Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 337 PM EST Thu Feb 26 2015 Valid 00Z Fri Feb 27 2015 - 00Z Sun Mar 01 2015 ...More quiet weather is expected for the eastern U.S. as unsettled weather moves into the western U.S... After a series of quick-moving winter storms, the eastern half of the U.S. is expected to enter a period of quieter weather as a large high pressure system builds in from the northern Plains and into the entire eastern U.S. by Saturday. Arctic air will accompany this high pressure system where temperatures of 10 to 30 degrees below normal will be widespread. The only areas seeing precipitation will be in southern Florida where showers and thunderstorms are expected behind a cold front. Another area of precipitation will be from the Ohio Valley into the central Appalachians where snow showers should initially accompany a dissipating cold front. Meanwhile, the West continues to enjoy near to above normal temperatures. However, an upper-level shortwave trough is beginning to dig southward from the Gulf of Alaska. This trough is expected to bring increasing moisture as well as colder air into the Pacific Northwest Friday and into Saturday. We can expect rain near the coast will begin to spread steadily to the south and east into the interior mountains as snow Friday into Saturday. Over the central Rockies, upslope flow continues to support snow in western Colorado into New Mexico. Upper-level winds are expected to push to moisture southeastward into the central and southern Plains where light snow is expected over the Panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma on Friday. By Friday night into Saturday morning, we could be looking at sleet and freezing rain forming in central Texas. Rain showers are also expected to form down into southern Texas. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php