate to heavy rain near the New England coast and could spread farther inland. By Saturday night into Sunday, any mixed precipitation well inland should change back to wet snow as the low pressure system moves up into northern New England. Rain is expected along the Eastern Seaboard on Friday ahead of the cold front. Well above normal temperatures are expected across the Northern Tier states into the Northeast into the weekend ahead of the low pressure system. Meanwhile, temperatures will be 15-20 degrees above average across much of California, Nevada and Arizona through Friday. Southern California may see widespread high temperature records broken on Friday. As a result of that and drier/windier conditions, southwestern California will experience a Critical Risk of Fire today. A tightened pressure gradient over the Plains will lead to stronger winds and an Elevated Fire Risk area over parts of eastern Colorado, Kansas and northern Oklahoma into Friday. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php