Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 340 PM EST Thu Jan 02 2014 Valid 00Z Fri Jan 03 2014 - 00Z Sun Jan 05 2014 ...Moderate to heavy snow expected for much of the Northeast... ...Arctic air set to infiltrate the Northeast in wake of the storm... A frontal boundary draped along the Southeast coast will help spread rain across the Southeast tonight. A second front draped across the Mid Atlantic and a cold front stretching southward to the Gulf Coast will spread precipitation across the Appalachians northward to the Northeast. These two systems will merge overnight along the Carolina coast. Rapid intensification is expected tomorrow as the low moves quickly northeastward in the Western Atlantic. A broad area of light to moderate snowfall is expected north and west of the low track from the northern Mid Atlantic to the Northeast. A band of heavy snow is expected from eastern Pennsylvania through coastal southern New England. Precipitation should come to an end across the Northeast by Friday evening. In wake of this storm system a very cold airmass will move over the eastern U.S. Many areas will see temperatures 20-30 degrees below normal with record lows possible. Sub freezing low temperatures are expected as far south as the Florida panhandle. In the Pacific Northwest a cold front coming ashore will bring rain and snow to the region. This storm system will push across the northern Rockies and into the northern Plains by tomorrow morning with precipitation winding down across the Pacific Northwest by tomorrow evening. A very cold airmass will push southward out of Canada behind this storm system leading to upslope snows across the northern Rockeis to continue through Saturday. With the arrival of this storm system temperature across the northern Plains will rise above freezing in some places only to plummet back below zero after the cold frontal passage. Krekeler Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php