The powerful mid to upper level flow that has affected California over the past few days will be exiting the state this evening.
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It will be moving across the Southwest and into the Southern High Plains through Thursday and then toward the Lower to Middle Mississippi Valley on Friday.
This will bring relief to California for the next few days with dry conditions expected.
However, temperatures will remain below average, although not as cold as in past days.
Still there is potential for record low morning temperatures Thursday across portions of central and northern California.
While California dries out, there is no let up to the very active weather pattern for nearly all of the remainder of the nation over the next few days as the strong upper low will be pushing eastward and supporting widespread significant impacts.
Heavy mountain snows and lower elevation rains are likely across the Southwest and into the Southern Rockies tonight into early Thursday.
As this strong storm pushes eastward into the Southern High Plains Thursday, strong winds and dry conditions will continue to support a critical fire weather threat from eastern New Mexico into West and Southwest Texas.
While these area are expected to be dry, the opposite will be true farther to the north and east, stretching from eastern portions of the Southern Plains into the Lower Arkansas Valley, Lower to Middle Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley.
An initial area of heavy rains and severe thunderstorms are possible beginning Wednesday night and continuing into Thursday morning from far northeast Texas, eastward into the Lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley.
This will then be followed by a rapidly blossoming area of heavy rains and possible severe thunderstorms late Thursday afternoon stretching from central Oklahoma into north central Texas.
This area of heavy rains and severe thunderstorms will then push east northeastward Thursday night into Friday across the Lower Arkansas, Lower Mississippi and Ohio river valleys.
With both heavy rainfall episodes, flash flooding is possible.
To the southeast of the active thunderstorms and heavy rains, record high temperatures will continue Wednesday and Thursday across the Gulf Coast and across portions of Florida on Friday.
High temperatures will range from 15 to 25 degrees above average on Thursday along the Gulf coast and into portions of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Cooler temperatures are expected for the western Gulf Coast on Friday, but remain well above average farther to the east from Florida, northward into the Southeast and portions of the Upper Tennessee and Ohio Valleys.
Along the northern tier of the nation, snows will be diminishing across the Upper Great Lakes region early tonight.
Snows will, however be developing across northern New England tonight and continue through Thursday.
Locally heavy snows are possible across far northern New York State, northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and northwestern to northern Maine.
Snow totals across these area may be in the 4-6 inch range. ■