Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 AM EST Sun Feb 28 2016 Valid 12Z Sun Feb 28 2016 - 12Z Tue Mar 01 2016 ...Rain and mountain snow expected for the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies... ...Snow for the Upper Great Lakes... Low pressure over the Upper Mississippi Valley will travel along a quasi-stationary front extending from the Great Lakes eastward to Northern New England. The low will move into Southeastern Canada by Monday morning while trailing a cold front from just off the Northeast Coast to the Carolinas by Monday evening. An area of low pressure will move from the northern plains into the Upper Midwest tonight, across the Great Lakes on Sunday, and toward New England by Monday. This system will produce and area of snow from northern Minnesota, across the northern Great lakes, and into northern Maine. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 7 inches are possible, with up to 9 inches possible in northern Maine. Areas of sleet and freezing rain are also possible, with only light accumulations of ice expected. Farther south, a cold front associated with this system will bring scattered showers to portions of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, and the southeastern U.S. A Pacific cold front will spread rain and mountain snow into the northwestern U.S. tonight into Sunday. By Sunday afternoon, the system will spread rain and mountain snow into the northern Intermountain West and northern Rockies. This system will quickly cross the Rockies and will move into the plains by Monday. A rather complex interaction will occur as the polar cold front slides south across the northern/central plains while the Pacific front moves eastward ahead of the polar front. As a result, scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible on Monday across portions of the southern/central plains into the mid Mississippi valley. Farther north, a mix of scattered rain and snow will be possible across much of the northern plains into the Upper Great Lakes. Before the arrival of this polar front, temperatures will be well above normal for most of the contiguous U.S. High temperatures on Sunday are forecast to be 10 to 20 degrees above average for many areas. With some areas of the northern High Plains and the Ohio valley as much as 25 degrees above average. Above average temperatures will continue for most areas into Monday, with the exception of the northern plains near the Canadian border, where a colder air mass will begin to invade behind the polar front. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php