Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 328 PM EDT Wed Apr 03 2019 Valid 00Z Thu Apr 04 2019 - 00Z Sat Apr 06 2019 ...Critical risk of fire weather for both the Southern High Plains and parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast this evening... ...Severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall possible for parts of the Southern Plains tonight and the Lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday... While the precipitation associated with a strong low pressure system lifting into Nova Scotia has come to an end across New England, expect gusty winds to continue into tonight across much of the Northeast. Dry air on the backside of this system combined with strong winds is resulting in critical fire weather conditions as red flag warnings are in effect across parts of the Northeast this afternoon. Precipitation is expected to develop ahead of a low pressure system ejecting into the southern Plains this afternoon. Conditions could be ripe for severe weather and SPC has highlighted parts of western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle within a slight risk for severe weather. Expect precipitation to move eastward on Thursday and Friday into the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Gulf Coast states, where again, severe weather and heavy rainfall are possible. Both SPC and WPC have slight risks for severe thunderstorms and flash flooding, respectively, in their outlooks for parts of this region. Farther west, behind a dry line associated with this system, a critical risk of fire weather remains in place for parts of the southern High Plains. To the north, rain will continue to spread across the central Plains into the Midwest tonight and even though significant rainfall is not expected, any amount of rain could exacerbate ongoing flood concerns for that region. This rainfall should shift into the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys on Thursday and the Eastern Seaboard states by Friday. Out west, expect near or above normal temperatures ahead of a couple of fronts moving inland during the short range period. Rain and higher elevation snows will also accompany these systems, shifting into the Intermountain West and Rockies by Friday. Elsewhere, temperatures are forecast to be above to well above normal across the Central U.S. where afternoon highs could be 10 to 20 degrees above normal. Santorelli Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php