Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 257 PM EST Wed Feb 24 2021 Valid 00Z Thu Feb 25 2021 - 00Z Sat Feb 27 2021 ...Measurable snowfall in parts of northern New England tonight; Cooler temps return to the Southern Plains and Northeast, warmer conditions along the Gulf Coast... ...New Pacific storm delivers rain and mountain snow to the Northwest... ...Stalled frontal boundary to trigger showers and thunderstorms from the Southern Plains to the Southeast... An area of low pressure is forecast to produce areas of snow across northern New England this evening as it approaches from the eastern Great Lakes. Snow may linger into Thursday morning in these areas as a cold front ushers in a shot of colder temperatures. In total, snow accumulations should be on the light side but a stripe of 4 to 8 inches in northern Maine is possible. The aforementioned cold front leads to colder temps pushing south into the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday following a seasonably mild day today. The colder temperatures will also return across the Southern Plains and Ohio Valley on Thursday with the coldest anomalies (roughly 15 to 25 degrees below normal) centered over the southern High Plains. Temperatures from the South Central U.S. to the Northeast should moderate to more seasonally cool levels by Friday while highs in the 70s set up shop along the Gulf Coast. Some parts of Florida could see highs even soar into the 80s for the end of the week. In the West, a Pacific storm system pumps Pacific moisture into the Northwest leading to an unsettled couple of days throughout the region. Periods of rain are likely tonight into Thursday in the lower lying areas of the Northwest while copious amounts of snow pile up in the higher elevations of the Cascades, Olympics, and the northern Rockies. After the primary storm system advances east on Friday, lingering upslope flow and access to Pacific moisture will keep in the forecast into the start of the weekend. Winter Storm Watches are in place for portions of these mountain ranges as snowfall is forecast to be measured in feet in some of these locations. In addition, strong winds return to western Montana on Thursday where High Wind Warnings are in place due to wind gusts surpassing 50 mph are likely. Avalanche warnings also continue in parts of the northern Rockies through Thursday morning. Lastly, parts of the central Rockies and High Plains will be blanketed in snow tonight into Thursday with amounts up to a foot possible along the front range of the Colorado Rockies. Across the South, a frontal boundary will come to a halt along over the Gulf Coast states on Thursday. This boundary acts as a trigger for scattered showers and thunderstorms on Thursday. Precipitation rates begin to ramp up in intensity Thursday night as an upper trough approaches from the southern High Plains. In fact, some thunderstorms could become severe across the South Central U.S. late Thursday where a Marginal Risk for severe weather is in place. The large swath of showers and thunderstorms advances east into the Deep South where locally heavy rainfall and strong storms could transpire. By Friday evening, precipitation works its way into the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic with some mountain snow and wintry mix possible in the southern and central Appalachians. Mullinax Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php