Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
353 AM EST Fri Feb 18 2022

Valid 12Z Fri Feb 18 2022 - 12Z Sun Feb 20 2022

...A strong winter storm will be exiting the Northeast this morning...

...Strong winds and snow squalls expected today and tonight for the Upper
Midwest and Great Lakes...

...Storm system to bring rain to the Pacific Northwest Sunday with higher
elevation snowfall from the Cascades to the Northern Rockies...

A strong winter storm will gradually be exiting the Northeast this
morning, but not before some light snowfall accumulations and some light
icing from freezing rain occurs across portions of northern New England.
High winds though will be a concern this morning as low pressure advances
across the region, and there are High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories in
effect through early to mid-morning for the Northeast and the
Mid-Atlantic. Meanwhile, a strong cold front associated with the departing
low center will approach the East Coast and move offshore by this
afternoon. The front will produce showers and thunderstorms across the
Southeast this morning with much colder and drier conditions arriving this
afternoon behind the front.

Meanwhile, a fast-moving area of low pressure and attendant cold front
over Western Canada will move into the Upper Great Lakes through this
evening, and into northern New England on Saturday. Ahead of the low
center, an area of light to moderate snow is expected to overspread parts
of the Upper Midwest and the Upper Great Lakes. However, along and behind
the cold front, narrow bands of snow squalls are likely to move rapidly
from northwest to southeast. These bands will be accompanied by heavy
snowfall rates of 1â€/hour or more, gusty winds which may exceed 50 mph
and extremely limited visibility. This heavy snow and wind combination
will likely create dangerous travel and slippery roads and may impact the
evening rush hour for several major cities including Duluth, Minneapolis,
and Green Bay. In addition, temperatures are likely to crash rapidly
behind the front leading to a rapid refreeze of any wet roadways. This
front and accompanying intense snow squalls may spread across Lower
Michigan Friday night and into parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on
Saturday. The approach of this system has necessitated the issuance of
Blizzard Warnings for parts of eastern North Dakota and northwest
Minnesota, with Winter Weather Advisories in effect elsewhere across much
of the Upper Midwest and Upper Great Lakes. This entire system will exit
the Northeast by Sunday morning.

Elsewhere, a storm system and associated front will arrive across the
Pacific Northwest by Saturday evening and advance inland across the
Northwest on Sunday. This will produce rain for the coastal ranges, but
there will be enough cold air for heavy snowfall over the higher
elevations of the Cascades. This heavy snowfall will spread east across
the northern Rockies on Sunday.

Ziegenfelder/Orrison

Graphics are available at
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php