Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 352 PM EDT Fri Mar 19 2021 Valid 00Z Sat Mar 20 2021 - 00Z Mon Mar 22 2021 ...A storm system will continue to overspread the western U.S. bringing rain and snow... ...Mild to warm temperatures forecast across the Southwest, central, and northeastern U.S. through the weekend... The low pressure system responsible for the recent widespread severe weather, heavy rain, and wintry precipitation across the eastern U.S. the past couple of days has moved offshore into the Atlantic. Gusty winds behind the system will continue along the East Coast through Saturday morning. A trailing cold front extending westward across the Florida Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico will push southward overnight bringing cooler than average temperatures to the Southeast and a slight chance of light showers. A low pressure center will develop off the east coast of Florida Saturday afternoon increasing the chance of rain along the Florida coast and extending northward to the Carolinas. The heaviest rain will likely remain offshore. Across the western half of the country, a cold front is slowly progressing eastward from the northern High Plains southwestward through the Great Basin and southern California. Lower elevation rain and mountain snow will continue overnight Friday for the Pacific Northwest, Intermountain West, Northern Rockies, and California. Several more inches of snow are likely for portions of the Cascades in Washington and central Sierra Nevada Mountains. Areas of rain in the Great Basin will changeover to snow throughout the day Saturday as colder air pushes eastward behind the cold front. Rain chances in the northern High Plains and snow chances in the Central Rockies will increase throughout the day Saturday as well. The northern Teton Mountains will see the greatest snow accumulations with more than a half foot of snow possible. By Sunday evening, the cold front will move into the Midwest and Central Plains with light rain showers possible from Minnesota southwestward through Kansas. A low pressure center will develop in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles in the lee of the Rockies bringing an increasing chance for rain across the central High Plains and snow for the Colorado Front Range. Cooler high temperatures are likely for the Northern Rockies and Intermountain West Saturday and the Central Rockies by Sunday as the western cold front moves eastward. Ahead of the storm system in the west, seasonably mild temperatures are forecast for the Southwest and the Central and Southern Plains, with above average temperatures likely for the Northern Plains. As high pressure builds in across the Northeast behind the departing eastern storm system, mild temperatures are also forecast to spread across the Midwest and Northeast through the weekend. Putnam/Snell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php