Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 258 AM EST Thu Feb 20 2014 Valid 12Z Thu Feb 20 2014 - 12Z Sat Feb 22 2014 ***Strong storm system over the Central U.S.*** ***Nice break from the cold winter weather this week*** ***Areas of rain and mountain snow for the Northwest U.S.*** The big weather story for the end of the work week will be a rapidly developing surface low over the Central Plains that will move towards the northeast to a position near Lake Superior by Friday morning. Current projections have the low deepening to near 975mb or even slightly lower, making it a formidable mid-latitude cyclone for this region. This is expected to bring a plethora of precipitation and high winds from Texas to the Great Lakes region. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop in the warm sector of this storm system from the Ohio Valley to the Deep South, and severe weather is a good possibility ahead of the cold front. Blizzard conditions will be possible over parts of the Upper Midwest and the northern Great Lakes by late Thursday and into Friday as a strong pressure gradient will become established. For locations ahead of the cold front, including the East Coast, there will still be some early spring-like warmth with highs easily reaching the 50s and 60s from the Mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley, and well into the 70s from the Deep South to the Carolinas. It will also be noticeably humid over the Gulf Coast region and into the Southeast U.S. with moisture flowing northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Areas of dense fog are likely near the Gulf Coast as moisture-laden air moves over colder near-shore waters and ground surfaces. Out West, onshore flow from the Pacific Ocean is expected to keep conditions unsettled across the Northwest and the Northern Rockies with widespread light to moderate precipitation through Thursday. There should be less in the way of rain and snow showers by Friday, with the greatest concentration over the favored mountain ranges. Most of the precipitation should be in the form of rain near the coast and snow for the higher elevations. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php