Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 AM EST Thu Jan 10 2019 Valid 12Z Thu Jan 10 2019 - 12Z Sat Jan 12 2019 ...Cold and blustery conditions expected across the Northeast Thursday and Friday... ...Well below normal temperatures expected across the Southeast with well above normal temperatures in the Central U.S. on Thursday... ...Accumulating snowfall likely to expand across parts of the Central Plains into the Middle Mississippi Valley Friday into Saturday... The surface low which brought heavy snowfall to parts of the Northeast on Wednesday continues to lift farther into the Canadian Maritimes this morning. In its wake, much of the Northeast can expect cold and blustery conditions Thursday and Friday, with some light lake effect snows possible downwind of the lower Great Lakes. Much of the remainder of the East Coast and back into the Southern Plains will also be below normal, with some places in Florida and up the Southeast Coast as much as 10 to 20 degrees below normal. Farther West into the Central U.S., warm downsloping winds off the Rockies will continue to keep daytime highs well above normal (+10 to +25F) on Thursday, especially across the northern and central High Plains. Meanwhile, moisture will begin to increase over the Southern Plains by early Friday as upper level energy moves towards the region and an area of low pressure begins to take shape in the Texas Panhandle. Rain with embedded thunderstorms will expand eastward from the Southern Plains to the Lower Mississippi Valley on Friday, with wintry precipitation developing on the north side of the Precipitation shield from the Colorado Front Range eastward to the mid-Mississippi Valley. As much as a foot of snowfall is possible through Saturday morning across parts of the southern Front Range, with 4 to 8 inches of snow farther east into the middle Mississippi Valley. Within the rain/snow transition zone, some light to moderate freezing rain is also possible, with accumulations of a tenth to a quarter of an inch of ice forecast across northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. This weekend (beyond the short range period), this system is expected to spread winter weather into the Ohio Valley and eventually parts of the Mid-Atlantic as well. Out West, the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West should get a much needed break from meaningful precipitation during the short range period with lingering mountain snow and lower elevation rains tapering off on Thursday across the area. California should also dry out Thursday and into Friday but another system in the Pacific should bring more rain to the coast by Friday evening and into Saturday. Santorelli Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php