Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 349 PM EST Wed Jan 28 2015 Valid 00Z Thu Jan 29 2015 - 00Z Sat Jan 31 2015 ...A wintry mix of precipitation is expected with a pair of surface lows crossing the Great Lakes region... ...Record-breaking warmth will come to an end across the Great Plains... ...Conditions will become increasingly wet over the Southwest and Four Corners states... A pair of surface lows tracking out of the Upper Midwest Wednesday night will trigger widespread light to moderate precipitation from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley to the Northeast and northern Mid-Atlantic states late this week. Rain is expected within the southern extent of precipitation; however...a swath of accumulating snow will be possible across the Upper Great Lakes and New England. Marginal temperatures to the south of the snow will lead to a wintry mix of precipitation for portions of the Ohio Valley...central Appalachians...and northern Mid-Atlantic states. Also...as one of the surface lows rapidly deepens off the Northeast coast late in the forecast period...moist Atlantic air wrapping around the storm could bring a round of heavy snow inland over Maine on Friday. Record-breaking warmth will come to and end across the Great Plains as a strong surface high slides down from Canada and expands over much of the Central U.S. Thursday and Friday. Conditions will become increasingly wet over the Southwest and Four Corners states the next few days while an elongated upper trough edges inland over the southwestern quarter of the Nation and strong low-level winds bring an abundance of Pacific moisture onshore. The anomalous moisture will fuel widespread moderate to heavy precipitation...with the highest amounts expected along the upslope side of the Mogollon Rim and southern Rockies. Accumulating snow will be possible in some of the higher elevations. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php