Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 328 PM EST Fri Feb 05 2021 Valid 00Z Sat Feb 06 2021 - 00Z Mon Feb 08 2021 ...Multiple rounds of heavy snow on the way for the Cascades and Northern/Central Rockies & Plains, life-threatening wind chills enter the Northern Plains tonight... ...Heavy lake effect snow likely through Saturday across the eastern shores of the Great Lakes... ...Developing coastal low may produce heavy snow from the Central Appalachians to the Northeast I-95 corridor, showers and thunderstorms likely in the Southeast... Waves of low pressure will lead to periods of snow from the northern Rockies and Plains to the central Plains this weekend. The first area of low pressure, currently producing moderate-to-heavy snowfall Montana and the central Rockies, tracks into the central Plains tonight. Winter Weather Advisories are in place for much of Nebraska and northeast Kansas through Saturday morning where 3 to 6 inches of snow are in the forecast. Meanwhile, a second wave of low pressure ushers in another round of moderate-to-heavy snow in the northern Rockies and Plains. This long duration stretch of snowfall has led to the issuance of Winter Storm Warnings for parts of Montana that last into Sunday afternoon. By Sunday evening, snowfall will likely be measured in feet along the highest elevations of the Cascades, Bitterroots, and northern Rockies. Periods of light snow will likely linger into Sunday night across the northern Rockies as well. In addition to the snow, bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills will be common in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest this weekend. High temperatures will struggle to get above zero from Montana and North Dakota to Minnesota both Saturday and Sunday with wind chills potentially as low as -50 degrees. This has resulted in the issuance of Wind Chill Warnings for northern North Dakota and Minnesota, while bone-chilling wind chills are also expected within counties under Wind Chill Advisories that span from eastern Montana to northwest Wisconsin. Over the Great Lakes, brisk and persistent westerly winds and bitter temperatures support favorable conditions for lake effect snow in the typical snowbelts. The lake effect snow machine continues to pump out bands of heavy snowfall when conditions are ripe due to ice coverage across the Great Lakes being well below average. Weekend snowfall totals are likely to include several inches of snow along the western shores of Michigan with as much as 6 to 12 inches (locally higher amounts possible) downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Attention turns to an upper level disturbance that will lead to the development of low pressure near the Florida Panhandle Saturday evening. Numerous showers and even some thunderstorms are possible across the Southeast with the best chance for thunderstorms occurring across Florida. In fact, a Marginal Risk for severe weather is in place over central Florida. As low pressure tracks northeast Saturday night, its shield of precipitation on its northern flank looks to fall in the form of snow from the southern Appalachians to the Mid-Atlantic. There is still some uncertainty as to the storm's exact track and location by Sunday morning, but the latest forecast calls for snow, falling heavily at times, from the DC/Baltimore metro areas up the I-95 corridor to southern New England on Sunday. Snowfall totals could range anywhere from a couple inches to as much as 6 inches in the higher elevations of the central Appalachians. Winter Storm Watches have been issued from western North Carolina and southwest Virginia to the major cities of Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Interests in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will want to monitor the forecast closely this weekend for additional updates. Mullinax Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php