Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 348 AM EST Thu Dec 31 2015 Valid 12Z Thu Dec 31 2015 - 12Z Sat Jan 02 2016 ...Flooding/Flash Flooding Will Continue For Parts Of The Southeast And Central Gulf Coast... ...Dry And Very Cold Out West... The threat for heavy rain persists over much of the Southeast as warm, moist air continues to stream over a slow-moving front. As the front advances through the weekend, the airmass with higher dew point values with sag south and east. This will limit the heavy rain possibility for northwestern Georgia into the Piedmont of North and South Carolina. Th Gulf Coast, however, will have prime conditions that could lead to flash flooding through Friday. High pressure over much of the Intermountain West and the Plains will bring generally mild and dry weather from the High Plains to the Tennessee Valley. This will help alleviate the water-logged region. Areal and river flooding continues for portions of the Southern/Central Plains and Midwest from the significant rainfall over the past week. The well-above normal temperatures for late December across the Northeast will cool significantly and return to near climatology this weekend. The cooler temperatures along with optimal wind direction will allow lake effect snow showers to develop with the heaviest snowfall expected to be localized and extend east of Lake Ontario into the Tug Hill Plateau. Accumulations up to a foot of snow is expected by Saturday evening. Lighter snowfall accumulations will be found south and east of the remaining Great Lakes. Cooler and drier weather is forecast for areas west of the Rockies this weekend. Many areas will have temperatures averaging 10 to 20 degrees cooler than climatology. Little to no precipitation is forecast across the West. Campbell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php