Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 345 PM EST Tue Feb 25 2014 Valid 00Z Wed Feb 26 2014 - 00Z Fri Feb 28 2014 ...Arctic air continues to filter into the eastern two thirds of the Country... ...Showers and thunderstorms expected along the Gulf Coast states... ...Much needed precipitation should move into drought stricken California... Arctic air filtering down from Canada should continue to spread across the eastern two-thirds of the Country. Temperatures will stay well below average over a good portion of the Nation...and locations from the Northern Plains to the Ohio Valley could even see daytime high temperatures more than 20 to 30 degrees below normal. Conditions should be fairly dry within the Arctic airmass...but an impulse of energy racing through the flow aloft will trigger light snow showers while it quickly drops through the Northern/Central Rockies Tuesday evening and then streaks through the Ohio Valley and northern Mid-Atlantic states Wednesday morning. Also...a second system dropping down from central Canada should help ignite light showers over the Upper Great Lakes on Wednesday. At the leading edge of the Arctic air invading the East...a frontal boundary will serve as a focal point for convection across the southern tier of the Nation Tuesday night into Wednesday. A decent amount of moisture getting drawn out of the Gulf should fuel some organized areas of moderate to heavy rains over the Gulf Coast states. The boundary and associated precipitation should drop down into the Gulf by early Thursday...but Florida will see continued shower and thunderstorm activity as the front pushes through the sunshine state. A ridge breaking down out West will allow precipitation from an approaching Pacific system to spread inland over the Western U.S.. Drought stricken California should see the brunt of the action...with the highest totals expected along the coastal and Sierra Nevada ranges. Temperatures will be low enough to support plenty of accumulating snows along the Sierras. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php