Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 408 AM EDT Sun Mar 15 2015 Valid 12Z Sun Mar 15 2015 - 12Z Tue Mar 17 2015 ***Improving weather for the East Coast on Sunday*** ***Periods of rain for the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West*** ***Relatively quiet weather pattern for the central U.S.*** The weather system that brought the widespread rain to the eastern U.S. over the past couple of days has now moved offshore. The exception will be northern New England and into Maine, where snow is expected to continue into Sunday. Winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings are in effect for those areas, with snowfall amounts in excess of six inches possible. For the western U.S., a series of weak disturbances aloft and a surface cold front slowly moving across the West Coast states and the Great Basin will equate to scattered areas of rainfall, along with high mountain snow showers. Rain is forecast to spread across the Pacific Northwest and then into the Intermountain West through Monday. The greatest precipitation is likely to occur over western Washington and Oregon, and also over the elevated terrain of the northern Rockies. Most of the central part of the country should remain mostly dry through the weekend, along with above normal temperatures for this time of year from the Desert Southwest to the Central Plains. The exception will be southern Texas, where moisture associated with an inverted trough from the western Gulf of Mexico will lead to areas of rainfall through Monday. The bitterly cold temperatures are expected to remain north of the Canadian border through Tuesday. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php