Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 251 AM EST Thu Feb 01 2024 Valid 12Z Thu Feb 01 2024 - 12Z Sat Feb 03 2024 ...Heavy snow over parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, light to moderate snow over Lower Great Lakes/Northern New England, light snow over the higher elevations of the West... ...There is a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of Southern California on Thursday... ...Temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees above average from the Plains to the Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley... A front over California and the Great Basin will move eastward to the Southern Plains by Saturday. A plume of moisture will aim at Southern California, producing heavy rain. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of Southern California from Thursday into Friday morning. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and burn scars the most vulnerable. Furthermore, the moisture will also create snow over parts of Northern/Central California, producing heavy snow over the Sierra Nevada Mountains through Saturday morning. On Friday, the threat of excessive rainfall will end over California. However, lighter rain will continue over the West Coast through Saturday. Higher elevation snow and lower elevation rain will extend from the Northern Intermountain Region to the Southwest Overnight Thursday into Friday. Overnight Friday, snow moves into the Rockies, continuing into Saturday. Meanwhile, a sharp upper-level ridge will develop over the Northern Plains into the Middle Mississippi Valley. Due to the ridge, temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees above average from the Plains to the Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley. Further, a front over the Great Lakes to the Northern Plains will move eastward to off the Northeast Coast by Friday and southward to the Southeast by Saturday. On Thursday, the system will create rain over parts of the Lower Great Lakes and light to moderate snow over parts of Lower Great Lakes and Northern New England. On Friday, light snow will linger over parts of the Lower Great Lakes and the higher elevations of New England through late Friday night. In addition, light rain will develop over parts of the Mid-Atlantic on Friday afternoon. Elsewhere, a developing upper-level low pressure over the Southern Rockies will pull moisture out of the Western Gulf of Mexico northward over the Southern/Central Plains, producing showers and thunderstorms over the region from Friday into Saturday. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php