Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 229 PM EST Fri Dec 18 2015 Valid 00Z Sat Dec 19 2015 - 00Z Mon Dec 21 2015 ...Brief eastern chill will moderate Sunday while Lake effect snows come and go... ...Active storm pattern for the West to continue with coastal rain and mountain snow... Colder air moving across the east will help generate lake effect snow activity especially east of Lakes Erie and Ontario where up to 2 feet of snow may fall in isolated locations especially near the Tug Hill Plateau. Otherwise, the turn to colder weather will be short lived and milder conditions will return to the East on Sunday and Monday. A series of storm systems will continue to move eastward across the eastern Pacific and roll ashore across the Pacific coast. A cold front will continue moving south and eastward with significant rains from central California northward to the Washington and Oregon coasts from Friday night into Saturday. Heavy snow will again fall across the Sierras. The system will weaken and generate mountain snows on Sunday as it crosses the Great Basin and Central Rockies. By Sunday evening, low pressure will move from the Southern Plains to the mid Mississippi Valley and will begin to pick up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Showers will develop ahead of a cold front moving across the Mississippi Valley to the great Lakes on Monday morning. The next storm system barrels into the Northwest coast on Sunday morning with coastal rains and mountain snows before moving inland and weakening while the next system follows quickly on Monday morning. Kocin Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php