Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
300 AM EST Sat Dec 13 2025

Valid 12Z Sat Dec 13 2025 - 12Z Mon Dec 15 2025

...Record warmth for much of the West this weekend, while arctic air
expands over eastern half of the country...

...Swath of snow to spread from Northern Plains to Midwest today, then
Central Appalachians to Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Coast tonight...

...Lake effect snow returns this weekend...

...Next round of precipitation arrives over Pacific Northwest on Sunday...


Broad upper-level ridging will continue record warm conditions across much
of the West this weekend. High temperatures will be 15-25 degrees above
average today and Sunday, while California's Central Valley experiences
high temperatures in the 40s due to clouds, which will be 10-20 degrees
below average. Surface high pressure will build over the Central and
Eastern U.S. this weekend. An arctic airmass will descend over the lower
48 via Northern/Central Plains and Upper/Middle Mississippi Valleys today
then expand into the Midwest, Southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley
and East Coast on Sunday. Some low maximum temperature records may be
broken over the Upper Midwest/Michigan today with highs in the single
digits to sub-zeros. Extreme Cold Warnings are in effect for portions of
northwestern Minnesota into northeastern North Dakota this morning. Low
max temperatures may also be broken over the Midwest on Sunday, when highs
in the teens will be 20-30 degrees below average.

Mid-level energy moving through the southern periphery of an upper low
spinning across the Great Lakes will generate a fast-hitting swath of
light to moderate snowfall from the Northern Plains to the Ohio Valley
today. Snow then moves into the Central Appalachians and
Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Coast tonight through early Sunday morning. Winter
Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect from the
Northern Plains to Mid-Atlantic Coast.

A low pressure system will generate snow showers across the Great Lakes
today followed by frigid northwesterly flow on the backside of the cold
front producing additional lake effect snow through the rest of the
weekend. A relatively brief period of respite for the Pacific Northwest,
following the period of highly impactful rainfall earlier in the week,
will come to an end on Sunday, when a deep low pressure system will bring
another round of moisture to the region Sunday morning and then a more
substantial plume late Sunday night into Monday.


Kebede


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