Old Res Weather
Lexington, Massachusetts, USA
35°F
2/16/2025 7:17pm
- Clear
-
35.1°F / 1.7°C
-
32.4°F
- 90%
- Calm, 10-min avg: Calm, gust: None
-
- 10 miles
- 0.01 in
- $VPuv None
National Short Range Forecast Discussion
Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 400 AM EDT Fri Mar 13 2026 Valid 12Z Fri Mar 13 2026 - 12Z Sun Mar 15 2026 ...Intense clipper-like system bringing heavy snow across the Upper Midwest into the Upper Great Lakes early today along with widespread blustery conditions... ...Active Atmospheric River pattern bringing heavy lower elevation/coastal rain and high elevation snow to the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies... ...A winter storm will gradually develop across the northern High Plains today into Saturday before expanding and intensifying across the northern Plains later on Saturday, reaching into the upper Midwest Sunday morning... ...An anomalously early heatwave will begin to build over the western U.S. heading into the weekend... ...Critical Risk of fire weather for the central/southern High Plains... A rather intense low pressure system moving across the upper Midwest early this morning is bringing a quick round of moderate to heavy snow across the region and into the upper and central Great Lakes for the reminder of today. Snowfall totals of 6 to 12+ inches along with strong and very gusty winds can produce poor visibility and blowing snow at times. In addition, mixed rain and snow together with strong and very gusty winds will quick sweep across the lower Great Lakes through tonight with moderate snowfall possible across upstate New York as this clipper-like system moves through. The system center will begin to exit New England later on Saturday but snow will be slow to taper off across New England with widespread 4 to 6+ inches expected across northern New England. Locally heavier totals are expected downwind of Lake Ontario due to lake enhancements. Meanwhile, an active Atmospheric River pattern across the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies will continue to bring heavy lower elevation/coastal rain and high elevation snow for the next couple of days. Additional snowfall totals in the Olympics/Cascades and northern Rockies will be as much as 2 to 4 feet through the weekend. The heavy rainfall may lead to some isolated instances of flooding. In addition, colder air settling into the region later today could result in some snow mixing in for these lower elevations. The rain and snow should wind down into Saturday, especially across the Pacific Northwest, while lingering a bit longer in the northern Rockies. The lingering snow in the northern Rockies is a precursor of a major winter storm forecast to develop farther downstream over the northern Plains this weekend. As the Pacific jet stream associated with the Atmospheric River penetrates farther inland, it will begin to interact with arctic air arriving from Canada. The interaction will expand the coverage of snow across the northern Rockies into the northern High Plains today when a low pressure system begins to form on Saturday over Wyoming where the arctic air and Pacific jet stream meets. Saturday night into Sunday morning will see the snow further expand and spread quickly east across the northern Plains into the upper Midwest as the low pressure system ejects out of Wyoming. A narrow swath of very heavy snow can be expected just north of the low pressure track, together with a band of wintry mixed precipitation. By Sunday morning, the cyclone is forecast to become quite intense with strong and gusty winds impacting much of the northern to central Plains and into the upper Midwest with blizzard conditions where the snow is heaviest. South of the cyclone center, anomalous warmth will peak Saturday afternoon across the central to southern High Plains. The combination of persistently dry and gusty winds from the west will make for a critical fire risk on Saturday. Some showers and thunderstorms should develop ahead of the intensifying cyclone but they should be confined to the central Plains Saturday night into Sunday morning. Elsewhere, a drastic change from summer-like temperatures to wintry conditions and even some snow occurred yesterday behind a sharp cold front along portions of the East Coast. The chilly conditions will linger today before moderating back to above normal on Saturday. However, a prolonged period of well above average temperatures will occur across portions of the western U.S. heading into the weekend as persistent upper-level ridging settles in. Forecast highs through Friday will range in the 60s and 70s for the Great Basin, 70s and 80s for northern California, and 90s for southern California and the Desert Southwest. Some daily record-tying/breaking highs will be possible for southern California and the Desert Southwest. These temperatures will serve as a baseline for even more anomalous, more widespread record-breaking heat expected into next week. Meanwhile, conditions will remain much colder behind a front to the north through the Pacific Northwest, with highs mainly in the 40s. Temperatures will fluctuate over the next couple of days across the central U.S. ahead of and following multiple frontal passages. Kong/Orrison/Putnam Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php