Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 358 AM EDT Sat Mar 14 2020 Valid 12Z Sat Mar 14 2020 - 12Z Mon Mar 16 2020 ...Wet weekend in store for the Southern Plains to Ohio Valley... ...Multiple feet of snow forecast for the Sierra Nevada as the Northwest also receives heavy snow... ...Frigid temperatures from the Northern Great Basin to Northern High Plains... A frontal boundary is expected to meander across the Southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley, and Southeast over the weekend. Moisture inflow into the vicinity of this front will create rain chances along and north of it. 1 to 2 inches of rain could occur in portions of the Mississippi Valley to the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys through Saturday night, and localized flooding is possible. Along the north side of the precipitation, mix or snow is expected for parts of the Middle Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley and Central Appalachians, with a couple of inches of snow forecast. Then on Sunday, rain and thunderstorms will refocus farther west across the Southern Plains, with a few strong storms and locally heavy rain possible. Scattered showers are expected farther east in the Southeast as well. An upper-level low is forecast to drift southward across the eastern Pacific very slowly through the weekend, with stalled frontal systems at the surface. These features will lead to persistent precipitation in parts of the West. Rain is expected to spread along the California coast, with snow or mixed precipitation in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West. Higher elevations could see heavy snow, especially the Sierra Nevada--where snow over the next two days alone will be measured in multiple feet. Elsewhere across the Shastas, Sawtooth Mountains, and Wind River Mountains and Tetons should also receive heavy snow in higher elevations. Persistent snow in parts of Montana through Sunday morning could create additional snow totals over 6 inches there. Later Sunday, light snows are forecast to move east from Montana into the north-central tier. The frontal boundaries should divide colder than average temperatures to the north (from the Central Plains to Middle Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley) from warmer than average temperatures to the south (along the Gulf Coast states). Meanwhile, the largest temperature anomalies are forecast for the Northern Great Basin to Northern Rockies and Northern High Plains. Parts of Montana in particular could see high temperatures 40 degrees below normal on Saturday. Tate Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php