Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 422 AM EDT Fri Apr 25 2025 Valid 12Z Fri Apr 25 2025 - 12Z Sun Apr 27 2025 ...Showers and thunderstorms will spread from the central U.S. today into much of the eastern U.S. Friday night into Saturday... ...Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms persist over the central to southern High Plains through the next couple of days with fire weather threat over the southern Rockies... ...Much below average temperatures spreading across California into the western Great Basin but much above average temperatures stretch through the Rockies and from the Southern Plains into the East... An active Spring weather pattern is setting up for large portions of the U.S. heading into the weekend. First of all, a low pressure system is forecast to form along a front over the Midwest and then through the Great Lakes today before moving through the Northeast on Saturday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop across a wide area ahead of a cold front over the central U.S. and affect much of the Plains into the Upper Mississippi Valley today, before spreading east into the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Friday night into Saturday. The rains that push into the East Friday night into Saturday may bring some relief to the ongoing wild fires over New Jersey, along with some relief to the ongoing moderate to severe drought conditions from the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England. By Saturday afternoon into Sunday, drier air from the high pressure system will extend from the Great Lakes and into the Mid-Atlantic under gusty westerly winds but upstate New York into interior New England could find rain changing to wet snow early on Sunday morning due to proximity of the low pressure system bringing in colder air from Canada. Over the central to southern High Plains, the potential of strong to severe thunderstorms will persist for the next couple days as upper-level energies ejecting out of the Rockies interact with a front dropping south into the central Plains where large hail is expected to be the greatest threat, and lesser chances of tornadoes and high winds. This region of the country has been very active over the past week with another round of showers and thunderstorms likely to develop late Friday afternoon into Friday night and Saturday. This will bring the threat of additional heavy rains, isolated flooding and severe weather from far northeast New Mexico, across the Texas/Oklahoma Panhandle, eastward through central to eastern Oklahoma and eastern Kansas. While large portions of the Southern to Central Plains will be active with showers and thunderstorms over the next few days, dry conditions will persist just to the south and west of this from southeast Arizona across much of New Mexico. These dry conditions, combined with gusty winds and low relative humidities will continue to support an elevated fire weather threat over the next few days. A fire weather threat will also continue across portions of the Florida Peninsula and Mid-Atlantic from the same combination of dry conditions and low relative humidities. A strong mid to upper-level low is expected to form today off the Pacific Northwest/Northern California coasts, dropping southeastward into Central California on Saturday. This strong mid to upper level low will have the potential to produce some late season rains across much of California, except for the southeast portion of the state. In addition, some much below average temperatures are likely to spread across California beginning today and continuing into the weekend with snow expected along the Sierra Nevada. High temperatures are expected to be 10 to 15 degrees below average today across much of California, with these below average temperatures increasing to 15 to 25 degrees below average on Saturday, while also spreading eastward into the western Great Basin. These much below average maximum afternoon temperatures may also produce a few record low high temperatures for Southern California on Saturday. In contrast to these much below average temperatures, much above average temperatures on tap through all of the Rockies today and Saturday, from the Southern Plains into Middle to Lower Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and East today, and along the East coast to the Gulf coast on Saturday. Eventually, cooler weather will push south and eastward across the Central to Southern Plains today and Saturday, the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Saturday and across the Mid-Atlantic into New England by Sunday in the wake of a cold front forecast to push southeastward across these areas. Kong/Oravec Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php