Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 302 PM EST Thu Jan 21 2016 Valid 00Z Fri Jan 22 2016 - 00Z Sun Jan 24 2016 ...Major winter storm to affect a region stretching from the Ozarks to the Mid-Atlantic through Saturday... ...Severe weather is possible across the central/eastern Gulf coasts... ...Heavy rainfall is expected in lower elevations of northwest CA and southwest OR with heavy snow in higher elevations of northern and central CA and WA Cascades... A large winter storm continues to be forecast across the Ohio valley to the Appalachians and mid Atlantic states. Areas of heavy snow are expected to develop in western Tennessee and Kentucky and in the southern Appalachians, and grow and spread while increasing across the central Appalachians and mid Atlantic, where a couple feet of snow are expected. The strong low over the Atlantic waters comes a dominant force in setting up very gusty winds in the mid Atlantic to Long Island, with storm surge flooding possible. A blizzard warning is in effect across the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro area and nearby locations. Significant icing is likely to the south of the snow area. The current forecast calls for a quarter to half inch of ice accumulations across parts of the interior Carolinas outside the mountains. Lighter amounts are expected in Kentucky and over the much of the western/central Carolinas. Ahead of the cold front moving east from the lower Mississippi Valley across the southeast and Florida, active clusters/bands of thunderstorms are expected over much of the central/eastern Gulf coasts. The latest convective outlook from the Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe thunderstorms. This convective threat will end once the cold front passes. A broad, deep upper trough positioned over the western U.S. will cause abundant rainfall over western Washington and Oregon, along with California. Regions of enhanced orographic lift are expected to result in the highest totals across the coastal ranges with heavy snow at higher elevations of the Shasta, Sierra Nevada, Olympics, and Washington Cascades. Snow progresses to the northern and central Rockies and higher elevations of the central and northern Great Basin, with amounts that aren't as heavy as over California. Petersen Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php