Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 212 PM EST Sun Dec 11 2016 Valid 00Z Mon Dec 12 2016 - 00Z Wed Dec 14 2016 ...Renewed surge of arctic air to reach the north central U.S. on Monday, central Plains to Midwest Tuesday... ...Light/Moderate to locally heavy snow from the Great Lakes to the Northeast through Monday morning... ...Another round of locally heavy rain and mountain snow likely to begin for portions of central California Tuesday... A quick moving winter storm system will impact locations from the Great Lakes to New York and central to northern New England with a broad 3-6 inches of snow through Monday afternoon. Locally higher amounts are expected downwind of the lakes and across interior portions of the Northeast. Low pressure associated with the storm will track into Illinois this evening and reach Lake Huron Monday morning. Cold air is already in place across many areas of the Northeast and north of a warm front extending east from the low center in the Midwest, helping to support snow as the initial precipitation type for many areas. However, as the low center strengthens with northeastward movement, warm air will advect northward ahead of the system's cold front and allow for a changeover to rain near New York City into southern New England by early Monday morning, likely limiting any snow accumulations to an inch or less for locations near the coast. A new low pressure center will develop near the coast of Maine late in the day on Monday which may briefly enhance snowfall over northern Maine but should also allow the invasion of relatively warm ocean air to cause a changeover to rain for the lower elevations of the region. As the East Coast storm departs late Monday, a renewed surge of arctic air will begin moving into the northern Plains and upper Great Lakes behind a cold front. Temperatures in the wake of this boundary will drop significantly, with temperature departures from average highs ranging from 10 to 30 degrees below normal on Monday and Tuesday from the northern Plains into Montana. Additional cold air will sink south into the Pacific Northwest starting Tuesday which should surpass some of the cold temperatures seen across interior Washington last week with forecast temperatures 10-20 degrees below average. Elsewhere across the West, a closed upper level low is expected to drop south through the eastern Pacific Monday and Tuesday. Another surge of Pacific moisture will reach the central coastline of California with steady onshore flow aimed from near to north of San Francisco into the Sierra Nevada mountains. Otto Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php