Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 334 PM EDT Thu Mar 18 2021 Valid 00Z Fri Mar 19 2021 - 00Z Sun Mar 21 2021 ...Severe weather threat remains this evening across the Southeast, southern Mid-Atlantic, and eastern Ohio Valley... ...Moderate rain across the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England switches to light snow showers by Friday morning... ...Unsettled weather enters the West... A dynamic low pressure system that brought widespread severe weather yesterday across the Deep South continues to track eastward throughout the eastern U.S. this afternoon. The threat of severe weather is currently located from northern Florida to the eastern Ohio Valley. This includes much of the lower Mid-Atlantic as well. The Storm Prediction Center has issued an Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms across the eastern Carolinas. Damaging wind gusts, large hail, and isolated tornadoes are all possible. Farther north, isolated severe storms could also impact portions of the eastern Ohio Valley through this evening. The center of the low pressure system will continue to track relatively quickly through the Mid-Atlantic region tonight. A swath of moderate rain is forecast to continue from the Ohio Valley toward southern New England. Meanwhile, a cold high pressure system located in southern Ontario, Canada will build across the Great Lakes on Friday. As the cold air filters in from the north, rain is forecast to change over to light snow late tonight across southern New England with increasingly blustery northerly winds. Parts of the Mid-Atlantic could see rain changing to a period of light snow Friday morning as well, but little to no impacts are expected. The entire system, and most of its impacts, should exit into the Atlantic by Friday afternoon. However, gusty winds will remain along the Southeast coastline through Saturday. Meanwhile, moisture ahead of the next low pressure system has entered the West Coast this afternoon. More unsettled weather will impact the western U.S. for the next couple of days as relatively modest amounts of snow falls across the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada. Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings have been issued across the northern/central Sierra Nevada, where over a foot of snow is possible. As the frontal system gradually pushes east, a mix of rain and snow will be found across the Great Basin and northern Rockies as we head into the weekend. Temperatures will cool to below average across the eastern half of the country over the next few days as the aforementioned cold front swings south. Meanwhile, the Northern/Central Plains and Midwest will experience a gradual warm-up heading into the weekend as a warm front lifts through the region. Snell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php