Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 349 PM EST Fri Jan 1 2016 Valid 00Z Sat Jan 2 2016 - 00Z Mon Jan 4 2016 ...Lake effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes... ...Cold and dry over much of the nation through the weekend... The overall weather pattern across the continental U.S. through this weekend will be featured with a large surface high stretched across much of the western and central U.S. An upper level trough with embedded minor disturbances will tend to keep much of the central and eastern U.S. dry and seasonally cold for the first few days of 2016. Lake effect snow is expected from the Great Lakes as this colder air crosses over the relatively warm lake waters, and some snow is also likely for parts of New England on Sunday with an arctic front crossing the region. Another area for precipitation will be southern Texas and the Florida peninsula as the subtropical jet stream remains quite active and a frontal boundary lingers over the Gulf of Mexico, with the majority of the heaviest rainfall remaining offshore. Across the West Coast, a few showers will be possible on Sunday as a Pacific storm system lingers nearby. Elsewhere, expect a benign weather pattern with no organized areas of rain or snow expected. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php