Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 PM EST Wed Mar 05 2025 Valid 00Z Thu Mar 06 2025 - 00Z Sat Mar 08 2025 ...Strong low pressure with blizzard conditions for portions of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes through tonight... ...Threat of strong to severe thunderstorms continues through this evening from southern Delmarva to the Coastal Carolinas ahead of a strong cold front... ...Rain and mountain snow returns to the West Coast and Intermountain West... ...Critical fire weather conditions ramp up again across the southern High Plains Thursday and Friday... A major low pressure system with a plethora of hazards will continue to track to the north and east across the Great Lakes and into southern Quebec tonight through the day on Thursday. Blizzard conditions will persist northwest of the low center from portions of Iowa to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Several more inches of snow is expected through this evening and overnight. The snow combined with 40 to 60 mph wind gusts will create whiteouts and near-zero visibility at times, leading to hazardous driving conditions. Weather conditions should improve by Thursday morning as the heaviest snow moves out and winds gradually subside. To the south and east, strong southerly flow ahead of an advancing cold front will lead to widespread heavy showers and thunderstorms up and down the East Coast. The Storm Prediction Center continues to highlight the southern Delmarva to the eastern Carolinas for potentially strong to severe thunderstorms, which is where the best combination of wind shear and instability currently resides. Overall, damaging winds are the primary threat from these storms, but a few tornadoes can't be ruled out either. Given the overall progressive nature of the storm system, rainfall totals are not expected to be extreme, but some areas may get 1 to locally 2 inches of rainfall before drier weather commences by early Thursday. Out across the Western U.S., the next storm system is currently pushing into California this afternoon as an upper level trough moves in. This will lead to increasing showers across the state with heavy snowfall for the Sierras through Thursday night. The moisture associated with this system moves inland across the Great Basin and Intermountain West through the day on Thursday, resulting in widespread low elevation rain showers and mountain snow to round out the work week. Overall, 10 to 20 inches of new snow will pile up across the high terrain, though locally higher totals of 2 feet or more remain possible too. As the upper level trough pushes eastward, low pressure develops in the lee of the Rockies later Thursday into Friday. North of this low, a narrow band of snow from the northern Rockies to the Central Plains is likely to bring a few to several more inches of accumulation. After a brief reprieve from critical fire weather conditions today, very dry air and strong winds will ramp up the fire danger again on Thursday and Friday across the high plains of eastern New Mexico and western Texas. Afternoon relative humidities below 20 percent (and in some places below 10 percent) combined with dry fuels and wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph will support widespread critical fire weather conditions with the potential for locally extremely critical conditions as well. Miller/Hamrick Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php