Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 334 AM EST Thu Feb 12 2015 Valid 12Z Thu Feb 12 2015 - 12Z Sat Feb 14 2015 ...Bitter cold sets in over the eastern half of the Nation while the West remains unseasonably warm... ...A pair of cold fronts will bring light to moderate snow from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast... Bitter cold will set in from the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic Coast as a broad upper trough carves out over the eastern half of the country late this week. The cold front that brought the initial shot of Arctic air to the central U.S. will push east of Appalachians on Thursday. Scattered snow showers will accompany the anchoring surface low crossing the Northeast...and once the low re-develops and deepens offshore...it could clip coastal New England with some heavier snow before it lifts into the Canadian Maritimes on Friday. Upstream...a second cold front bringing a reinforcing shot of cold air will trigger light to moderate snow showers while it drops through the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Friday into Saturday. West of the Continental Divide...conditions will remain unseasonably warm beneath a mean ridge centered over the western U.S.. The upper ridge will also keep much of the West precipitation free the next couple of days with the exception of some light showers sinking through southern Texas on Thursday and some rounds of rain reaching into the extreme northwestern corner of Washington State. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php