Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 452 AM EDT Mon Oct 26 2020 Valid 12Z Mon Oct 26 2020 - 12Z Wed Oct 28 2020 ...Widespread snowfall across the central Rockies and central Plains today will shift further south and evolve into an ice storm for the southern High Plains later today and into Tuesday... ...Record cold temperatures continue to engulf the Rockies and the Plains over the next couple days... ...Critical to extreme fire risks and high wind threat for portions of California into the Desert Southwest... ...Tropical Storm Zeta forecast to become a hurricane and threaten the central Gulf Coast... The early season major winter storm across the central Rockies to the Plains is showing no sign of abating. Rain and some thunderstorms over the southern Rockies will change over to moderate to heavy snow today as the arctic air mass continues to push southward. More than a foot of snow with gusty winds and plummeting temperatures is forecast for the higher terrain of the central Rockies while much of the southern High Plains will receive 6+ inches of snow, with lighter amounts extending eastward into Missouri. The system will gradually evolve into an ice storm as it begins to tap in moisture and slightly milder air from the western Gulf of Mexico later today and especially on Tuesday. It appears that areas from northern Texas into western Oklahoma will be most likely to see significant amounts of ice through Tuesday. Meanwhile, record cold temperatures with bitterly cold wind chills will continue from the interior western U.S. to a large portion of the Great Plains for the next couple of days before moderating on Wednesday. This will be in stark contrast with high temperatures near 90 degrees this afternoon over southern Texas. These jarring temperature differences will help energize a rather compact upper level low forecast to begin ejecting into Texas early on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Zeta, currently in the western Caribbean Sea, is forecast to become a hurricane as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday into Wednesday. The interaction between Zeta and the compact upper low moving into Texas will bring further complications into the weather forecasts across the Deep South. Residents along the Gulf Coast should continue to monitor the latest forecasts for Zeta issued by the National Hurricane Center. Farther west, dry air and gusty winds associated with the large and highly anomalous arctic high pressure system are expected to trigger strong winds that will promote extreme fire weather conditions for parts of northern California into the Desert Southwest. The prime setup for potentially damaging Santa Ana winds will be today across California as a strong cold front pushes through the area. Winds are forecast to be strong enough to result in some downed trees and power outages where High Wind Warnings have been posted. Farther east, elevated to critical fire risks are also posted for the southern Great Basin and Desert Southwest where many wind advisories are in effect. Elsewhere, drier conditions should return to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic for today with warmer temperatures remaining across in the Southeast. Some tropical downpours can still be expected today across southern Florida. Across New England, some rain and morning wintry mix are expected to linger as a cold front forms and moves across the region. Kong/Mullinax Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php