Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 342 PM EST Sun Mar 2 2014 Valid 00Z Mon Mar 3 2014 - 00Z Wed Mar 5 2014 ***Severe cold continues over the Upper Midwest*** ***Major winter storm for the Central and Eastern states*** ***Widespread showers and snow for the Western U.S.*** Ol' Man Winter is making it very clear who's boss in the weather department. The extremely cold temperatures continue like a broken record across the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest, and Great Lakes, which has been the case for much of the winter. A sprawling 1040+ mb surface high that originated over the Northwest Territories of Canada, is now setting up shop over the central and northern parts of the country. Highs from the single digits to the low 20s will be commonplace from Montana eastward to New England for the beginning of the workweek. Subzero lows are likely for the Dakotas and the Upper Midwest. This strong surface high and its enormous cold air mass will interact with an impressively strong cold front from the Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic region through Monday. A band of moderate to locally heavy snow is forecast from the Ohio Valley to Virginia, along with widespread sleet and freezing rain extending from the Arklatex region to North Carolina. Severe thunderstorms are likely over parts of the Deep South ahead of the advancing cold front. This will definitely be a high impact event for travel and commerce! The Western U.S. will remain active over the next two days with sustained westerly flow from the Pacific Ocean along with a stationary surface front from the Washington coast to Colorado. Mainly scattered showers and mountain snow showers can be expected, with some locally concentrated areas of moderate to heavy snow where forcing is best. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php