Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 246 PM EST Wed Dec 16 2015 Valid 00Z Thu Dec 17 2015 - 00Z Sat Dec 19 2015 ...Snow and heavy rain continues to afflict the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West... ...Rain and thunderstorms to track east across the Southeast and the East Coast ahead of a cold front... Another storm system will begin to approach the Pacific Northwest coastline by early Thursday morning and will bring another round of precipitation to the region. Precipitation will increase in coverage throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday morning as a warm front moves onshore. By Thursday afternoon, widespread showers and higher elevation snow will cover the region -- including northern California. The cold front will begin to move across the Pacific Northwest by Friday morning and, as a result, precipitation will decrease especially along the coast by Friday evening. As far as threats are concern, ice will be a concern especially for the Cascades on Thursday and Friday in addition to heavy rainfall mostly along the region's coastline. As the front moves inland across the Intermountain West, snow will develop along the Northern Rockies. A large frontal system spanning from the Great Lakes and into the Deep South will continue to track eastward over the next few days. Showers and thunderstorms will follow along and ahead of the cold front as it taps into warm, moist air from the Gulf. The heaviest rainfall axis will be centered over the southern and central Appalachians on Thursday. By Friday, precipitation will taper off across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast with some lingering showers and thunderstorms over the southern half of Florida. Behind this front, temperatures that are more representative of December will settle across these regions. Fanning Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php