Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 405 PM EDT Thu Apr 09 2020 Valid 00Z Fri Apr 10 2020 - 00Z Sun Apr 12 2020 ...Significant snowfall and gusty winds impact northern New England through Friday morning... ...Cold air will continued to be ushered into the eastern U.S. behind an intense storm centered near the New England coast... ...Heavy rain threat decreases over the Desert Southwest but increases over Texas as snow spreads into the northern Rockies later on Friday into the weekend... The weather in the Northeast will be highlighted by a rapidly intensifying area of low pressure across New England tonight into early Friday. On the northern side of the storm, precipitation will fall in the form of wet snow across northern New England and will likely become heavy this evening. Winds will also become increasingly strong and gusty. The storm center is forecast to track across Downeast Maine Friday morning and begin to move away into the Canadian Maritimes thereafter. 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 in 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, a strong cold front is pushing the associated showers and thunderstorms off the East Coast before ushering in a much cooler and drier airmass across much of the eastern U.S. under blustery west to northwesterly winds. Morning lows will dip to around freezing in portions of the Midwest Friday morning and across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic Saturday morning. Meanwhile, below freezing temperatures forecast for the northern part of the country Friday morning has prompted Freeze Warnings over parts of the central Plains. The pesky upper-level low that has doused California with heavy rain and mountain snowfall since this past weekend will continue to meander across the Desert Southwest for one more day before drifting slowly away on Saturday. Pacific moisture wrapping around the upper low will continue to produce coastal and valley rains with some snow in the higher elevations through tonight. The upper low should begin to show signs of weakening on Friday as it drifts farther south to near the Mexican border. 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. Meanwhile, the northern Rockies will see an increasing threat of snow as a cold front associated with a surge of cold Canadian air mass reaches the region. The snow could become heavy as the cold front pushes farther south into Wyoming during the day on Saturday. Kong/Mullinax Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php