Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 357 PM EST Tue Nov 19 2013 Valid 00Z Wed Nov 20 2013 - 00Z Fri Nov 22 2013 ...Inclement weather across the West... ...Arctic airmass will descend across the Plains and Rockies... ...Showers and thunderstorms linger along the Gulf Coast... Two airmasses will battle over the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday and continue the action in the Great Basin region through the short term period. A Pacific front has already moved inland and is adjacent to the Cascades. This has brought showers to the region and the activity will persevere through Wednesday night. Just to the north of this surface front, an impressive Arctic airmass shall sink further south and is responsible for driving another cold front south into the northern portions of the Rockies. These two fronts will simultaneously advance south and east. By Wednesday morning, the Pacific front will be moving through northern California; meanwhile the Arctic front treks eastward towards the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Both of these systems will cause widespread showers throughout northern California and the Great Basin stretching over to the Rockies and Plains through Thursday evening. Additionally, the higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, the Intermountain West, and the Rockies can expect accumulating snows with this system. As the Arctic airmass plunges over the Plains, temperatures are expected to fall dramatically bringing frigid conditions throughout the northern and central Plains. The temperatures are not expected to recover quickly, however, as the surface high will continue to nose its way south toward the southern Plains through at least Thursday evening. A stationary front left over from the previous cold front that departed the East Coast will set up along the Gulf Coast and across southern Florida through Thursday morning. This will generate showers and thunderstorms throughout the Gulf Coast, but most especially in Florida and deep south Texas. By Wednesday, some precipitation will be drummed up along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia. In the meantime, a surface high pressure will settle over the East coast and the benign conditions will carry on. Fanning Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php