Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 1254 AM EST Wed Jan 22 2014 Valid 12Z Wed Jan 22 2014 - 12Z Fri Jan 24 2014 ***Continued dry and warm across the Western U.S.*** ***Very cold across the eastern U.S. this week*** ***Snow storm for the Northeast U.S. departing Wednesday*** The weather pattern across the continental U.S. through Thursday will continue to be featured with a strong upper level 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, it's like a broken record with very dry weather and above normal temperatures expected to continue. The bright side to this pattern is that there will be bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures for those enjoying outdoor activities. There may be a few showers over parts of Washington state during this time period with some weak shortwave energy passing nearby, but that is about it in the precipitation department. On the East Coast, the biggest snowfall event of the season thus far is wrapping up for the Mid-Atlantic and will persist until early Wednesday for southern New England. The developing surface low responsible for this plethora of snowfall is forecast to develop into a strong ocean storm over the Canadian maritimes. The tightening pressure gradient will result in gusty winds in addition to the snow, thus causing wind chills to plummet. The greatest snowfall is likely for southern New England, where 12 to 18 inches of snow is a distinct possibility! It will definitely look and feel like a winter wonderland. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., another cold front will reinforce the bitterly cold weather across the central and northern U.S. for the middle of the week. This will produce scattered snow showers, but given the lack of any significant moisture source, amounts are expected to be light. A few areas of light snow are also possible over the western High Plains nearly a stationary front given upslope flow around an Arctic surface high. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php