Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 229 AM EST Thu Jan 11 2018 Valid 12Z Thu Jan 11 2018 - 12Z Sat Jan 13 2018 ...Winter storm unfolding across the Plains will move eastward from the Mississippi Valley to New England... ...Heavy snow expected for Cascades and northern Rockies... ...Above average temperatures for January expected east of the Mississippi Valley over the next few days... A strong cold front followed by an Arctic airmass will swiftly move eastward from the Plains through the Mississippi Valley today. Late Thursday night and Friday, the front will push across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys in addition to the Southeast. Finally, by Friday night and into Saturday, the cold front will approach the East Coast and linger in New England by Saturday. Precipitation will follow behind the front over the next few days--and with temperatures falling, wintry mix along with snow will be possible. On Thursday, the heaviest mixed precipitation/ice will occur along the western edges of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys with the heaviest snow in the Upper Midwest/upper Great Lakes in addition to portions of the Ohio Valley. Wintry mix will spread into the interior of New England and the Northeast along with central portions of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on Friday. In addition, heavy snow can be expected along the lower Great Lakes. This winter storm will move through New England on Saturday by having the bulk of wintry mix and snow in this region. Travel throughout the Plains to the Northeast will be dangerous as icy conditions are possible. Rain and embedded thunderstorms will occur from the Southeast to the Mid-Atlantic over the next few days as the front moves throughout these areas. For more information on this event, please consult WPC's winter weather products. A Pacific front will approach the Pacific Northwest today--bringing an increase in precipitation throughout the region along with the northern Rockies. This activity will continue into early Friday morning due to onshore flow; however, it is expected to lighten up by Friday evening. Heavy snow is expected across the higher elevations of the Washington Cascades and the northern Rockies. Some precipitation will linger Friday night and into Saturday--thus lighter amounts of higher elevation snow can also be expected. By Saturday, conditions improve with most of the precipitation tapering off for this area. Very cold conditions will follow the strong cold front due to the Arctic airmass following it. High temperatures will be below zero throughout the northern Plains today--and temperatures below freezing across the central Plains and Upper Midwest. These temperatures are 10-25 degrees below normal for this time of year. Consequently, wind chill advisories are in effect for portions of the the northern High Plains and northern Plains as wind chill values could reach 30 below zero. In contrast, areas east of the Mississippi Valley will experience temperatures up to 30 degrees above average for this time of year today. By Saturday, most areas in the eastern U.S. will be near or below average--with the exception to coastal Mid-Atlantic/coastal New England. Reinhart Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php