Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 318 AM EDT Thu Mar 28 2024 Valid 12Z Thu Mar 28 2024 - 12Z Sat Mar 30 2024 ...Rainy, stormy weather continues along the East Coast through today, lingering in New England Friday... ...Unsettled weather for the West, with a late season Atmospheric River impacting California Friday... ...Warming trend begins over Central U.S. today... Two slow moving frontal boundaries will continue to push towards the East Coast today, with the leading front pushing into the Atlantic by early afternoon and the second front slowing approaching the coast while weakening through this evening. Chances for showers and thunderstorms will continue through today along the East Coast but taper off from south to north as the leading front exits. Locally heavy rainfall will be possible over portions of the eastern Mid-Atlantic and coastal New England, which may cause isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding. The highest risk for flash flooding will be over eastern North Carolina and far southeastern Virginia as a wave of low pressure moves along the frontal boundary today, and there is a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) for this area. Precipitation chances will likely linger through Friday for portions of New England as low pressure strengthens just east of the region. Colder air moving in from the north will allow rain to switch to wintry mixed precipitation and snow overnight into Friday for inland areas. Winds will also become gusty in the Northeast on Friday and Saturday as the low strengthens and the pressure gradient tightens. Meanwhile, a frontal system will push southeast across much of the West with unsettled weather today into Friday. Mountain snow and low elevation rain will impact the region, and locally heavy snow will be possible for regional mountain ranges from the Pacific Northwest southward into northern/central California, as well as for the eastern Great Basin into the northern/central Rockies. Low pressure associated with the southeastward moving frontal system will push into the northern and central Plains on Friday and reach the Great Lakes region by Saturday morning. This will bring chances for wintry precipitation to the Upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes and chances for showers and thunderstorms to portions of the Midwest and Ohio Valley. On Friday afternoon, a Pacific low pressure system will approach the California coast. This system will aim a plume of moisture (an atmospheric river) at central and southern California Friday night into Saturday, which will result in heavy rainfall and potentially flash flooding. There is a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) for portions of coastal southern California on Friday and Saturday where upslope flow along terrain will likely enhance rainfall totals and could lead to scattered instances flooding. Temperature-wise, lows this morning will be chilly, dropping into the low to mid-30s across portions of the Mid-South into the Tennessee Valley following a cold front passage, and Frost/Freeze-related advisories and warnings are in place for newly greening sensitive vegetation. Increasing upper-level ridging over will bring warmer, above average temperatures to portions of the Central U.S. today, to the Plains, Mississippi Valley, and Midwest on Friday, and to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic on Saturday. Below average high temperatures are forecast for much of the West through the weekend due to expected cloud cover and precipitation and for the northern high Plains Friday through the weekend as colder air moves in behind a cold front. Dolan Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php