Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 403 PM EDT Thu Mar 13 2014 Valid 00Z Fri Mar 14 2014 - 00Z Sun Mar 16 2014 ...Heavy rain for parts of the Washington State Cascades... ...Light snow for the Great Lakes to the Northeast, Friday into Saturday... A front will move into the Pacific Northwest on Friday morning and dissipate inland over the Central Rockies by Saturday. The system will produce moderate to heavy rain over the Northwest Coast on Friday morning. The associated plume of Pacific moisture wanes by Friday evening as the rain becomes light before ending briefly. As the energy moves inland, light snow and lower elevation rain will develop over parts of the Northern High Plains/Northern Rockies on Friday evening with the snow moving into the parts of the Northern Plains/Middle Missouri Valley and the Central Rockies by Saturday morning. Also on Saturday, another front will approach the Northwest Coast as rain starts again along the coast. Meanwhile, a front over the Upper Midwest will move eastward to the Northeast and southward to the Southern Plains by Saturday. The storm will be dry at first over the Upper Midwest, but will get a influx of moisture by Friday evening, producing light snow over parts of the Upper Great Lakes/Upper Mississippi Valley on Friday. The snow will move into parts of the Northeast by Friday evening into Saturday morning. Rain will develop over parts of the Ohio Valley/Lower Great Lakes by Friday evening moving into parts of New England by Saturday morning. In addition, a secondary surge of cold air will move in over the Upper Midwest as a cold front settles southward out of Central Canada moving to Great Lakes/Northern Plains by Saturday. Moisture from the Western Gulf of Mexico will flow northward over the Southern Plains into the Central Gulf Coast as energy over the Southwest moves eastward to Western Texas by Saturday. The energy will wring out light rain and snow over parts of the Southwest/Southern Rockies from Thursday evening into Friday evening. As the moisture and energy move east out of the mountains, showers and thunderstorms will develop over parts of the Southern Plains/Lower Mississippi Valley by Saturday morning as rain develop over parts of the Central Gulf Coast into parts of the Eastern Gulf Coast by Saturday morning. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php