Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 315 AM EST Wed Jan 01 2014 Valid 12Z Wed Jan 01 2014 - 12Z Fri Jan 03 2014 ...Continued very cold across the northern tier... ...Storm system will be organizing and gaining strength over the central states today... The start of the new year will sing the same tune over the upper Midwest where much below normal temperatures will persist. High pressure will linger over Minnesota for the next two days keeping many areas below zero both day and night. To the south, a cold/stationary front draped across the mid-Mississippi valley will push southward and eastward today through the Plains. Precipitation will continue to expand during the day with snow to the north of the front and rain to the south. Heavier rain should stay along and just offshore the Gulf Coast near a second surface boundary but should slide eastward into northern Florida later today and tonight. By tomorrow, several areas of low pressure will converge toward the Mid-Atlantic coast with a swath of snow to the north from the Midwest into NY/PA and New England. Several inches of snow are possible along the I-90 corridor from Chicago to Syracuse to Boston through early Friday. Plain rain, though heavy at times, will push through the Southeast. The rest of the country will be rather quiet, with near to above normal temperatures in the west. A system in the northeast Pacific will move steadily toward WA/OR today and come ashore late Thursday. Precipitation will increase area-wide along and west of the Cascades with the favored terrain areas receiving comparatively more precipitation (in the form of snow above most pass levels before the frontal passage) than the lower elevations. Fracasso Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php