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