US Day 3-7 Hazards Outlook
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
357 PM EDT Mon Apr 13 2020
 
Valid Thursday April 16 2020 - Monday April 20 2020
 
Hazards:
- Heavy rain across portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley, the 
Mid-Atlantic, the Southern Appalachians, the Southeast, and the Southern Plains, Sun-Mon, Apr 
19-Apr 20.
- Heavy snow across portions of the Southern/Central Rockies and the Southern/Central Plains, Thu, 
Apr 16.
- Flooding occurring or imminent across portions of the Mississippi Valley, the Northern Plains, 
the Tennessee Valley, the Mid-Atlantic, the Southern Appalachians, and the Southeast.
- Flooding likely across portions of the Southern Plains.
- Much below normal temperatures across portions of the Central/Northern Plains, the 
Central/Northern Great Basin, the Northern Plains, the Central/Northern Rockies, the Middle/Upper 
Mississippi Valley, and the Great Lakes, Thu-Fri, Apr 16-Apr 17.
- High winds across portions of mainland Alaska and the Aleutians, Thu-Fri, Apr 16-Apr 17.
- Much above normal temperatures across portions of mainland Alaska, Thu, Apr 16.
 
Detailed Summary:

A reasonably quiet medium-range period will begin on Thursday with upper-level troughing persisting 
over much of the contiguous U.S. This upper-level pattern should lead to a couple more days of 
below normal temperatures across much of the country from the Rockies eastward, with the exception 
of the Florida peninsula. The most anomalously cool temperatures are forecast for the 
Northern/Central Rockies eastward across the Plains and into the Upper Midwest to Upper Great Lakes 
region. Cold temperatures plus shortwave energy dropping southward through the west side of the 
large-scale trough should lead to heavy snow across the Central Rockies Thursday, with some snow 
potential for the Central High Plains as well. Lighter showers (rain and possibly snow on the 
northern side) are forecast farther east with this system, across the Mississippi/Ohio Valleys 
toward the Mid-Atlantic, but are not expected to be particularly heavy.

A shortwave trough is forecast to move quickly across the southern tier of the U.S. through the 
period. Moisture flowing from the Gulf of Mexico ahead of this trough will cause the potential for 
heavy rain for portions of the southeastern quadrant of the country. Heavy rainfall can be expected 
for the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley on Sunday, spreading quickly eastward across 
the Southeast by Monday.

Over Alaska, above average temperatures are expected to persist through the period, particularly 
for minimum temperatures. The highest anomalies are forecast for the North Slope through Thursday 
before lower mid-level heights approach from the north. Southerly winds could be marginally high 
late this week over portions of the Aleutians, Alaska Panhandle, and the far western mainland ahead 
of a surface low to the west. Additionally, precipitation is expected to be widespread across much 
of the mainland on Friday and through the weekend. Uncertainty remains regarding the placement of 
the heaviest precipitation, so no heavy precipitation hazard was delineated at this time, but 
localized heavier amounts are possible within the generally moderate precipitation.

Tate