Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 344 AM EST Tue Dec 24 2013 Valid 12Z Tue Dec 24 2013 - 12Z Thu Dec 26 2013 ***Improving weather for the East Coast*** ***Very cold for the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest*** ***Snow showers for the Northern Rockies*** A powerful multi-faceted storm system that affected most of the central and eastern U.S. over the past few days has now moved offshore. In the wake of the departing cold front, a strong Canadian surface high will slowly settle over the Eastern U.S. with much colder temperatures arriving just in time for Christmas. Scattered snow showers will be possible near the Great Lakes during this time, and a few snow showers will also be possible near the New England coast on Christmas Eve. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., dry conditions can be expected from the Desert Southwest to the Southeast U.S. Several rounds of mainly light to moderate precipitation can be expected from the Pacific Northwest to the Dakotas in association with a warm front. It will remain quite cold across the northern tier states. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php