Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 326 AM EDT Sun Mar 12 2017 Valid 12Z Sun Mar 12 2017 - 12Z Tue Mar 14 2017 ...Interesting weather pattern for mid-March with winter storm for the East Coast on Tuesday... Even though the calendar now indicates March, it is certainly feeling like winter across much of the country. A huge surface high pressure ridge over Canada is sprawling southward into the central and eastern U.S., allowing for a continuous supply of January-like temperatures through the rest of the weekend and into the beginning of the work week. This weather pattern is also setting the stage for wintry weather from the northern Plains to the East Coast. Things get interesting for the East Coast beginning Monday night. A low pressure system crossing the Midwest states is expected to phase with another low off the southeast U.S. coast. This will allow for a strong nor'easter to develop near the coast and cause a late-season snowstorm from the central Appalachians to New England, including many of the big cities in the Northeast U.S. Winter storm watches and even blizzard watches are now in effect for the increasing likelihood of significant snowfall accumulations, with some areas possibly getting in excess of a foot. There is still some uncertainty with respect to the track of the low and the axis of heaviest snowfall, and these details will come into better focus over the next day or so. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., expect warm conditions to continue across the southwestern U.S. with no rain or snow in the forecast. The lower elevations of the Desert Southwest could even reach the lower 90s for highs over the next few days with an upper level ridge in place. Onshore flow across the Pacific Northwest will keep scattered showers around, with snow in the Cascades and northern Rockies. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php