Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 400 AM EDT Thu Mar 27 2025 Valid 12Z Thu Mar 27 2025 - 12Z Sat Mar 29 2025 ...Periods of excessive rainfall are forecast to slowly shift east from southern Texas today, into the upper Texas coast on Friday, and into Louisiana Friday night and Saturday morning... ...Snow and ice expected to develop over the northern Plains close to the Canadian border on Friday and then expand toward the upper Great Lakes Friday night... ...Windy and wet weather continues for the Pacific Northwest as thunderstorms could become severe across portions of the central Plains and southern Texas today... A strong ridge of high pressure over the western U.S. will begin to shift eastward into the mid-section of the country through the next couple of days, bringing anomalous warmth into the central Plains where record high temperatures well into the 70s to near 90 degrees are forecast at the hottest locations by this afternoon. The dry and warm weather will also promote fire danger across portions of the central Plains and High Plains. Meanwhile, the persistent upper trough over the eastern U.S. is keeping the Northeast cool with passing snow showers for the interior sections. In between the warm ridge in the West and cold trough in the East, a heavy rain event is in progress across southern Texas as vigorous lifting mechanism associated with a subtropical jet stream crosses Mexico and interacts with returning moisture from the Gulf into southern Texas. The heaviest rainfall is forecast to shift relatively slowly up the Texas coast later today into Friday, and then heading up into Louisiana coast Friday night and Saturday morning. Bouts of heavy rain along with the possibility of severe thunderstorms are expected to impact these areas, where rainfall totals of 5 inches with locally higher amounts through the next couple of days. Across the Pacific Northwest, rain and embedded strong thunderstorms ahead of a large Pacific cyclone have already been impacting western Washington into western Oregon early this morning. Periods of moderate to heavy rain together with windy conditions will persist for these areas as well as down into northern California for the next couple of days. As colder air slowly filters in, the higher elevations of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada will begin to see wet snow. Periods of mixed rain and snow will also spread across Idaho and into the northern Rockies. Across the northern Plains, a round of wintry weather is expected on Friday as a polar airmass pushes south from Canada against the strong warm ridge moving into the Plains. An elongated low pressure system will form along the front and track east across the northern Plains on Friday, reaching into the upper Great Lakes by Saturday morning. Snow and ice are expected to develop over the northern Plains close to the Canadian border on Friday and then expand toward the upper Great Lakes Friday night. By Saturday morning, another low pressure system is forecast to develop over the central High Plains with mixed rain and snow expanding from the central Rockies into the northern High Plains. In the meantime, thunderstorms could become severe across portions of the central Plains and southern Texas today ahead of a lifting warm front. The combination of the warm upper ridge and an broadening southwesterly flow will eventually bring a spell of very warm weather eastward across the Midwest and Ohio Valley on Friday, reaching into the East Coast by Saturday. Kong Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php