Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 PM EST Tue Jan 30 2018 Valid 00Z Wed Jan 31 2018 - 00Z Fri Feb 02 2018 ...Wet pattern to continue across the Olympics and Washington Cascades... ...Snowfall likely over the Great Lakes, particularly across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan... ...A shift to below average temperatures expected over the north-central states by Thursday... A steady conveyor belt of Pacific energy will continue to push through the northwestern U.S., thus keeping precipitation chances in the forecast. Persistent onshore flow against the westward slopes of the Olympics and Washington Cascades will spread light/moderate rain and snow to these regions. Conditions become slightly less favorable into Thursday as the low-level winds weaken and begin to generally parallel the coastline. During the next couple of days, expect 1 to 2 feet of snow over the mentioned mountain ranges with some lighter amounts across the Upper Intermountain West. A potent upper trough swinging through central Canada will continue to maintain a strong area of low pressure although much of the impacts should remain north of the international border. A broad axis of precipitation should fall along the attendant cold front with wet conditions possible from the central Gulf Coast up through the central Appalachians and into New England. Some of the biggest impacts will be the wintry precipitation falling within the dome of colder air across the Great Lakes. 6 to 10 inches of snow is possible over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan down across northern sections of lower Michigan. As the cold front and the trailing secondary boundary sweep through the center of the country, a marked change in the temperatures will be evident. Modified Arctic air encompassing the region should lower readings to around 15 to 20 degrees below average across the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest, and Upper Great Lakes by Thursday. This should be the true cold spot across the nation as highs struggle to get out of the single digits. Otherwise, a vast majority of the country can expect temperatures above climatology, particularly over the southwestern states eastward into the Southern Plains. Given warm and breezy conditions accompanied by low relative humidity values, the Storm Prediction Center is advertising an elevated to critical risk for wildfires anywhere from the southern/central Rockies eastward into the adjacent Great Plains. Lastly, a strong system currently exiting the northeastern U.S. should keep some wintry precipitation threat along the New England coast into this evening while more scattered activity looms in its wake. A steady northwesterly wind should ensure cool conditions for the region which will also lower wind chill temperatures. Rubin-Oster Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php