Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 356 AM EDT Tue Oct 20 2020 Valid 12Z Tue Oct 20 2020 - 12Z Thu Oct 22 2020 ...Active weather pattern through the middle of the week... ...Fire threat returns to northern California on Tuesday... The weather pattern over the continental U.S. is expected to be rather active through the middle of the week with an amplified upper level pattern in place, consisting of a broad upper trough over the north-central U.S. and the Bermuda High becoming anchored in place near the East Coast. Winter weather will be making headlines from the northern Rockies to the Upper Midwest with a couple of disturbances tracking eastward across the region. Winter weather advisories are currently in effect from eastern South Dakota to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where several inches of snow is likely through Tuesday night. A second storm system will be crossing Montana and North Dakota by Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, and winter storm watches are in effect for central portions of Montana for this event, which may lead to some locations receiving over six inches of early season snowfall. Fire weather and air quality concerns will remain an issue for portions of the western U.S., particularly across the state of California, where red flag warnings and air quality alerts are currently in effect. The dry weather and gusty winds with the strong cold front approaching this region will tend to aggravate any existing wildfires. Elsewhere across the nation, temperatures will be above normal from the southern Plains to the East Coast with widespread highs in the 70s and 80s expected, with the blocking high near the East Coast preventing the cold fronts from making much southeastward progress. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php