Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
334 AM EDT Thu Oct 20 2022

Valid 12Z Thu Oct 20 2022 - 12Z Sat Oct 22 2022

...Anomalous warmth shifts into Central U.S., while temperatures moderate
a bit in the East...

...Critical Fire Weather Risk over parts of eastern Montana...

...Unsettled weather arrives over the Northwest this weekend...

Things will calm down a bit across the CONUS today. Some lingering
rain/snow showers over the Great Lakes should come to an end this
afternoon/evening as high pressure builds over the East. The frigid
temperatures that impacted the eastern half of the country this week will
begin to moderate heading into the weekend. Freeze warnings in the
Ohio/Tennessee Valleys, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic should expire by this
afternoon as a result. Above average temperatures beneath an upper ridge
over the Northwest will shift eastward into the Great Plains and
Mississippi Valley over the next few days. Gusty winds, due to a
tightening pressure gradient out ahead of this weekends low pressure
system in the Northwest, dry air and anomalous warmth will support a
critical risk of fire weather over portions of central/southeastern
Montana on Friday.

An amplifying upper trough will send a potent cold front surging through
the Northwest this weekend. Low-mid elevation rain, heavy mountain snow
and gusty winds are expected to impact the Pacific Northwest and Northern
Rockies on Friday and Saturday before shifting into the Intermountain West
and Great Plains on Sunday. The unsettled weather will offer relief to
parts of the Pacific Northwest (west of the Cascades) and Northern Rockies
due to poor air quality caused by wildfire smoke. High temperatures in the
70s across the Northwest today will tumble into the 40s and 50s in the
wake of the strong cold front this weekend.

Kebede

 
Graphics are available at
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php