Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 257 AM EDT Thu Oct 10 2013 Valid 12Z Thu Oct 10 2013 - 12Z Sat Oct 12 2013 --Rainy and windy for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast-- --Thunderstorms with rain and snow across the Inter-Mountain West-- A nor'easter, which includes Post-tropical cyclone Karen's surface circulation/area of low pressure, will bring widespread showers and thunderstorms with winds to gale force along and just offshore the coast from eastern North Carolina to southern New England. This moisture-laden cyclone should cause a few inches of rainfall to unload upon the northern Mid-Atlantic states over the next couple days, with New Jersey slated to get the lion's share of the rainfall. Overcast conditions are likely to continue through Saturday due to the system's slow movement and an invading backdoor front bringing in drier air as it moves through the Mid-Atlantic states Saturday. Across the West, a pool of cold air aloft is forecast to destabilize the atmosphere and generate showers and thunderstorms with higher elevation snowfall across the Southwest and central Rockies. As the energy progresses into the Central Plains, tapping Gulf of Mexico moisture, the magnitude of precipitation is expected to increase as it spreads from the Front Range of the Rockies through the northern Plains into south-central Canada. Under the aegis of ridging aloft, the southern Plains and Southeast are expected to be mild and dry. Roth/Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php