Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
339 PM EDT Fri Apr 07 2023

Valid 00Z Sat Apr 08 2023 - 00Z Mon Apr 10 2023

...Dreary and wet weekend from the Southern Plains into the Southeast with
chilly temperatures for much of the eastern U.S....

...Unsettled weather for the Pacific Northwest while the rest of the West
sees a warm up...

...Above average temperatures spread throughout the Plains and Midwest;
Critical Risk of Fire Weather Saturday in the Central Plains...

A frontal boundary lingering across portions of the Southeast and Gulf
Coast will continue to bring showers and thunderstorms to the region on
Saturday. Some moderate to locally heavy rainfall will be possible,
particularly from the Florida Panhandle/southeastern Alabama into central
Georgia, South Carolina, and eastern North Carolina where there is a
Marginal Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 1/4). Conditions will finally
begin to clear out for most areas by Saturday night, while showers and
thunderstorms will linger across the Florida Peninsula on Sunday. Chilly
air will remain in place for most of the East Coast this weekend following
the passage of this frontal boundary. Temperatures will be particularly
cool for portions of the Southeast into the Carolinas where highs in the
40s and 50s are 20 to 25 degrees below average for early April. In fact,
some of these highs will be close to record-tying/breaking low maximum
temperatures for the date on Saturday. Elsewhere, highs on Saturday will
be in the 30s and 40s for New England and other interior portions of the
Northeast and the 50s for the Mid-Atlantic. Temperatures will warm up by
about 5-10 degrees for Sunday. The Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi
Valley will also be seeing below average temperatures, with highs
generally in the 60s and low 70s, even as far south as south Texas.
Florida will remain the one warm spot on Saturday with highs in the
mid-80s, although temperatures will cool here as well for the northern
Peninsula as the sagging front ushers in highs in the 60s Sunday.

A system currently moving through the Northwest will continue to bring
some light to moderate lower elevation/valley rain and higher elevation
mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, northern
California, and the northern Great Basin Friday evening and lingering into
Saturday morning. Conditions will clear out for most of the region by
Saturday evening while a series of additional Pacific systems continues to
keep moisture flowing into the Pacific Northwest. Some moderate to heavy
higher elevation snow is forecast for the Olympic mountains and northern
Cascades while lower elevation/coastal locations will see moderate to
locally heavy rain, especially along the coast. Meanwhile, the rest of the
West will see a mostly welcome pattern change after what has been quite
the cold winter and early Spring so far. Upper-level ridging will build in
over the weekend ushering in drier and warmer conditions Saturday into
Sunday outside of the Pacific Northwest. Highs Saturday will generally be
in the 50s and 60s across the Pacific Northwest, northern California,
Great Basin, and the Rockies, with temperatures reaching into the upper
70s to mid-80s for the Desert Southwest. Temperatures start to soar well
above average on Sunday with highs into the low 70s as far north as the
northern Great Basin. More generally, highs will be in 60s and 70s for
California, the Great Basin, and the Rockies, with upper 80s to low 90s in
the Desert Southwest. The one caveat to the warmer temperatures will be an
increasing risk of rising rivers, streams, and minor flooding in other
low-lying areas as these warmer temperatures will cause some of the
significant snowpack over the region to melt. The Pacific Northwest will
remain cooler as the weather stays unsettled in the region, with highs in
the 50s.

Most of the Central/Northern Plains and Midwest will also see a warm up
Saturday into Sunday, with highs in 60s and 70s from the Central High
Plains east to the Upper Mississippi Valley Saturday spreading into the
Northern High Plains and much of the Great Lakes region Sunday. These
warmer temperatures along with very dry conditions and gustier winds have
prompted a Critical Risk of Fire Weather Saturday from the Storm
Prediction Center for portions of the Central Plains. Temperatures will
remain chilly where there is still some snow cover from the recent winter
storm over the eastern Dakotas, with highs in the 30s and 40s. An upper
level shortwave moving across the Plains on Sunday will bring the chance
for some scattered showers and thunderstorms to portions of the
Central/Southern Plains Sunday evening.

Putnam


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