Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
329 AM EST Sun Dec 28 2025

Valid 12Z Sun Dec 28 2025 - 12Z Tue Dec 30 2025

...Arctic air descending into the Plains today will be followed by
a potent winter storm from the upper Midwest to the Great Lakes
later today into Monday...

...Record warmth across the central and southern U.S. this morning
will be drastically dispelled by arctic wind chills later today
and tonight...

Over the next 48 hours, an intense cyclone will take the center
stage with impacts from this system ranging from heavy snow and
blizzard conditions across the upper Midwest to the Great Lakes,
freezing rain across New England, thunderstorms through the
eastern U.S. and the South, as well as widespread blustery winds
to locally damaging winds to these areas.  A low pressure system
currently developing over the central Plains along an arctic front
will derive energy from interacting with an outbreak of arctic air
from Canada that is clashing with the anomalous warm air that has
settled across the South for many days.  Areas of snow have
already been expanding in coverage across the northern Plains this
morning, while rain and embedded thunderstorms are forming over
the central Plains and heading toward the Midwest ahead of the low
pressure center.  As the system rapidly intensifies along the
arctic front and accelerates across the Midwest today, snow is
forecast to expand into the upper Midwest later today and become
heavy this evening along with increasingly strong winds from the
north and northwest.  Meanwhile, freezing rain ahead of a warm
front is forecast to reach into interior Northeast beginning later
today and then move steady eastward through interior New England
tonight. By Monday morning, a mix of snow sleet and freezing rain
will likely impact northern New England before warmer air changes
the wintry mix to all rain later on Monday.  Across the central
Great Lakes, wind-swept rain and embedded thunderstorms later
today into tonight are forecast to turn into a blizzard by early
on Monday with blowing snow.  Snowfall amounts are expected to
well exceed a foot across the upper Great Lakes, particularly
along the south shore of Lake Superior where 2 feet of snow is
possible together with whiteout conditions at the height of the
storm.  See the WPC key message for further information on this
potent winter storm.

Meanwhile, anomalous warmth into the 70s has already at record
levels early this morning across the south-central Plains to the
south and southeast of the low pressure center.  The arctic cold
front sweeping south  will bring a drastic end to the warmth soon
today as a quick around of strong thunderstorms will signal the
arrival of the "Blue Norther".  Areas from the Arklatex to the
Midwest can expect these thunderstorms to move through tonight,
followed by the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys and the Deep South into
Monday morning.  The cold front is forecast to weaken on Monday as
it sweeps across the East Coast during the day with a round of
showers followed by strong gusty winds from the west with the
arrival of the arctic air mass. 

In the West, mountain snow across the central Rockies and interior
Pacific Northwest is expected to taper off as the developing big
storm in the upper Midwest absorbs much of the energy.  A
relatively quiet period is anticipated for much of the western
U.S. except some accumulating snow is in the forecast for
southeastern New Mexico on Monday near the tail end of the arctic
front that will become stationary.  Meanwhile, the big storm in
the Great Lakes will slowly move into eastern Canada later on
Monday.  But the huge circulation of the system will continue to
spread very strong and gusty winds into the entire eastern U.S.
with snow lingering especially downwind from the lower Great
Lakes.  Rain showers should taper off or end as light snow across
Maine by Tuesday morning behind the cold front.

Kong


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