Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 400 PM EDT Wed Mar 27 2024 Valid 00Z Thu Mar 28 2024 - 00Z Sat Mar 30 2024 ...Rainy, stormy weather continues along the East Coast through Thursday, lingering in New England Friday... ...Unsettled weather for the West, with a late season Atmospheric River impacting California Friday... ...Warming trend begins over Central U.S. on Thursday... Showers and storms will continue along the East Coast Thursday as a pair of slow moving cold fronts pass through the region. Locally heavy rainfall is expected over portions of eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia where a wave of low pressure will help to enhance convergence and storm converge/intensity. A Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) will continue through the overnight hours Wednesday into the day Thursday with some scattered instances of flash flooding possible. Storms will begin to clear the coast from south to north through the day Thursday as the lead front pushes into the Atlantic, lingering longest in New England. Here, an intensifying area of low pressure off the coast will keep moist onshore flow into the region through Friday. Some of the rain may be heavy at times Thursday along the coast, leading to some areal flood concerns when combined with snowmelt. Precipitation is expected to change over to snow for interior locations of the region by Friday night, with some light to moderate accumulating snowfall possible. Winds will also become a bit gusty Friday as the low deepens offshore. Areas of lower elevation coastal/valley rain and higher elevation/mountain snow will continue across the West Thursday and Friday, generally spreading further southward and eastward as a frontal system moves through the region. Some locally heavier snow totals will be possible for regional mountain ranges from the Pacific Northwest southward into northern/central California, as well as for the eastern Great Basin into the northern/central Rockies. The greatest impacts are expected in the northern Sierra through Thursday morning where a Winter Storm Warning is in place. A more intense system over the Pacific will approach California on Friday, bringing an enhanced onshore flow of anomalously high moisture/Atmospheric River directed at portions of central and southern California. Rainfall will pick up Friday into Friday night/Saturday morning along upslope portions of the Transverse Ranges, where a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in place, as a few inches of rainfall may lead to flooding, especially for terrain sensitive areas. This threat will continue into the weekend beyond the current forecast period. Elsewhere, some snow showers will linger Thursday for portions of the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes, particularly close to the Canadian border, as a low pressure system departs the region into Canada. A shortwave following this system will bring some additional light rain/snow showers to the Northern Plains into the Upper Midwest on Friday. Temperature-wise, some chilly morning lows dropping into the low to mid-30s are forecast Thursday across portions of the Mid-South into the Tennessee Valley following a cold front passage, with Frost/Freeze-related advisories and warnings in place for newly greening sensitive vegetation. Increasing upper-level ridging following the system over the East Coast and ahead of troughing over the West will bring warmer, above average temperatures broadly across portions of the High Plains Thursday, and into the Plains/Mississippi Valley/Midwest on Friday. Highs will remain either around or below average along the East Coast and across most of the West with the upper-level troughing in place. Putnam Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php