Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 155 AM EST Wed Feb 3 2016 Valid 12Z Wed Feb 3 2016 - 12Z Fri Feb 5 2016 ...Strong storm system will affect the eastern U.S. Wednesday... ...Rain and mountain snow for the northwestern states... The weather across the eastern U.S. will be quite active going through Wednesday night as a plethora of deep moisture from the Gulf of Mexico surges northward ahead of a strong cold front. Widespread moderate to heavy rainfall can be expected from the central Gulf Coast to Ohio, and extending eastward towards the East Coast. Rainfall amounts could exceed two inches for many areas across the Southeast U.S. by Thursday morning, and localized flash flooding is possible where convective activity persists over any given location. The severe weather threat should diminish on Wednesday compared to what was observed on Tuesday, but there will likely be some scattered strong to severe storms. The main concern will be the heavy rainfall. The snow that has been ongoing over the Upper Midwest will now be focused over Wisconsin and northern Michigan. In terms of temperatures, unseasonably mild readings can be found from the Mid-Atlantic region southward to Florida ahead of the cold front, with daytime highs well into the 60s and 70s and some humidity to go along with that. A reality check will come by week's end with a much cooler airmass arriving and highs back into the 40s and 50s. Very cold weather is expected to continue over the Intermountain West and northern Plains through the middle of the week with a large surface high in place over the region. A shortwave trough and weakening frontal boundary is expected to reach the Pacific Northwest coast by Wednesday night. A moisture plume oriented along the coast with modest forcing for ascent will tend to favor patchy areas of light rain from northern California to Washington state through Thursday, and snow at the higher elevations. Once the system works its way inland, expect scattered areas of light snow over the northern Rockies and parts of the Intermountain West. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php