Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 327 AM EDT Sat Oct 14 2017 Valid 12Z Sat Oct 14 2017 - 12Z Mon Oct 16 2017 ...Snow expected across the central Rockies... ...Heavy rain and severe weather possible over parts of the Midwest... The trough that has been centered over the western U.S. will shift eastward toward the Plains this morning. This will bring snow showers across the higher elevations in Wyoming; these snow showers are expected to end by Saturday night as the trough continues moving east. A developing surface low with a strong cold front will move across the Plains while a warm front will stretch across the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes on Saturday morning. Showers and thunderstorms will develop along this boundary and will continue moving eastward. An enhanced risk of severe weather will be centered along parts of the Upper Midwest and middle Mississippi Valley during the day. There is also a risk of flash flooding for parts of the Upper Great lakes and into the Mississippi Valley. On Sunday, this strong cold front will sweep across the eastern U.S. and will move into Mexico with lighter precipitation amounts expected. High temperatures behind this front will be 5-10 degrees below average--bringing more fall-like conditions to the eastern half of the U.S. Easterly flow across Florida will bring deep moisture and instability to the peninsula. This will yield showers and thunderstorms throughout the weekend. By Monday, showers and thunderstorms will be confined mostly to South Florida and the Keys. Meanwhile, an upper level ridge will be centered over the West Coast through the short term period. This will unfortunately bring above average temperatures and dry conditions--creating persistent fire weather conditions to California. Reinhart Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php