Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 337 AM EDT Thu Mar 20 2014 Valid 12Z Thu Mar 20 2014 - 12Z Sat Mar 22 2014 ***Lingering snow showers for New England on Thursday*** ***Pacific cold front to bring showers and mountain snow*** ***Warmer temperatures expected for much of the Eastern U.S.*** A surface low tracking across Quebec will provide a band of light to moderate snow from central Quebec to Maine on Thursday, and a mix of rain and snow showers farther to the south over upstate New York and the northeast coast. Unlike the previous system, the cold front from this low will bring in an air mass from the Northern Pacific instead of northern Canada, so no Arctic invasion is expected with the passage of this front. It will be more of a drier air mass than a temperature drop. Pleasantly mild temperatures are in the forecast for the end of the week for many areas across central and eastern U.S., with the East Coast having its warmest day on Saturday. Another storm system will cross the northern Rockies on Thursday and travel towards the Great Lakes by Friday evening. This will bring periods of mainly light snow across the northern Rockies and northern Plains for the end of the week, along with scattered showers and storms extending southward into the southern Plains. Behind this system, a secondary front will surge southward from Canada and bring a much colder airmass to the northern U.S. by the weekend with temperatures returning to well-below normal levels by late March standards. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php