Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 300 PM EST Sat Mar 02 2024 Valid 00Z Sun Mar 03 2024 - 00Z Tue Mar 05 2024 ...Winter storm continues in the West with heavy mountain snow, widespread damaging winds, and powerful blizzard conditions in the Sierra Nevada... ...Accumulating snowfall near the Canadian border across Montana and North Dakota with a wintry mix from North Dakota to northern Minnesota... ...A coastal storm with widespread rainfall will exit New England on Sunday but another coastal storm is forecast to bring another round of rain into the Mid-Atlantic coast later on Monday... ...Much above average, Spring-like temperatures shifting from the Plains/Midwest into the Northeast as Critical Fire Weather threat persists in the central/southern High Plains... A significant winter storm remains in progress across much of the West, including dangerous, blizzard conditions for the Sierra Nevada as an amplified upper-level trough forces its way into the western U.S. A multi-day influx of moisture from the Pacific interacting with colder air pushing southward from Canada is bringing heavy higher elevation, mountain snows across most of the ranges of the Pacific Northwest, northern/central California, the Great Basin, and the northern/central Rockies. The heaviest precipitation associated with this system will continue to impact these areas through tonight into Sunday morning. In addition, widespread wind-related advisories and warnings remain in effect across much of the greater western U.S. as wind gusts reach upwards of 55 mph, with gusts as high as 75 mph for higher elevations, leading to the risk of downed trees and power lines. The combination of snow and high winds is most intense in the Sierra Nevada into tonight, where heavy snow rates exceeding 3" per hour and winds gusting over 100 mph are causing significant blowing, drifting snow and whiteout conditions, making travel impossible through the area. Additional 2 feet of snow, on top of a few feet of recent snowfall, can be expected along the Sierra Nevada through Sunday. The most intense snow and wind should begin to wind down later on Sunday but additional energy from the Pacific will keep light to moderate precipitation in place through Monday across the northwestern U.S. through Monday, with another system forecast to reach northern California later on Monday. High temperatures will be below average this weekend with the colder airmass moving in, with highs in the teens and 20s for the Northern Rockies; 30s and 40s for the Pacific Northwest, northern California, the Great Basin, and central Rockies; 50s for central California; and 60s for southern California. Temperatures will be warmer into the Southwest with highs in the 70s. As energy from the upper trough in the western U.S. begins to exit the northern Rockies, a low pressure system is forecast to intensify over the northern Plains tonight and into Sunday. It appears that a lack of moisture across the South will severely limit the precipitation amounts associated this system despite its strength. Accumulating snowfall is forecast only for the far northern Plains where 6 inches or more of snow will be limited to near the U.S.-Canadian border by Sunday evening as the storm center is predicted to move north into southern Canada by then. Winds will likely be strengthening on Sunday across the northern Plains where blowing snow is possible. Meanwhile, rain associated with the cold front will barely be measurable across the central Plains on Sunday. By Monday, a low pressure center is forecast to form along the front over the central Plains and track toward the upper Midwest. Some rain is expected to develop from the upper Midwest to the Great Lakes later on Monday. Along the East Coast, a low pressure system tracking along a coastal front up the Mid-Atlantic coast continues to bring widespread rainfall across New England into tonight. This system is forecast to move east of Cape Cod on Sunday, gradually bringing the rain out into the Atlantic later on Sunday. However, the trailing portion of the front is forecast to become stationary just off the coast of the southeastern U.S. where another wave of low pressure is forecast to develop. This system will likely bring another round of rain into the Carolina coasts on Monday, reaching into the eastern shores of Maryland and Virginia by Monday evening. Meanwhile, scattered showers and thunderstorms will linger across the Florida Panhandle where the the front remains nearly stationary. Widespread well above average, Spring-like temperatures are forecast to continue for much of the Plains and Midwest for the remainder of the weekend into Monday. The greatest anomalies will be centered over portions of the central/northern Plains and Upper Midwest Saturday, spreading into the Great Lakes and Middle Mississippi/Ohio Valleys on Sunday, where forecast highs reaching well into the 60s and 70s are upwards of 25-35 degrees above average. Some highs may tie/break local daily records. Further south, highs will be into the 70s and 80s for the Southern Plains. The combination of these warm temperatures along with gusty winds and dry conditions will likely sustain a Critical Fire Danger across a good portion of the central and southern High Plains into Monday. The warming trend will spread into the Northeast on Sunday following the departure of the coastal low, with highs warming into the 40s and 50s in New England and the 50s and 60s in the Mid-Atlantic. While not quite as anomalous, highs across the Southeast into the 60s and 70s are still running above early March averages. Kong/Putnam Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php