Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 320 AM EST Fri Jan 08 2016 Valid 12Z Fri Jan 08 2016 - 12Z Sun Jan 10 2016 ...Heavy snow possible for parts of the Mogollon Rim and Central/Southern Rockies... ...Severe thunderstorms possible today/tonight across portions of the western Gulf Coast... ...Snow expected for portions of the Upper Midwest and Mid-Mississippi valley... An upper-level low will move across the Four Corners region today, bringing snow to the higher terrain of the Southwest and to portions of the southern and central Rockies. Portions of the Mogollon Rim as well as the Rockies in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico will see the potential for heavy snow, with snowfall amounts of one foot possible at the highest elevations. Farther west, a Pacific frontal system will approach the West Coast by late today into tonight, bringing rain and high elevation snows to the West Coast States. Precipitation along the West Coast should begin to taper off later on Saturday as the system moves inland and weakens. A low pressure system will move across the Midwest today and into the Upper Great Lakes tonight. North of the surface low track, generally light snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are possible. A surface low is forecast to develop today along the arctic cold front over Texas. The low is forecast to lift northeastward across the lower/middle Mississippi valley on Saturday as it deepens. North of the surface low, a band of moderate to heavy snow is forecast, with 3 to 6 inches of snow possible for portions of the mid-Mississippi valley. The snow will spread into the Great Lakes Saturday night into Sunday, where 4 to 8 inch accumulations are possible. In the warm sector of this developing low pressure system, showers and thunderstorms are possible today for portions of the lower Mississippi valley. The Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a slight risk of severe thunderstorms today/tonight across portions of the western Gulf Coast. Showers and thunderstorms will spread east on Saturday from the central/eastern Gulf Coast into the Ohio valley. Rain will spread into the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday as the low pressure system moves into the Ohio valley. A mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain is possible across portions of northern New England Saturday and Saturday night as colder air remains in place at the lower levels of the atmosphere as precipitation moves in. Ryan Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php