Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 243 PM EST Thu Dec 25 2014 Valid 00Z Fri Dec 26 2014 - 00Z Sun Dec 28 2014 ...Cold and snow expected from Central Rockies to the Upper Midwest... ...Heavy rains possible along the Central Gulf Coast... A cold front dropping out of the Great Basin Thursday night will drop temperatures and spread an axis of snow from the Central Rockies to the Upper Midwest. A limited moisture supply should generally keep snow accumulations on the lighter side; However...upslope flow will boost totals over the terrain of Colorado and Wyoming. Amounts will also be enhanced to the northwest of a weak surface wave tracking northeastward along the boundary. As the front begins to push through the Central and Southern Plains Friday afternoon...moisture being pulled northward out of the Gulf will fuel increasing amounts of showers and thunderstorms across the Lower to Middle Mississippi Valley. Organized areas of heavy rain...and the potential for flash flooding...will be possible along the Central Gulf Coast. The cold front that brought dreary weather to much of the eastern U.S. Christmas Eve will continue to push out into the Atlantic Thursday night. Even lingering lake effect showers will come to an end on Friday...leaving behind a mild and dry couple of days up and down the Eastern Seaboard. The only exception will be over the southern tip of Florida...where the cold front is expected to stall out and cause continued shower activity into the weekend. Late in the forecast period...a Pacific system dropping down through British Columbia and into the Northwest will bring heavier rains...and mountain snows...to the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies by early Saturday. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php