Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 411 AM EDT Fri Mar 31 2017 Valid 12Z Fri Mar 31 2017 - 12Z Sun Apr 02 2017 ...Severe thunderstorm potential today for the Mid-Atlantic Seaboard... ...Heavy snow likely for the Northern/Central Rockies, Great Basin and Wasatchs... ...A wintry mix of rain, snow, and ice is expected for the Northeast today and tomorrow... ...Severe thunderstorms are possible across portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas tonight and tomorrow... A strong area of low pressure and associated surface frontal features will continue their eastward progression across the Mid Atlantic and Southeast today. The cold front is expected to reach the Atlantic Seaboard by this evening. Until then, expect continued precipitation along and ahead of the cold front, affecting much of the East Coast. Rainfall will be heavy at times, and thunderstorms may also occur once again. The Storm Prediction Center has outlined portions of Southeast Virginia and the Eastern Carolinas in a slight risk for severe weather today, with the main threats being damaging winds and large hail. Please refer to the SPC's Convective Outlooks for more information. Meanwhile, on the northeast side of this system, moisture flux from the Atlantic Ocean inland will combine with a colder airmass pushing southward from eastern Canada. This will result in a mixture of rain, snow, and ice across much of the Northeast today and tonight, before changing over to mainly snow Saturday, then tapering off by Sunday. Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for a large portion of the northeast. Attention then shifts to the western U.S., where an elongated cold front is currently moving eastward along the western fringe of the Rockies. Expect this system to split as it moves over and east of the Rockies during the day today, with one section moving into the north-central U.S., and another into the south-central U.S. Rain and higher elevation snow will remain in place across much of the Rockies and western portions of the Northern and Central Plains today through Saturday. Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for portions of the Northern and Central Rockies for snow potential. The redeveloped south-central U.S. low pressure system will slowly track eastward across the Southern Plains over the next couple of days. By tonight, the pull of warm and unstable air from the Gulf of Mexico will interact with the associated cold front to produce yet another round of thunderstorms across this region, persisting through the weekend. The Storm Prediction Center has outlined a portion of the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, northward into Western and Central Kansas, as being in a slight risk for severe thunderstorms, mainly for tonight. West-Central Texas will be under a slight risk during the day Saturday into Saturday night. The threat is expected to increase along the Gulf Coast by Sunday as the system pushes eastward towards this region. Wix Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php