Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 403 PM EDT Fri Sep 15 2017 Valid 00Z Sat Sep 16 2017 - 00Z Mon Sep 18 2017 ...Heavy rainfall along with severe weather possible for portions of the Midwest and Upper Mississippi Valley... ...Snow will continue over the highest elevations of the Northern Rockies... Much of the Northern/Central Plains, Midwest and Upper Mississippi Valley will have rain this weekend as an upper level trough amplifies and a surface front tracks from the Intermountain West to the central US. Snow began to fall over the highest elevations of the Northern Rockies yesterday and the snowfall rate increased through the day today-- with additional snow expected to continue through late Saturday night. Areas along and ahead of the approaching front is expected to have showers and thunderstorms. The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted a portion of the western Iowa and southern Minnesota as having a slight risk for severe weather on Saturday. Please refer to the SPC web page for additional information on the possible risks. Farther south, moisture from the eastern Pacific Ocean will be transported through Mexico and into West Texas-- this will will generate showers and thunderstorms late tonight/early Saturday morning. As the aforementioned cold front moves closer to the Southern Plains later on Saturday, precipitation will shift towards the Texas Panhandle and into parts of Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a weak upper level disturbance in the western Gulf of Mexico will gradually move toward the eastern Gulf Coast. This will bring an increase of showers and thunderstorms along the central and eastern Gulf Coast through Saturday. Temperatures will generally be cooler across the West over the next few days and warmer for the East. High temperatures throughout the Central Plains to the Middle Mississippi Valley will reach the mid-upper 90s ahead of the cold front-- although much cooler conditions will follow behind the front by Sunday. Temperatures across the interior of New England will also be 10-15 degrees above average for the weekend. Additionally, as Tropical Storm Jose approaches the East Coast, dangerous surf and rip current conditions can be expected throughout the weekend. Reinhart/Campbell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php