Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 348 AM EDT Thu Apr 25 2019 Valid 12Z Thu Apr 25 2019 - 12Z Sat Apr 27 2019 ...Severe weather and flash flooding possible across the Central Gulf Coast on Friday, with heavy to excessive rain possible for the Ohio Valley as well... ...Near record temperatures for parts of California and the Desert Southwest Thursday and Friday... ...Accumulating snow possible for parts of the Northern Plains Friday into Saturday... Ongoing heavy rainfall and strong to severe thunderstorms across the Lower Mississippi Valley this morning will continue drifting slowly eastward today (Thursday). The greatest chance for severe weather and flash flooding will be along the Central Gulf Coast where both SPC and WPC have slight risks. Showers and thunderstorms will expand into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys as well along a cold front to the north. Heavy to excessive rainfall and flash flooding will be possible with this activity too, especially for parts of the Ohio Valley where WPC has a slight risk on Thursday. As this system pushes east on Friday, showers and thunderstorms will shift into the Eastern U.S. with locally heavy rainfall possible, especially across parts of the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast. The cold front should clear the coast late Friday, with drier and cooler weather expected to begin the weekend. Temperatures across the West during the short range will be very warm through the short range period as an upper level ridge expands across the region. Daytime and nighttime temperatures averaging 10 to 20 degrees above normal, especially across California and the Desert Southwest, could approach record values for this time of the year. Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms this morning in the Central Plains will shift eastward along a weak cold front into the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Thursday. A surface low pressure system organizing across the Intermountain West on Friday will allow for some rain and mountain snows in the Northern Rockies, with showers and storms expanding into the Plains by the weekend. Temperatures to the north of the surface low across the Northern Plains may be cold enough to support a couple of inches of snow Friday into Saturday for parts of the Dakotas. Santorelli Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php