Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
118 PM EST Wed Feb 19 2020

Valid 00Z Thu Feb 20 2020 - 00Z Sat Feb 22 2020

...Additional rains likely across flooded regions of the South through
Thursday...

...A broad region of Arctic high pressure will encompass much of the
central and eastern U.S. over the next couple of days...

...Accumulating snowfall is expected for the lee of the central Rockies
and the central High Plains through Thursday, and across much of North
Carolina, northern South Carolina and southern Virginia late Thursday into
early Friday...

Soils remain saturated across portions of the South from recent heavy
rains with ongoing major to historic river flooding. While precipitation
coverage and intensities are expected to decrease today across the South,
another round of precipitation is expected to push eastward from the
southern Plains tonight and move east across the Gulf Coast states and
Southeast on Thursday. Additional moderate to heavy rainfall is expected
across these areas, exacerbating the ongoing significant river flooding
across areas of the South.

Meanwhile, a broad region of Arctic high pressure pushing down across the
north-central U.S. today will spread east-southeastward and encompass much
of the central to eastern U.S. going through Thursday. This high will keep
temperatures below average for this part of the country, with exception to
central and south Florida where above average temperatures will persist
through the balance of the week. Overall, the cold spell will be brief
with temperatures beginning to rebound to above average levels by Friday
across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. This warming trend will then
translate eastward this weekend across the Great Lakes and Northeast.

In the short-term, the cold air filtering south will support accumulating
snowfall through early Thursday from the lee of the central Rockies and
over the central High Plains. Accumulating snow is also now likely late
Thursday through early Friday from the southern Appalachians, eastward
across much of North Carolina, northern South Carolina and southern
Virginia where locally several inches of snow is expected.

Elsewhere, dry weather will persist across much of western U.S. from the
West Coast into the Great Basin and the northern Rockies. Temperatures are
expected to be somewhat warmer than normal along the West Coast and into
the Great Basin through Friday. However, there will be a weak area of low
pressure coming into the Southwest by this weekend which will bring some
clouds and showers along with temperatures trending below normal.

Orrison

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