Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 300 AM EST Mon Jan 11 2016 Valid 12Z Mon Jan 11 2016 - 12Z Wed Jan 13 2016 ...Heavy lake effect snow expected downwind of the Great Lakes... ...Quick-moving system to bring snow and frigid temperatures to the northern tier states... Lake effect snows are forecast to continue today as cold air spreads into the Great Lakes and Northeast. The heaviest lake effect snow bands will be downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario, where lake effect snow warnings are in effect. A fast-moving "clipper" low pressure system will dive southeastward across the northern planes into the Upper Midwest today. This system will spread additional snow across the Upper Midwest and Upper Great Lakes today, and into the Ohio valley and Lower Great Lakes tonight. The system will reach the eastern U.S. on Tuesday, spreading snow into areas from the central Appalachians to the Northeast. Additional enhancement of lake effect snows will also occur as this system passes. Through Wednesday morning, 1 to 2 feet of additional snow is forecast to occur downwind of Lake Erie, with 1 to 3 feet downwind of Lake Ontario. Wind gusts in excess of 40 mph will also be possible in the lake effect snow bands, reducing visibility as low as a quarter mile at times. The low pressure system will also produce 4 to 8 inches of snow across much of Maine Tuesday and Tuesday night. High temperatures today will be 5 to 15 degrees below average for portions of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. The low pressure system passing the region on Tuesday will usher another round of arctic air into the region, with temperatures as much as 25 degrees below average. This frigid air mass will spread into the Ohio valley, and portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Wednesday. Rain and high elevation snow will be possible across the Pacific Northwest today as a Pacific frontal system moves inland. Precipitation will diminish across the region tonight as the system weakens. Another low pressure system will approach the region by Tuesday night, with rain and snow spreading into the West Coast states through Wednesday. Ryan Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php