Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
324 AM EST Fri Feb 21 2020

Valid 12Z Fri Feb 21 2020 - 12Z Sun Feb 23 2020

...Snow and sleet ending this morning across portions of the Carolinas...

...Cold weather across the eastern two-thirds of the country will
gradually moderate...

...A storm system is expected to spread mountain snows and areas of heavy
rain across the Southwest this weekend...

The weather across much of the U.S. will quiet down for the time being
today as a large dome of cold high pressure system dominates.  Portions of
the Carolinas will wake up with a couple inches of snow this morning as an
area of low pressure moves rapidly out into the Atlantic.  Some sleet
and/or mixed precipitation can also be expected farther south before
ending early in the morning.

A large dome of high pressure system behind the departing storm will bring
a brief period of quiet weather for much of the country this afternoon. 
This high pressure system will keep chilly conditions for much of the
South and into the Mid-Atlantic through the weekend.  Meanwhile, milder
air will return across the Southwest as well as the northern Plains.

By the weekend, unsettled weather will quickly move into the Desert
Southwest as a low pressure system currently developing over the eastern
Pacific moves onshore.  It appears that this system will deliver a decent
amount of wet snow for the higher elevations of the Southwest through the
central Rockies this weekend.  For the lower elevations,  widespread rain
and even some thunderstorms can be expected.  Although precipitation is
welcomed in the parched areas of the Four Corners region, localized
rainfall totals in excess of an inch could lead to flash flooding concerns
in south-central Arizona.  Meanwhile, mountain snow is likely to develop
from the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin to the Wasatch on Saturday.
Snow will then reach the Colorado Rockies by Saturday night and continue
into the day on Sunday.  Rain will also develop quickly over the central
Plains Sunday morning as the low pressure system consolidates over the
central High Plains.

Kong/Mullinax


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