Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 210 AM EST Thu Jan 30 2025 Valid 12Z Thu Jan 30 2025 - 12Z Sat Feb 01 2025 ...Heavy rain, severe weather, and flash flooding possible from the southern Plains to the Mid/Lower Mississippi and Lower Ohio Valleys today... ...Widespread precipitation, including heavy mountain snow, to return to the Northwest, northern California, and the northern Rockies... A low pressure system will move across the south-Central U.S. today then track towards the East and Northeast on Friday. Southerly winds will bring warm moist air up from the Gulf, fueling widespread showers and thunderstorms across the southern Plains and Mississippi Valley. Conditions will be favorable for some strong to severe thunderstorms from East Texas through the Lower Mississippi Valley today, and potential severe storm hazards could include damaging winds, hail, and perhaps a tornado or two. In addition to the severe weather threat, heavy rainfall will have to potential to cause isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding from East Texas through the Mississippi Valley to the Lower Ohio Valley today. While thunderstorms impact the south-Central U.S., cold air on the backside of the low pressure system will support wintry weather across New Mexico and Colorado, with heavy snow potential in the higher terrain. The low pressure system will move towards the East and Northeast on Friday while weakening, and precipitation chances will increase for most areas east of the Mississippi River. The severe threat will shift east on Friday as well, moving into the central/eastern Gulf Coast region where a few strong storms will be possible. Late Friday, moisture from the system should spread into the Northeast where it will interact with a cold front sagging south into the region, producing wintry weather across the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast. Accumulating snowfall is expected to be limited, with only minor accumulations across New England. The system will exit off the East Coast by Saturday morning, and dry conditions will return. For the West, dry weather will persist until a frontal system approaches the West Coast late today. This system will push into the Northwest on Friday, then another front will follow close on its heels late Friday into Saturday. Widespread precipitation is expected across the Northwest, northern California, and the northern Rockies. Heavy rain along the coast will result in heightened flooding concerns, especially in and around steep terrain. Inland, heavy snow is expected in the Olympics, Cascades, northern Rockies, and potentially into portions of the Sierra Nevada. Temperatures will be well above average for most of the Central and Eastern U.S. through the end of the week, with the exception of the Northeast where cold air will settle in behind a cold front. The warmest anomalies are forecast to be in the Upper Midwest where high temperatures in the upper 40s and lower 50s may rival a handful of daily temperature records today. Elsewhere, temperatures will be near normal for much of the West, but below average temperatures will linger in the Southwest today and may develop along the West Coast from Washington to northern California Friday and Saturday. Dolan Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php