Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 407 PM EDT Tue Mar 26 2019 Valid 00Z Wed Mar 27 2019 - 00Z Fri Mar 29 2019 ...Active weather pattern across the West but relatively quiet east of the Rockies through Wednesday... ...Showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop over the central Plains Wednesday night... Much of the eastern two-thirds of the country will remain under the influence of a large high pressure system with fine weather for the next couple of days. On the other hand, active weather will be the focus across the western U.S. as a large upper-level cyclone sends waves of disturbances into the area. Moisture currently moving across northern California is expected to expand toward the northeast into the Intermountain region through tonight and into Wednesday morning. Temperatures over the higher elevations will be cold enough to support wet snow while thunderstorms could develop during Wednesday afternoon from the Great Basin into the Intermountain region. Up to a couple of feet of heavy snow will once again be possible for the Sierra Nevada. Meanwhile, the center of the large high pressure system over the eastern U.S. will begin to move off the East Coast on Wednesday, where chilly morning temperatures will moderate to above normal levels by Thursday afternoon. The return flow from the south behind the high pressure system will also bring increasing moisture toward a cold front which is forecast to dip southward into the central Plains Thursday morning. This interaction will trigger showers and thunderstorms over the central Plains Wednesday night into Thursday morning, which should then expand eastward into the Midwest Thursday afternoon. Parts of the Northeast will also see rain moving into the area on Thursday, with the possibility of wintry precipitation over northern New England as the cold front approaches. Meanwhile, high-elevation snows and valley rains will continue to spread eastward into the northern and central Rockies on Thursday. Much of the Desert Southwest and the southern Rockies will remain dry through Thursday. A lingering frontal wave supported by an upper-level low will trigger showers and thunderstorms across the Sunshine State through Wednesday morning. The rain should taper off from west to east by Wednesday night as the system moves gradually away into the Atlantic. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php