Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 314 AM EDT Thu Apr 12 2018 Valid 12Z Thu Apr 12 2018 - 12Z Sat Apr 14 2018 ...Major storm system to affect much of the western and central U.S. through Saturday... A late season winter storm is developing over the Rockies and Intermountain West Thursday morning, and this will be the main thing making weather headlines to close out the work week and going into the upcoming weekend. Moderate to heavy snow is expected for the central and northern Rockies through Thursday night, and then it spreads eastward across the northern plains and eventually the Upper Midwest, where winter storm watches are in affect as of early Thursday morning. The main surface low is forecast to track from Colorado towards Iowa, with widespread 6 to 12 inch snowfall amounts likely across northern Nebraska, much of South Dakota, and western Minnesota with blizzard conditions possible at times. Another impressive facet of this event will be the potential for freezing rain from southern Minnesota to northern lower Michigan, which is unusual for this late in the season. The same storm system is also expected to produce heavy rainfall from eastern Texas to western Kentucky, with the potential for 1 to 3 inches of rain through early Saturday. A few areas across Louisiana and Arkansas could get over 3 inches based on the latest forecasts. In addition to the heavy rain, an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms exists on Friday from northeast Texas to Missouri as moist and unstable air advects northward towards the surface low. In the temperature department, expect readings to be much warmer than recent days across much of the central and eastern U.S. ahead of the strong cold front, with widespread highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s and 60s. There will be an impressive temperature gradient across the Great Lakes region and the Northeast by Friday night and into Saturday with temperatures barely making it above freezing near the Canadian border, along with cloudy skies and mixed wintry precipitation. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php