Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 304 AM EST Sat Nov 23 2013 Valid 12Z Sat Nov 23 2013 - 12Z Mon Nov 25 2013 ***Arctic front will bring coldest weather so far this season*** ***Active weather pattern over the Southwestern U.S.*** ***Sleet and freezing rain for the Southern Plains*** A highly amplified upper level flow pattern will allow for a large trough to build over the Central and Eastern U.S. for the weekend. A huge surface high behind a strong cold front will bring near record cold temperatures for late November from the Great Plains to the Ohio Valley. It will continue to be quite cold for Texas and the Deep South this weekend with the front dropping into the southern Gulf of Mexico. The mild weather is over for the East Coast as well with the front moving off the coast Saturday morning, and very cold weather is expected to arrive on Sunday. The weather will be active from the Desert Southwest to the Southern Plains with significant moisture over-running cold air at the surface. A concentrated area of moderate precipitation is expected over the Four-Corners on Saturday as a pronounced upper level low slowly moves eastward. Deep moisture transport ahead of this feature, interacting with the surface front, will allow for periods of rain for the lower elevations of Arizona and New Mexico, and heavy snow for the higher elevations, including Utah and Colorado. Elsewhere, widespread sleet and freezing rain is likely for much of central and western Texas, along with parts of Oklahoma, as a shallow layer of cold air surges under a warmer layer aloft. Most of this precipitation should be light, but there may be some areas that receive up to a quarter inch of ice accumulation. Lake effect snow showers are also expected downwind of the Great Lakes this weekend as the Arctic air flows over the warmer lake waters. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php