Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 249 PM EST Wed Dec 28 2016 Valid 00Z Thu Dec 29 2016 - 00Z Sat Dec 31 2016 ...Significant winter storm likely Thursday into Friday for interior New England... ...Showers and thunderstorms possible tonight through Thursday from the Deep South to the Mid-Atlantic... ...Another round of rain and mountain snow is possible for the Pacific Northwest and the Intermountain West... The year ends with a bang as a winter storm is expected to bring significant snowfall to portions of interior New England and upstate New York Thursday and Friday. A surface low moving through the Eastern U.S. will rapidly deepen as it exits the Mid-Atlantic and moves up the Northeast coast on Thursday. Heavy snow will begin by Thursday afternoon and continue into Friday with storm total accumulations of a foot or more possible for places from the Adirondacks to western Maine. In addition to the heavy snowfall, gusty winds will also accompany the storm making travel across much of the region hazardous and difficult. On the backside of the system, cold air and favorable flow over the Great Lakes should be enough to produce lake enhanced heavy snowfall downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario through at least Friday with accumulating snow also expected along favorable upslope regions of the central Appalachians. Farther south, rain and thunderstorms will accompany the cold front as it makes its way through the Deep South and into the Mid-Atlantic tonight and Thursday. Localized heavy rainfall is possible especially along the boundary itself and within thunderstorms. Behind the front, temperatures should return to near normal or even below normal as surface high pressure builds in. More rain and mountain snow is expected across the Northwest and into the Intermountain West as a cold front approaches the coast and moves inland by Thursday evening. Heavy snowfall may be possible in the higher elevations, particularly the Washington Cascades, and the mountains of northern Idaho and western Montana on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures ahead of the front will be warm, with afternoon highs as much as 10 to 20 degrees above normal on Friday across the central and northern Plains. In the Southwest, precipitation chances increase into Friday as an upper level low approaches the southern California coast. Santorelli Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php