Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 244 PM EST Wed Nov 07 2018 Valid 00Z Thu Nov 08 2018 - 00Z Sat Nov 10 2018 ...Accumulating snow likely for parts of Kansas and Nebraska tonight into Thursday morning... ...Well below average temperatures for the Great Plains through week's end... ...Developing storm system to bring a combination of snow/rain to the Great Lakes and Northeast on Friday... ...Favorable weather to produce wildfires for portions of California through Friday... Very cold weather is expected to be in place across the Great Plains through at least the end of the week with high temperature departures from normal ranging between 10 to 25 degrees below average from the Canadian border to the Rio Grande. An upper level disturbance will approach the Central Plains tonight, increasing snowfall coverage with locally moderate intensities at times into the central High Plains. 2-4 inches of snow, locally higher, can be expected from southern Nebraska into northern Kansas by Thursday afternoon. A front will remain draped across the southern U.S. through Thursday evening with little movement while reinforcing shots of colder air drop down from the north. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be common near the frontal boundary until it begins to advance ahead of an evolving upper level system in the central U.S. This will send the front south into Mexico with significantly colder temperatures moving into Texas for Friday. Meanwhile, low pressure will begin to organize over the upper Ohio Valley with light snow expanding through the upper Great Lakes region and steady rain ahead of a forming cold front into the Appalachians. Coastal redevelopment of the surface low is anticipated along the northern Mid-Atlantic coast Friday evening, shifting the focus for heavier rainfall to portions of New England. Precipitation in the higher elevations of the Northeast could begin as snow with minor accumulations through Friday. A blocking upper level ridge off of the West Coast will favor continued dry weather for most locations west of the Continental Divide into the weekend. Critical fire weather conditions are already in place for portions of the Sacramento Valley into the San Francisco Bay area today and this will continue on Thursday as high pressure strengthens across the southern Great Basin. However, an Extremely Critical area has been highlighted by the Storm Prediction Center for portions of Southern California on Thursday given forecasts of developing Santa Ana winds with gusts up to 70 mph in the mountains along with very low relative humidity values. Red Flag Warnings are in effect for both locations of California through at least Friday morning. Otto Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php