Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 326 AM EST Tue Feb 24 2015 Valid 12Z Tue Feb 24 2015 - 12Z Thu Feb 26 2015 ...Snow, sleet, and freezing rain likely for portions of the Carolinas... ...Precipitation will be on the increase across the Deep South with heavy rain moving in by Wednesday... Streaks of energy within the flow aloft will allow precipitation to continue across portions of the Gulf Coast and the Southeast throughout the day on Tuesday. With cold high surface pressure to the north filtering in well below normal temperatures, an axis of sleet or freezing rain should be possible from eastern Texas into central and northern Alabama, with snow likely across northern Georgia and the Carolinas. By Tuesday afternoon however, an area of low pressure is expected to develop just off the Southeast coast allowing precipitation to ramp up from portions of the Southeast to the North Carolina coasts. The cold air in place should allow an organized area of snow to develop along the North Carolina coast, with sleet/freezing rain possible further south. This same system may also clip portions of northern New England with a brief period of moderate to heavy snow on Wednesday morning as it moves northward well off the Atlantic coastline. Meanwhile, an upper-level closed low across the Southwest U.S. will move into the southern Plains by Wednesday morning allowing precipitation to initially develop across the Four Corners region Tuesday, and pushing into the southern Plains and Gulf coast Wednesday. As an area of low pressure at the surface strengthens in the Gulf, this will allow a widespread area of moderate to heavy rain to develop across the central Gulf coast states Wednesday morning, and move into the Southeast states by Wednesday evening. Some light to moderate snow may also be possible on the northern edge of the precipitation shield from northeast Texas to western North Carolina. Elsewhere, light snow showers are expected across the Upper Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes ahead of a cold front dropping out of southern Canada on Tuesday and lasting into Wednesday. Just to the west of this, an area of energy aloft should fuel some light snow across the Rockies on Tuesday, moving into the Northern Plains and middle Mississippi Valley by Wednesday. At the same time, a weak system moving across the eastern Pacific may bring light and scattered rain showers to the Pacific Northwest by Wednesday. Santorelli Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php