Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 359 AM EDT Thu Oct 24 2019 Valid 12Z Thu Oct 24 2019 - 12Z Sat Oct 26 2019 ...Heavy snow over portions of central to southern Colorado expected to taper off off by this afternoon... ...Conditions favorable for the spreading of wildfires across northern and southern California... An amplifying upper trough digging down the central Rockies is bringing a quick round of heavy snow across central to southern Colorado early this Thursday morning. Cold air pushing up the mountain slopes will help produce snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches over the Front Range with higher totals into the Foothills, some possibly in excess of a foot. High temperatures will be 20 to 30 degrees colder today across the southern to central High Plains in the wake of the cold front compared to Wednesday's highs. As the upper trough digs toward the southern Plains later today, a narrow band of heavy snow will be possible across the Texas Panhandle in the afternoon and evening which will be disruptive to travel in the area. Snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected into the Texas Panhandle, with locally higher values possible. Farther downstream, the instability ahead of the upper trough is expected to trigger showers and thunderstorms today across central Texas where a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms is indicated by the Storm Prediction Center. By Friday, the upper trough is expected to draw a plume of tropical moisture northward from the western Gulf of Mexico into the central Gulf Coast region. It appears that a low pressure system will form as a result. This system will likely spread rain farther northeastward into the Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys Friday evening into early Saturday. Meanwhile, low relative humidities and gusty winds will lead to dangerous conditions favorable for the spreading of wildfires across sections of northern California and southern California. Santa Ana winds gusting up to 60 mph are expected to impact these areas today as a strong ridge of high pressure settles across the western U.S. Temperatures will be in the upper 80s to low 90s with little moisture in the air across north-central California and southern California. Across the eastern U.S., a high pressure system will dominate the region into Friday keeping daytime temperatures near average. Cool morning temperatures with areas of frost are likely across the Mid-Atlantic region this morning and perhaps Friday morning as well. Kong/Otto Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php