Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
204 AM EST Sun Feb 08 2026

Valid 12Z Sun Feb 08 2026 - 12Z Tue Feb 10 2026

...Dangerous Arctic airmass will persist over the eastern Great Lakes,
Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through Sunday...

...Lower elevation rain and higher elevation snow continues for the
Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies Sunday...

...Warmer-than-average temperatures continue for much of the central to
western U.S....

A bitterly cold Arctic airmass that has overspread the eastern Great
Lakes, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast following a pair of cold
front passages is expected to persist through Sunday. Forecast highs range
from the single digits and teens for the Interior Northeast/New England to
the 20s and 30s further south into the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic.
Lingering gusty winds will lead to dangerously cold wind chills as low as
the negative 30s across the Interior Northeast/New England and the single
digits and teens elsewhere, particularly through the morning hours.
Conditions are expected to moderate through the early part of the week,
with highs Monday and Tuesday increasing by around 10 degrees or so each
day.

A Pacific system and accompanying influx of moisture will continue to
overspread the Pacific Northwest east through the northern Great Basin and
Rockies Sunday. The focus for the heaviest rainfall will shift southward
from western Washington to western Oregon/far northern California today,
with light to moderate rain showers for lower elevations/valleys inland
through the northern Great Basin/Rockies. Cooling temperatures as a cold
front sinks south Sunday night into Monday may lead to a wintry mix for
some lower elevation locations, though accumulations should remain
limited. Some precipitation is also expected into adjacent portions of the
northern High Plains. Higher elevation mountain ranges from the southern
Cascades to the northern Rockies will see moderate to locally heavy
snowfall. Precipitation chances will quickly decrease into the day Monday
as the influx of moisture ends, with the snow lingering longest for higher
elevations of the northern Rockies. Another system looks to bring some
moderate lower elevation rainfall and heavy high elevation snow further
south into California and the Sierras Tuesday.

Elsewhere, another clipper-like system moving along the U.S./Canadian
border will bring wintry precipitation chances to the Upper Great Lakes
Monday, with some light icing and snow showers expected. This system is
also expected to bring some more moderate snowfall chances into Upstate
New York/New England Tuesday. Increasing moisture ahead of a cold front
moving through the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys southwest through the
Mississippi Valley into the southern Plains will bring increasing shower
and thunderstorm chances possibly as early as Tuesday morning, but more
likely into the day on Tuesday.

Warmer-than-average conditions will continue into the early part of next
week across much of the central to western U.S. The greatest anomalies
remain focused on the northern to central Plains, where highs as warm as
the 60s and 70s are upwards of 35-40 degrees above early February
averages. Some daily record-tying/breaking highs may be reached Monday
across the central Plains. A cold front will bring closer to average
conditions for portions of the northern Plains Monday, with highs in the
40s. While not quite as anomalous, conditions still remain above average
across much of the Interior West, with highs into the 50s and 60s, and
across the southern tier with 70s to low 80s from the southern Plains west
through the Southwest to southern California. The incoming Pacific system
will keep temperatures closer to average for the Pacific northwest,
northern California, and northern Great Basin, with highs in the 40s and
50s. Improving conditions will also spread east into the Mississippi
Valley today and then into portions of the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys and
Southeast Monday, with highs increasing into the 40s and 50s to the north
and 60s and 70s to the south.


Putnam


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