Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 406 AM EDT Sat Apr 14 2018 Valid 12Z Sat Apr 14 2018 - 12Z Mon Apr 16 2018 ...A major low pressure system continues to spread heavy snow, strong winds and freezing rain across the northern tier states... ...Strong thunderstorms with heavy rain expected to spread eastward from the Mississippi Valley into the East Coast... ...Unsettled weather expected to move into much of the western U.S. Sunday into Monday... As a blocky and unstable upper-level pattern continues to persist over North America, the weather across many areas in the U.S. will be impacted by significant low pressure systems through the weekend. A major cyclone continues to impact a large area of the central and northern Plains with blizzard conditions this Saturday morning. Sleet and freezing rain are also developing north of a strong stationary front over the upper Midwest. As the low pressure system gradually moves eastward during the weekend while cold air continues to filter in from Canada, sleet and freezing rain are expected to spread toward the Great Lakes today followed by interior New England on Sunday. In the mean time, areas along the East Coast from the Mid-Atlantic southward are experiencing a sudden warm-up with high temperatures bouncing back into the 80's ahead of a strong cold front which is steadily approaching the Mississippi Valley. Abundant moisture from the Gulf of Mexico has already triggered heavy rain and thunderstorms over the southern Plains. These storms are expected to spread across the Mississippi Valley today and into much of the East Coast on Sunday. The robust dynamics associated with the cold front will appear to support the possibility of heavy rain moving across these areas during the next couple of days. Meanwhile, the next significant Pacific storm is already spreading moderate to heavy rain into the Pacific Northwest. The strong dynamics associated with this system will continue to spread precipitation farther inland reaching the northern Rockies and as far south as the Sierra Nevada by Monday morning. Strong gusty winds will also accompany this system as the upper-level trough will remain quite amplified. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php