Prognostic Meteorological Discussion
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
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659 FXUS01 KWBC 060800 PMDSPD Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 300 AM EST Sat Dec 06 2025 Valid 12Z Sat Dec 06 2025 - 12Z Mon Dec 08 2025 ...Active winter weather pattern continues with snow expected across the Northern Tier this weekend... ...Series of atmospheric rivers to usher in heavy rainfall to the Pacific Northwest late this weekend... Winter weather continues to make headline across multiple regions of the Lower 48 this weekend. Through the afternoon, Winter Storm conditions are expected to persist across portions of the Northern Rockies as a wave of low pressure develops along an Arctic front, with an additional foot plus of snowfall possible in higher terrain areas. By tonight, the surface low is forecast to migrate eastward from the Rockies, which will lead to increasing snowfall coverage in parts of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. As such, the current Watch-Warning map shows a swath of Winter Weather Advisories and an embedded Winter Storm Warning extending from South Dakota into northwest Illinois for 4-6" (locally higher) of snow through Sunday. Meanwhile, the unsettled pattern in the Pacific Northwest could take a turn for the worse as a series of Pacific storm systems increases the heavy rain and flood threat on Monday. Scattered flash flooding is possible across portions of western Washington and Oregon beginning Monday as persistent rainfall in the region saturates soils, in turn converting any additional rain to runoff very quickly. The current WPC outlook highlights a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall for the region on Monday, and a Flood Watch is in effect for the area beginning Sunday night. Stay tuned for updates to the forecast as the heavy rainfall threat looks to carry on into at least midweek. Elsewhere across the Continental U.S., dry conditions are expected to continue from California to the Southern Plains, and extending eastward to the Mid-South and Tennessee Valley. Across the Gulf Coast region, a lingering frontal boundary off the coast will keep rainfall chances elevated through early Sunday from southeast Louisiana to the Florida Peninsula to southern South Carolina, with some 1 inch totals possible in some areas. In terms of temperatures, it will be quite cold from the Northern Plains to the Northeast with a big dip in the jet stream and multiple cold frontal passages heralding the arrival of a polar airmass. Some subzero overnight lows are likely across portions of the Dakotas and into Minnesota, especially by Sunday/Monday morning in the wake of the next arctic front. Asherman/Kebede Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php $$