Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 449 AM EDT Thu Apr 27 2017 Valid 12Z Thu Apr 27 2017 - 12Z Sat Apr 29 2017 ...Heavy rain possible from parts of the Southern Plains to the Southern Ohio/Tennessee Valleys... ...Heavy snow possible over parts of the Northern/Central Rockies... A front extending from the Great Lakes southward to Central Gulf Coast will move eastward to the Northeast while weakening by Friday morning. Showers and thunderstorms will develop along and ahead of the front, likewise, from the Great Lakes to the Central Gulf Coast that will also move eastward to off the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Coast by Friday afternoon. Snow will develop over parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley into parts of the Upper Great Lakes ending by Friday morning. Rain/freezing rain will also develop over parts of the western portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan through Thursday evening. Meanwhile, another front over Northern Rockies to the Great Basin will move southeastward and link up with the aforementioned boundary over the Eastern U. S. on Thursday evening over the Southern Plains into the Central Gulf Coast. The front will lift northward into the Middle Mississippi Valley/Western Ohio Valley by Friday evening. In addition, energy rotating around an upper-level low over James Bay will induce a reinforcing front over the Great Lakes on Friday evening, too. The system will produce snow and lower elevation rain over the Northern/Central Rockies on Thursday that will continue over the region through Friday evening. As the storm moves southeastward to the Southern High Plains, showers and thunderstorms will develop over parts of the Central/Southern High Plains on Thursday afternoon that will expand eastward to the Middle Mississippi Valley by Friday morning and into parts of the Ohio Valley by Friday evening. Additionally, showers and thunderstorms will develop over the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Tennessee Valley on Friday afternoon into evening. Furthermore, additional upper-level energy will move into the Great Basin/Southwest/Southern Rockies on Friday. The energy will produce rain and higher elevation snow over parts of the Southern Rockies/Southwest on Friday into Friday evening. Elsewhere, onshore flow will aid in producing rain and higher elevation snow over parts of the Pacific Northwest on Thursday into early Friday morning. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php