Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 PM EST Wed Mar 06 2019 Valid 00Z Thu Mar 07 2019 - 00Z Sat Mar 09 2019 ...Active weather continues in the West, with heavy snow likely in higher elevations... ...Freeze Warnings are in place again on Thursday morning for the Southeast; conversely, the Southwest will be warm with the threat of fire weather... Multiple rounds of precipitation will impact the western U.S. through the end of the workweek, as upper-level energy and slow-moving fronts will help form lower elevation rain and higher elevation snow. The heavy rainfall threat in California will lessen through Wednesday evening as moisture decreases, but the threat of heavy snowfall remains across the mountain ranges of the West. Additional snowfall of 1 to 2 feet is expected for the Sierra Nevada, Tetons/Wind River Mountains, and the Central Rockies, and up to a foot is forecast for the Cascades, Wasatch, and Sawtooth Mountains. Upper-level energy tracking quickly eastward out of the West is expected to spread 2 to 6 inches of snow into the Northern/Central Plains on Wednesday night and Thursday, and the Midwest and parts of the Ohio Valley could see 1 to 4 inches of snow on Thursday into Friday. Light snow is also possible for the Central Appalachians to Mid-Atlantic region on Friday. Another upper-level trough will move into California on Thursday evening and progress through the West on Friday, and a developing surface low will track eastward with it, increasing precipitation chances once again. This is the low that is expected to create heavy snow to its north across the Northern/Central Plains and Midwest this weekend. Farther east, scattered showers are expected to form along the western Gulf Coast Wednesday night and spread into the Lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley on Thursday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be on the increase for these areas and into the Southeast as moisture increases on Friday. Additionally, snow showers are expected to continue across the Great Lakes region Wednesday night into Thursday, and lake enhancement downwind of Lake Ontario could cause a few inches of snow to accumulate there. Temperature-wise, colder than average weather is ongoing in the Northern/Central Plains, though temperatures will begin moderating somewhat--by Friday morning, low temperatures will only be 5 to 10 degrees below average. The eastern half of the U.S. is also expecting below average temperatures on Thursday, and Freeze Warnings are in place once again for the Southeast for Thursday morning before that area warms up on Friday. Meanwhile, the Southwest to Southern Plains will see temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees warmer than average. According to the Storm Prediction Center, there is an elevated to critical fire weather risk in these areas, where the warmth will combine with dry humidities and gusty winds. Tate Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php