National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain Across the Central US; Wintry Mix in the Northern Plains and Northeast

Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding are possible across the central U.S. through Saturday. Large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes are all possible. There is an increased threat for wildfire development in the southern to central High Plains. A wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain are forecast across portions of the northern Plains and central New England into early Friday morning. Read More >

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Last Map Update: Thu, Mar 5, 2026 at 6:50:18 pm PST

A High Wind Watch has been issued for eastern Kern County valid from 10 PM Friday through 10 PM Saturday. Strong Northeast winds 35 to 45 mph, with gusts to 70 mph are expected for the Mojave Desert, and winds 25 to 35 mph, gusts to 50 mph expected for the Tehachapi Mountains.
Stronger winds are also expected for the Sierra Nevada in the coming days, which has led to the issuance of a Wind Advisory primarily for areas above 8,000 feet. Northeast winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected in these areas.
An area of high pressure is expected to build in over central California late this weekend and expand across the southwestern US into next week. Warmer daytime temperatures will result from the high pressure, with this table showing the probabilities for select locations to exceed 75 degrees each day.

 

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