Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 318 AM EST Mon Jan 20 2014 Valid 12Z Mon Jan 20 2014 - 12Z Wed Jan 22 2014 ***Arctic airmass arriving to the Eastern U.S.*** ***Snow for the Mid-Atlantic and New England*** ***Continued dry and warm across the Western U.S.*** The weather pattern across the continental U.S. through the beginning of the work week will be featured with a strong ridge across the western states and a large scale trough over the eastern half of the country. Over the West Coast and into the Inter-Mountain West, a very dry weather pattern is expected to continue through Tuesday. An unusually strong upper level ridge for this time of year has put its gear in park mode and will be stubborn to move in the near future. Although this is providing pleasant outdoor conditions for January, this is causing the ongoing drought over much of the western U.S. to deteriorate further. In the temperature department, expect readings to be above normal across the Inter-Mountain West and along the West Coast, and below normal across the Eastern U.S. Much colder weather is expected to arrive with the passage of a strong Arctic front moving southward into the Upper Midwest and this will reach the East Coast by Tuesday. A wave of low pressure is expected to form along this Arctic front over North Carolina and develop into a strong surface low over the offshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This will result in a shield of light to moderate snow from Kentucky to southern New England, including the Mid-Atlantic region. Several inches of snow accumulation appears increasingly likely over this area, along with plummeting temperatures. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php