Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 437 PM EDT Tue Apr 01 2014 Valid 00Z Wed Apr 02 2014 - 00Z Fri Apr 04 2014 ...Severe weather possible across the Southern/Central Plains into the Middle Mississippi Valley... ...Heavy rain expected to develop across portions of the Middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys Wednesday into Thursday... An east-west oriented frontal boundary is expected to continue slowly lifting northward across the Southern Plains this evening before becoming stationary across the Central Plains by tomorrow afternoon. Plenty of moisture streaming northward out of the Gulf of Mexico will allow numerous and widespread showers and thunderstorms to develop from the Central/Southern Plains to the Ohio Valley on Wednesday and into Thursday. Some of these showers could be heavy at times, with the potential for some flash flooding, especially along and ahead of the boundary in the Middle Mississippi Valley on Wednesday and into the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys Thursday. In addition, the Storm Prediction Center has highlighted a slight risk for severe weather across the Southern/Central Plains and the Middle Mississippi Valley south of the boundary and ahead of a dry line in Texas where plenty of warm, moist, and unstable air will be present on Wednesday. Out west, an upper level system moving onshore is forecast to bring rain to Central California and snow to places in the Intermountain West and Northern/Central Rockies tonight and on Wednesday. As this energy moves across the Rockies overnight Wednesday, the snow should become confined just to the highest terrain of the Central and Northern Rockies. Upstream, a second system moving across the East Pacific should begin spreading precipitation into coastal Washington by early Thursday morning. Monarski Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php