Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 449 PM EDT Wed Apr 22 2015 Valid 00Z Thu Apr 23 2015 - 00Z Sat Apr 25 2015 ...Strong to severe thunderstorms expected across the Plains and western Gulf Coast... ...Much needed rain and snow expected for the West Coast and Intermountain West... ...Snow showers will fall across the Great Lakes and New England region... A large upper level low off the coast of southern California will be a major player in the upcoming few days for severe weather across the Plains. This low will continue to deepen on Thursday and into Friday as it moves toward the southern and central Plains. Between moisture being tapped from the Gulf of Mexico and plenty of diurnal heating to help increase instability, along with forcing from on the surface due to a dryline moving through central Texas, severe weather can be expected Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, most of the convection will be in the southern Plains and portions of the western Gulf Coast. As a cold front sinks southward across the Southeast and stalls in north Texas, convection will gradually expand eastward through the short term. By Thursday afternoon, the eastern half of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Louisiana to Northwest Florida, will receive a fair amount of showers and thunderstorms. By Friday morning, convection across Florida will taper off; however, the southern and central Plains can still expect diurnally-driven thunderstorms into the weekend. For more specific information on severe weather, visit the Storm Prediction Center. The closed low off of California will also be a driver for much needed precipitation for central and southern California. Most of the instability will concentrate along the Sierra Nevada mountains. Consequently, most of the precipitation in the form of snow will fall across that region. The WPC Winter Weather desk currently has slightly over 5 inches of snow falling on the highest peaks of this mountain range. In addition, scattered showers and thunderstorms will move across the Intermountain West by Thursday afternoon. Keep in mind, some of this will fall as snow in the higher elevations but no significant accumulations are expected. The Pacific Northwest will have a stormy few days as a cold from moves onshore. Showers and higher elevation snow will begin to increase by Thursday morning ahead of a cold front approaching the coast. As this cold front moves across the northern Rockies, showers and higher elevation snow will spread across the region accordingly. Shifting the focus northeastward, a large upper level low is currently spinning over the Great Lakes region. This low will be responsible in bringing springtime snow showers across the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and New England on Wednesday and into Thursday. By Thursday evening, most of the snow showers will diminish across the Midwest/Great Lakes and will shift eastward across New England in response to the upper low moving offshore across the North Atlantic. By Friday morning, most of the snow will have tapered off, however some residual snow showers and rain showers could linger. Fanning Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php