Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 311 PM EST Tue Jan 28 2014 Valid 00Z Wed Jan 29 2014 - 00Z Fri Jan 31 2014 ...Rare winter storm will continue to impact the Gulf Coast and Southeast... ...Precipitation finally arriving to the West Coast and Great Basin... ...Another fast moving clipper system to affect the Great Lakes and Plains... The strong cold front that is now off the East Coast, moving toward central Florida, and in the Gulf is advancing arctic air across these regions. Meanwhile, the upper level system hangs back in the Mississippi Valley and is pulling warm, moist air over the frigid, arctic airmass. This set up is classic for widespread freezing rain and sleet. Reports of freezing rain and sleet have been on-going mostly along the coast, with light to moderate snow further inland. This wintry mix will continue through Tuesday night for the Gulf Coast states along with the snow in the deep South. By Wednesday morning, most of the wintry mix will concentrate in the Carolinas, Georgia, and the eastern portions of the Florida Panhandle. Again, expect snow to the north and west of the wintry mix activity. The last of the snowfall will finally exit the Southeast by Wednesday evening; however, with the cold front slowly pushing south over Florida, expect showers to linger in central and south Florida through Thursday. The dry spell will finally be broken for the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin as an incoming frontal system approaches the coast. Showers and higher elevation snow will continue through Tuesday night, and begin increasing in coverage over the northern and central Rockies by Wednesday morning. By Thursday, a surface boundary draped across the Great Basin will be a focus for a mix of rain and snow in the higher elevations. As the precipitation begins to amp up in the Great Basin, the Pacific Northwest can expect showers to taper off. Another clipper system will quickly drop down from Canada and will waste no time moving through the Great Lakes and the northern/central Plains. Widespread light snow showers across the Plains and the Great Lakes will begin by Thursday morning and continue through the end of the short term period. Fanning Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php