Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 348 PM EDT Tue Mar 29 2016 Valid 00Z Wed Mar 30 2016 - 00Z Fri Apr 01 2016 ...Heavy rain possible for parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley/Tennessee Valley... ...Heavy snow possible for portions of the Central/Northern Rockies and High Plains... A strong, early spring storm system will cross the Rockies and track through the Great Plains over the next few days. Widespread snow is expected for much of the Central/Northern Rockies and the surrounding areas. Periods of heavy snow is forecast primarily Wyoming, but also southern Montana and northern Colorado through Friday afternoon. 1 to 2 feet of snow will be possible for east/southeast Wyoming. The Beartooths and Big Horns may have 3-day accumulations exceeding 1 foot. A vast portion of the Great Basin/Intermountain West have Winter Storm Warning and Advisories in effect. Blizzard Watches and warnings are in effect for north-central and eastern Wyoming. Very strong wind gusts will accompany this system, which will likely lead to blizzard and/or near-blizzard conditions. Rain will develop over parts of the Northern Plains and move into the Upper Mississippi Valley/Upper Great Lakes by Wednesday morning. Over the Upper Great Lakes, the precipitation will begin as snow but transition to rain on Wednesday morning. Warm Gulf moisture will advect northward through Mississippi Valley on Wednesday, reaching the Great Lakes region by Wednesday night. Showers and thunderstorms will develop over a large area on Wednesday, spanning from the Western/Central Gulf Coast to southern Upper Midwest/Middle Mississippi Valley. Central Plains by Tuesday morning. Some of these storms may become strong, even severe. The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted this region as having a slight risk for severe storms. As the moisture increases and the associated front begins to move further into Plains, the area of convection will shift into the Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley Wednesday evening into Thursday. The slight risk area will be focused over the Coast states/Tennessee Valley on Thursday. Heavy rain will be likely for southern and central portions of the U.S. Accumulations of 1 to 4 inches will be common through Friday. Elsewhere, a lingering boundary and upper-level energy will produce showers and thunderstorms over parts of Southern Florida through Wednesday evening. Campbell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php