Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 357 PM EST Tue Feb 03 2015 Valid 00Z Wed Feb 04 2015 - 00Z Fri Feb 06 2015 ...Snow is expected to spread eastward across the northern Rockies into the northern Plains and the Great Lakes behind an arctic cold front... ...Rain heavy at times is expected along the Gulf coast... Over the next few days, a new surge of arctic air from Canada is expected to spread into much of the eastern two-thirds of the Country. As the arctic cold front advances to the south and east, a batch of moisture arriving from the Pacific Northwest will override the cold air and result in snow to spread quickly eastward through the northern Rockies tonight into Wednesday. Arctic air behind the front will drop temperatures well below normal in the northern and central Plains on Wednesday, followed by the Northeast on Thursday. A band of snow is expected to develop behind the arctic front. The quick motion of the front should limit the accumulation amounts. By late on Thursday, upper and lower level energies are forecast to converge off the New England coast where a low pressure system is forecast to rapidly deepen. It appears that some snow could clip New England coast before the storm moves away into the Canadian Maritimes. Over the Gulf of Mexico, a low pressure center that formed along an old frontal boundary is forecast to spread rain from west to east along the Gulf coast through Thursday. Rain could be heavy at times Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night from the central Gulf coast eastward into the Florida Panhandle before a cold front pushes the rain farther south through the rest of Florida on Thursday. Meanwhile, much of the West will remain unseasonably mild with no precipitation in sight through Thursday over the Desert Southwest into the Great Basin. The return of mild temperatures will be most dramatic in the northern Rockies where arctic air retreats eastward into the Plains and temperatures jump back up to more than 20 degrees above normal. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php