Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 348 AM EDT Tue May 16 2017 Valid 12Z Tue May 16 2017 - 12Z Thu May 18 2017 ...Wet and cool across the Pacific Northwest with late season snow expected over the higher elevations... ...Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms will be possible from the Southern/Central Plains to the Upper Midwest the next few days... ...Temperatures will be well above normal from the Upper Midwest to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley... A vigorous upper-level low will drop from the Pacific Northwest to the Central Great Basin and Rockies over the next few days, spreading rain and elevated snow from the Pacific Northwest to the Northern Rockies by the end of the work week. Abundant moisture streaming in from the Pacific will enhance the precipitation over the favored terrain. Several inches of snow, possibly up to a foot, will be possible along the Cascades, Northern Rockies and the Wasatch Range. Heavy rain and strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible from the Southern/Central Plains to the Upper Midwest early this week as anomalous Gulf moisture continues to pull northward ahead of a mean Western U.S. upper trough. Embedded areas of heavy rainfall will be possible across the Upper Mississippi valley -- where the anomalous moisture will interact with multiple shortwaves and surface lows lifting through the region. Additionally, high rainfall intensities may develop within the convection firing ahead of a dry line moving across the Southern and Central Plains. Please refer to the Storm Prediction Center for the latest details on severe weather (www.spc.ncep.noaa.gov). Above normal temperatures will migrate from the Upper Midwest to the Great Lakes/Ohio Valley region by the midweek as the upper-level ridge axis shifts eastward. Campbell/Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php