Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 400 PM EDT Thu May 07 2020 Valid 00Z Fri May 08 2020 - 00Z Sun May 10 2020 ...A late-season snowstorm for the interior Northeast Friday and into Saturday... ...There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Southern Plains... ...There is a slight risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the Southern Plains... ...Near record heat continues across the Desert Southwest into California as a surge of abnormally cold air pushes south into much of the eastern U.S. on Saturday... Storm over the Southern Plains will merge with front moving southward over the Plains overnight Thursday. The storm over the Southern Plains will become a wave of low pressure over the Middle Mississippi Valley by Friday morning that will move northeastward to the Mid-Atlantic by Friday evening and into the Gulf of Maine by Saturday morning. The storm will produce showers and thunderstorms over parts of the Southern Plains on Thursday evening into Friday morning. The SPC has slight risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Southern Plains, likewise, through Friday morning. The main hazards with the severe storms will be severe hail and damaging thunderstorm wind gust. In a similar fashion, the WPC has issued a slight risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the Southern Plains. The major threat from excessive rainfall will be mainly localized scattered flash flooding. In addition, the wave of low pressure will aid in pulling much colder than average air over the Northeast. On Friday afternoon, light snow will start to develop over parts of the Great Lakes and expand into the Ohio Valley by Friday evening. Overnight Friday, the snow will expand into parts of the Central Appalachians into parts of the Northeast. By Saturday evening the snow will move into parts of Northern New England. It appears that interior New England will see significant amount of wet snow with northerly wind becoming increasingly strong and gusty late Friday night into Saturday morning. The unusually cold air mass from eastern Canada will be pulled southward down into the eastern U.S. behind the storm, resulting in widespread record low temperatures spanning as far south as Alabama and Mississippi on Saturday. This will be in stark contrast with near record heat across southern California, the Desert Southwest, and the Southern Rockies. In addition, fire danger will be very high over much of the Southern Rockies as the low pressure system develops over the Central Plains. Lowering humidity and gusty winds will also help elevate the risk of wildfires over parts of Florida. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest will catch a break in precipitation as a gradual warming trend sets in. Lastly, an Alberta clipper is forecast to spread rain and mixed wintry precipitation into the northern Plains and parts of the Northern Rockies Friday into Saturday morning. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php