Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 242 AM EST Thu Mar 06 2025 Valid 12Z Thu Mar 06 2025 - 12Z Sat Mar 08 2025 ...Unsettled weather will continue to impact the Intermountain West, the Rockies, and the Central Plains through the end of the week... ...Critical fire weather conditions exist across the southern High Plains... ...Colder and drier air to arrive across the East along with some areas of snowfall downwind of the Great Lakes and into the central and northern Appalachians... A Pacific storm system continues to edge inland across California and this will move advance east across the Intermountain West today and then the Rockies by this evening. While there will be additional areas of lower elevation rainfall, the arrival of colder temperatures with the associated upper-level trough pivoting across the region will set the stage for heavy snowfall across the higher elevations. As much as 1 to 2 feet of new snowfall is expected across the Mogollon Rim of Arizona, the Wasatch of Utah, the high country of western Colorado and also portions of Wyoming as low pressure advances east toward the central Rockies and brings moisture transport and upslope flow to the higher terrain. Going through tonight and Friday morning, low pressure will be organizing over the central High Plains and this will allow heavy snowfall that will be impacting large areas of Wyoming to develop off to the east across areas of southwest South Dakota and much of western and northern Nebraska where as much as 6 to 12 inches of snow will be possible through Friday morning. Snow will extend as far east as portions of the Midwest including Iowa and northern Illinois where at least a few inches of accumulation can be expected. Farther south over the southern High Plains on the warmer and drier side of this storm system, there will once again be concerns for wildfire activity, as a combination of low relative humidities and gusty winds is expected to once again result in critical fire weather conditions which will primarily encompass much of eastern and southern New Mexico and out into western Texas. Across the Eastern U.S., colder and drier air will be arriving in the wake of the deep low center that most recently impacted the Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes. However, at least for today, a front will still be gradually clearing areas of northern New England, and with another wave of low pressure lifting along this front, there will be some additional areas of heavy rainfall. Much colder temperatures and areas of snow showers will arrive behind the frontal passage, and locally several inches of lake-enhanced snowfall can be expected downwind of the Great Lakes and into the upslope areas of the central and northern Appalachians today and Friday. Orrison Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php