Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 AM EST Mon Mar 05 2018 Valid 12Z Mon Mar 05 2018 - 12Z Wed Mar 07 2018 ...A major winter storm with heavy snow and strong winds will impact portions of the northern Plains and upper Midwest...with blizzard conditions expected locally... ...Widespread showers and embedded thunderstorms will overspread the lower and middle Mississippi Valley Monday and advance east across the Gulf Coast states, and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys through Tuesday... ...Very dry, mild and windy conditions over the southern High Plains will foster an enhanced fire danger risk... Widespread snow and strong wind speeds are impacting much of the Northern High Plains and Upper Mississippi Valley as an upper-level trough and surface cold front moves east through the the central U.S. Blizzard conditions are expected from southwest North Dakota down across much of central South Dakota and far northern Nebraska given the expected high winds. Over 1 foot of snow is expected locally with this winter storm going through Tuesday before the system then begins to move toward the Eastern U.S. Numerous Blizzard and Winter Storm Warnings, along with Winter Weather Advisories and High Wind Warnings are in effect from eastern Montana south to Kansas and east to Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The snow will spread to the Great Lakes, northern Ohio Valley and the Northeast by midweek as the front tracks toward the East Coast. Along the trail cold front, scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms will develop over the Southern/Central Plains to the Midwest as southerly flow from the Gulf transports moisture northward. The swath of precipitation will spread east across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and including the Gulf Coast and into portions of the Mid-Atlantic region. Some locally heavy rainfall will occur, but right now the amounts do not appear to be heavy enough to support much in the way of a flooding threat. Gusty winds ahead of a cold front and also behind it coupled with low relative humidities will maintain the threat for dangerous fire weather conditions. The fire weather threat should tend to subside by Tuesday though as the winds begin to diminish. Across the Western U.S., temperatures will start off cool but with high pressure building in across the Intermountain West some gradual moderation can be expected. Campbell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php