Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 413 PM EDT Wed Mar 15 2017 Valid 00Z Thu Mar 16 2017 - 00Z Sat Mar 18 2017 ...Lake effect snow downwind from the Lower Great Lakes... ...Temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average over most of the eastern third of the country... Deep low over Northern Maine will slowly move northeastward to the Davis Strait by Friday. Strong gusty wind associated with the storm will fade overnight Thursday. In the wake of the storm, lake effect snow will wind down by Friday morning. Meanwhile, a front over the Pacific Northwest will move eastward to Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley and the Central Plains by Friday. Moisture associated with the system will stream into the Northwest/Northern California will slowly move southward along the coast to Central California by Thursday afternoon. The storm will produce rain from the Pacific Northwest/Northern California inland to the Northern Intermountain Region and the Northern Rockies. The warm moist air will aid in melting some of the snow pack over those regions. As the upper-level trough associated with the system moves inland overnight Wednesday into Thursday, the snow levels over the Northwest to the Northern Rockies will start to lower. Snow will return to the Cascades and parts of the Northern Intermountain Region/Northern Rockies by Thursday morning. As the flow of moisture stops over the Northwest, the rain and higher elevation snow will slowly begin to end on Thursday morning ending over most of the Pacific Northwest/Northern California and the Northern Intermountain Region/Northern Rockies by Friday morning. As the storm moves onto the Plains, Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php