Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 403 AM EDT Thu Apr 09 2020 Valid 12Z Thu Apr 09 2020 - 12Z Sat Apr 11 2020 ...Significant snowfall and gusty winds expected over interior northern New England on Thursday and Friday morning... ...Strong cold front triggering showers and thunderstorms in portions of the East and southern Texas today to usher in cooler, drier airmass for the weekend... ...Slow moving upper low to keep producing spotty showers and thunderstorms as well as mountain snowfall in portions of the Desert Southwest... The weather in the Northeast today and Friday will be highlighted by a rapidly intensifying area of low pressure across New England late Thursday into early Friday. On the northern side of the storm precipitation will fall in the form of snow across northern New England and pick up in intensity Thursday evening. Winds will also become increasingly strong leading to near whiteout conditions and drifting snow. By the time the snow tapers off later in the day on Friday over a foot of snow will have accumulated with some localized spots of northern Maine and New Hampshire picking up as much as two feet. In addition, lake effect snow showers will drop several inches of snow down wind of Lakes Erie and Ontario with an inch or two also possible in the central Appalachians. To the south, the storm system's associated cold front will sweep across the eastern U.S. with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing along and ahead of the front this afternoon. Areas most at risk are the megalopolis of the Northeast, the eastern Carolinas, and southeast Texas. Some thunderstorms could be severe and produce heavy downpours. The cold front will race into the Atlantic Thursday evening ushering in a much cooler and drier airmass across much of the eastern U.S. to close out week. Morning lows will hover around freezing in portions of the Midwest Friday morning and across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic Saturday morning. The pesky upper-level low that has doused California with heavy rain and mountain snowfall since this past weekend will dawdle about the Desert Southwest for a couple more days. Pacific moisture wrapping around the upper low will continue to produce coastal and valley rains with some snow in the higher elevations. More than of foot of snow remains likely near the highest mountain peaks of southern California and several more inches along the southern range of the Sierra Nevada. By Friday, the upper low should begin to show signs of weakening as it drifts farther south to near the Mexican border. Precipitation across southern California should gradually become more widely scattered on Friday as the upper low begins to move toward the east. The upper low will then head for the southern Plains by Saturday setting the stage for what is potentially shaping up to be an active Easter weekend in terms of heavy rain and severe weather across the South. Mullinax Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php