Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 215 PM EST Sun Jan 01 2017 Valid 00Z Mon Jan 02 2017 - 00Z Wed Jan 04 2017 ...Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain possible from the southern plains to the Southeast... ...Areas of heavy snow possible from the Pacific Northwest to the northern plains and Upper Midwest... A lingering frontal boundary extending from the southern plains to the Southeast will continue to focus areas of showers and thunderstorms through tonight. Some thunderstorms could be severe through tonight across portions of the southern plains, and heavy rain is possible for portions of the Gulf Coast and Southeast. Monday morning, an area of low pressure will develop along the frontal boundary across northeastern Texas as an upper-level disturbance approaches. The low pressure system will move northeastward across the lower Mississippi valley on Monday. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected from the Ohio valley to the Gulf Coast and Southeast on Monday. Heavy rainfall is once again possible, in addition to severe thunderstorms for some areas. Please refer to products issued by the Storm Prediction Center for further details on the severe weather threat. Also on Monday, a second area of low pressure is forecast to develop along the southern Mid-Atlantic coastline, and move northeastward along the coast. This low will spread rain north across the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast by late Monday into Tuesday. Cold air in place will allow precipitation to fall as a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain across some areas from Upstate New York to northern New England. Farther west, cold air is expected to remain in place as an upper-level trough remains overhead. Additionally, an arctic surface front will drift south through Monday, ushering another round of frigid air associated with an arctic surface high into areas from the Pacific Northwest to the northern plains. The continued presence of upper-level energy will keep areas of snow in the forecast from portions of the Pacific Northwest and northern California to the Rockies on Monday, with heavy snow possible for some areas. A cold air mass already in place will allow precipitation to fall as snow, or a mix of snow and rain even at the lower elevations along the coast of Oregon and northern California. Precipitation will begin to increase across the West Coast once again on Tuesday as another Pacific low pressure system approaches. Additional upper-level energy will eject eastward across the northern plains, spreading a mix of precipitation types east into the northern and central plains on Monday. Snow, heavy for some areas, is expected from the northern High Plains to much of the Upper Midwest, with a band of freezing rain possible in the transition zone between snow and rain, from the northern/central plains to the Midwest. Ryan Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php