Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 216 AM EST Mon Nov 20 2017 Valid 12Z Mon Nov 20 2017 - 12Z Wed Nov 22 2017 ...Heavy precipitation for parts of the Pacific Northwest and more cold weather for the eastern states... In the wake of the strong cold front and storm system that exited the East Coast on Sunday, cooler and drier conditions are on tap for the beginning of the week as a large surface high settles in across the region. By Tuesday morning, a reinforcing surge of cold air is expected to settle southward across the Midwest and northern Plains as a deep surface low tracks just north of the Canadian border. Strong winds behind the associated cold front will create blustery conditions for the north-central U.S. with very low wind chills expected. The Pacific Northwest will remain active in the precipitation department as an atmospheric river of moisture from the Pacific reaches the northern California coast on Monday. This deep plume of moisture will then target northern Oregon and western Washington by Tuesday as the frontal zone lifts northward. Some locations could get several inches of rainfall by Tuesday night, and heavy snowfall for the Cascades and northern Rockies, with some ranges getting over a foot of snow with this event. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., an expansive high pressure ridge will exist across the Intermountain West. Warm and dry conditions are expected across most of the Southwest and southern Plains. Fire weather concerns will exist across parts of the western High Plains with dry conditions and gusty winds on Monday. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php