Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 237 AM EST Thu Jan 18 2018 Valid 12Z Thu Jan 18 2018 - 12Z Sat Jan 20 2018 ...After a cold start across the Deep South, warmer weather will spread eastward from the Plains as the weekend approaches... ...Cooler and unsettled weather for the western U.S. through Saturday morning... After Thursday morning lows in the teens for many locations extending from eastern Texas to the central Gulf Coast, warmer weather is on the way. High pressure currently situated over the lower Mississippi River valley will slowly shift east over the next two days, allowing a southwesterly wind to bring in warmer air from the Plains and Gulf of Mexico. Highs across the Deep South will still be 10 to 20 degrees below average today, but are expected to be near to above average for Saturday. For Saturday, high temperatures in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana should warm up into the 60s and 70s, a significant change from the snow and ice experienced earlier in the week. After the departure of a winter storm from the Mid-Atlantic coast this morning, most locations east of the Rockies will be dry through Saturday morning, except for light snow in the vicinity of the Great Lakes and some showers over the eastern half of Texas into Louisiana on Friday and Saturday. Out west, a change in the upper pattern will allow for the infiltration of colder, Pacific air along with rain and higher elevation snow developing through the rest of the week. Rain associated with a cold front will continue to move inland today, but as colder air flows in behind the cold front, a rain/snow mix is expected to develop across some of the higher elevations of California, Oregon and Idaho. By Saturday morning, many inland locations will be snowing with rain limited to inland valleys and coastal locations along the West Coast. Some more significant snowfall accumulations are possible for portions of Nevada into Utah beginning Friday and lasting into Saturday, with Winter Storm Watches already in place over parts of northeastern Nevada. Needless to say, temperatures will be falling below average west of the Rockies by Saturday. Otto Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php