Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 351 PM EDT Sat Mar 24 2018 Valid 00Z Sun Mar 25 2018 - 00Z Tue Mar 27 2018 ...Active weather will continue across the Pacific Northwest into the Intermountain West this weekend... ...Additional snow and ice expected for parts of the northern Plains and Upper Midwest... ...Severe weather potential in the southern Plains by Monday... A robust upper level low off the Pacific Northwest coast will begin to move inland by overnight into Sunday morning. Precipitation is expected to continue across the coastal portions of the Pacific Northwest in addition to the Intermountain West and Great Basin. In addition, higher elevation snow is expected across the Shasta and Siskiyou ranges as well as the northern portions of the Sierra Nevada mountains into Sunday. As the upper trough moves farther inland by Sunday, it will lead to an increase in precipitation across the Rockies in addition to higher elevation snow for the northern Rockies. By Monday, most of the precipitation across the West will taper off with the exception of a few light snow showers in the higher elevations of the northern and central Rockies. The Pacific Northwest will maintain a period of rain/higher elevation snow as a plume of moisture continues to deliver precipitation throughout the weekend and into early next week. The chance for wintry precipitation returns for the northern Plains and Upper Midwest by Sunday. A band of snow will begin to move across the northern Plains by Sunday morning. Snowfall rates will increase throughout the day, with the heavier band of snow moving through central Minnesota by Monday evening. Snow will lift to the north over the arrowhead of Minnesota by Monday night. In addition, ice will also be an issue especially in the southern Minnesota/Iowa border on Monday. Farther south, showers and thunderstorms will move across the Southeast overnight and into Sunday as a frontal boundary also moves south across the region. The heavier precipitation will move offshore by Sunday night with lighter showers still lingering near the central Gulf Coast. By Monday, thunderstorms will fire off along the dryline in West Texas. Some of these storms could be severe; as such, the Storm Prediction Center has a slight risk of severe weather from the Big Bend region to northeastern Oklahoma. Reinhart Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php