Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 359 AM EDT Thu Mar 26 2020 Valid 12Z Thu Mar 26 2020 - 12Z Sat Mar 28 2020 ...Critical fire weather threat through Saturday across the Southern/Central High Plains and Southern Rockies... ...Heavy rainfall and strong to severe thunderstorm threat emerges by Friday across the Southern/Central Plains and eastward through the Ohio Valley... ...Temperatures will 10 to 25 degrees above average over the Southern Plains into the Lower Mississippi Valley... The fire weather threat across the Southern/Central High Plains and Southern Rockies will continue through Saturday as strengthening winds, with gusts as high as 55 to 60 mph, above average temperatures, and low relative humidities are expected. Red Flag Warnings are currently in effect from Southeastern Colorado. Upper level trough pushing through the Western U.S. through Saturday will keep conditions unsettled across the Rockies and Central Great Basin. Widespread light to moderate precipitation should continue across these areas with locally heavy snows possible in the higher terrain. Additional showers and mountain snows are expected to return to the Pacific Northwest through Friday associated with an area of disturbed weather moving towards the Pacific coast. By Friday, the surface low moves from the Rockies as a slow moving frontal boundary sets up across the Ohio Valley into the Central Plains. Showers and thunderstorms will likely expand in coverage across the area and into the Southern Plains on Friday. Locally heavy rainfall is possible, as well as strong to severe thunderstorms. The Storm Prediction Center indicates a slight chance for severe weather across eastern portions of Kansas and Missouri on Thursday. South of the frontal boundary draped from the Mid-Atlantic westward will be warm, with much above average temperatures expected to persist through Saturday. Daytime highs well into the 80s to near 90 can be expected from the Southern Plains to the Southeast. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php