Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 235 AM EDT Wed Apr 5 2017 Valid 12Z Wed Apr 5 2017 - 12Z Fri Apr 7 2017 ...Stormy weather across the southeastern U.S. and rain/snow returns to the West Coast... The main weather story through the middle of the week will be a potent storm system currently crossing the Midwest states. Severe weather will be the hallmark of this low pressure system as it makes its way towards the East Coast by Thursday afternoon. This is expected in the warm sector from the Ohio Valley to the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, and then the eastern Mid-Atlantic region on Thursday. The Storm Prediction Center has additional details regarding the severe weather threat. This storm system will likely have a wintry side to it as well, with a band of accumulating snow across the lower peninsula of Michigan on the northwest side of the precipitation shield. As the low intensifies, expect windy conditions to develop across much of the eastern U.S. for the end of the week. The West Coast from northern California to Washington state will also have a return to unsettled conditions. A slow moving frontal boundary will slowly move inland along with a plume of Pacific moisture, producing rainfall amounts up to an inch, with higher amounts possible across the Olympic mountains. Several inches of snow is likely for the higher elevations of the Cascades and the mountains of northern California. A stronger storm system approaches the coast by Friday morning, along with windy conditions and lowering snow levels. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php