Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 341 AM EDT Mon Mar 25 2024 Valid 12Z Mon Mar 25 2024 - 12Z Wed Mar 27 2024 ...Major Winter Storm continues today... ...Excessive Rainfall and Severe Weather impacts across Mississippi Valley and central Gulf Coast... ...Critical Risk of Fire Weather over southern Texas; frigid temperatures expand across Great Plains... A powerful storm system will impact the Northern/Central Plains into the Upper Midwest through Tuesday. Periods of snow and gusty winds will continue from the Central Plains to northern Minnesota, along with some sleet and freezing rain in parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Snow accumulating at rates of 1-2"/hr in heavier bands are expected from central Nebraska and eastern South Dakota to northern Minnesota. Additional snowfall totals between 6-12 inches are forecast from central Nebraska to northeastern Minnesota. Heavy snow and gusty winds approaching 50 mph will produce blizzard conditions with near zero visibility into early Tuesday. Travel could be nearly impossible. Power outages and tree damage are likely in some areas due to the heavy and wet snow combined with icing and strong winds. Winter Storm/Blizzard Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect from portions of the Central/Southern High Plains to the Upper Midwest. In the warm sector of the winter storm, scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will spread across the Mississippi Valley and central Gulf Coast ahead of a cold front today. There's an Enhanced Risk of Severe Thunderstorms (level 2/5) to occur across portions of southeast Arkansas into northeast Louisiana and central Mississippi. Tornadoes and damaging winds are possible through tonight from parts of east Texas through the Lower Mississippi Valley, according to the Storm Prediction Center. There's also a Slight Risk (at least 15%) of Excessive Rainfall leading to Flash Flooding over portions of southern Missouri down through Arkansas, Mississippi and west-central Alabama. While the Severe Weather threat wanes on Tuesday, the Excessive Rainfall threat simply shifts into the Southeast. A Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in effect over portions of southern Alabama, southwestern Georgia and the Florida panhandle on Tuesday, due, in part, to a stalled out low pressure system along the Gulf Coast. Strong westerly flow along the base of an upper trough will support very dry and gusty winds in excess of 25 mph over portions of the Southern Plains today. Thus the Storm Prediction Center issued a Critical Fire Weather area (level 2/3) for far southern Texas. A frigid airmass will spill out over the Great Plains today, where high temperature anomalies will be 15-30 degrees below average. A moderating temperature trend begins on Tuesday. Unsettled weather returns to the Pacific Northwest by Wednesday thanks to a deep low pressure system. Kebede Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php