Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 253 PM EST Fri Dec 26 2014 Valid 00Z Sat Dec 27 2014 - 00Z Mon Dec 29 2014 ...A cold front crossing the Central U.S. will spread snow across the Midwest and trigger heavy rains along the Central Gulf Coast... ...Cooling trend expected from the Northwest to the central U.S.... ...Incoming Pacific system expected to bring snow and rain to the Northwest this weekend... A cold front will continue to edge eastward through the Central U.S. this weekend. Light snows will spread across much of the Midwest as a surface wave along the boundary steadily lifts northeastward through the Middle Mississippi Valley and Upper Great Lakes. Ahead of the front...a rich supply of Gulf moisture pulling northward will fuel widespread shower activity. Organized areas of heavy downpours and thunderstorms will be possible from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Tennessee Valley...with the greatest chance for any flash flooding expected along the Central Gulf Coast. As the front crosses the Appalachians and precipitation reaches into the Eastern U.S....above normal temperatures will keep the majority of precipitation rain with the exception of some mixed precipitation expected in interior New England. Cooler air filling in behind the cold front pressing through the middle of the Nation will put an end to the mild conditions in place from the Mississippi Valley to the Eastern Seaboard. Even more impressive will be the fresh surge of arctic air expected to plummet into the north central U.S. by the end of the weekend as a strong surface high noses down from Western Canada. A robust system dropping through the northeast Pacific and British Columbia will bring unsettled weather into the Northwest this weekend. Lowering snow levels will bring widespread accumulations across the Cascades and Northern Rockies. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php