Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
317 PM EDT Thu Apr 25 2024

Valid 00Z Fri Apr 26 2024 - 00Z Sun Apr 28 2024

...An active weather pattern for much of the Plains into the Mid to Upper
Mississippi Valley regions...

...Thunderstorms to bring heavy rains, localized flash flooding and severe
weather to portions of the Plains...

...An elevated to critical fire weather threat across the Southern High
Plains...

..Cooler than average temperatures expected from the Rockies to the West
coast and from the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, while much above average
temperatures spread from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes...


An active weather pattern expected across the mid section of the nation
from the Plains into the Mid to Upper Mississippi Valley.  Two strong
storms expected to produce a variety of spring time weather over the next
several days across these regions. Thunderstorm activity occurring across
portions of the Central Plains, Lower Arkansas and Lower Missouri Valleys
Thursday afternoon will be expanding northward into the Northern
Plains/Upper Mississippi Valley region and southward into the Southern
Plains as the first of two strong lows to affect these regions begins to
deepen across the Central High Plains and move northeastward.  There is
the likelihood of severe weather across much of the Central to Southern
High Plains from Thursday afternoon into Thursday night/early Friday along
and ahead of a strengthening frontal zone.  This severe weather threat
will then push farther to the east during the day on Friday into eastern
portions of the Central to Southern Plains, Lower Missouri and Lower
Arkansas River Valleys as the strong cold front also pushes eastward.  In
addition, heavy rains from the expected thunderstorm activity poses the
threat of localized flooding from this afternoon through Friday,
especially across the eastern portions of the Central to Southern Plains
into the into Lower Missouri and Lower Arkansas River Valleys.  In the
wake of the first strong storm pushing northeastward into the Northern
Plains/Upper Mississippi Valley on Saturday, where it will produce
potential for moderate to heavy rainfall amounts, a second storm will
begin to deepen across the Central High Plains.  Another round of
thunderstorms, heavy rains, flash flooding and severe weather is again
possible across the Southern Plains beginning Saturday afternoon and
continuing into Sunday.

In contrast to the wet, stormy weather across large portions of the mid
section of the nation, windy and dry conditions are expected across the
Southern High Plains from southeast Colorado, the Texas-Oklahoma Panhandle
region, southward through West to Southwest Texas and eastern to
southeastern New Mexico.  The combination of the windy conditions and low
relative humidities will support a prolonged period of elevated to
critical fire weather conditions from Thursday through the weekend.

A frontal boundary moving off the northeast Pacific into the Pacific
Northwest this evening will keep conditions wet across the Pacific
Northwest and Northern Rockies tonight. This wet weather and high
elevation snows are then expected to spread into the Great Basin and
Central Rockies on Friday. 

Temperatures are expected to be below average across most areas from the
Rockies to the West coast over the next few days.  Much above average
temperatures Thursday across the Central and Northern High Plains will be
replaced by much cooler temps by the beginning of the weekend.  Much above
average temperatures expected from the Southern Plains, northeast the
Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and into the Great Lakes over the next two
days, while cooler,slightly below average temperatures expected from the
Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast.

Oravec

Graphics available at
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php