Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 115 PM EST Wed Jan 31 2018 Valid 00Z Thu Feb 01 2018 - 00Z Sat Feb 03 2018 ...A return to much colder weather in store for the central/eastern U.S... ...Wet conditions to remain over the Pacific Northwest... ...Snowfall accumulations likely over the Great Lakes and into the central/northern Appalachians... A deep upper trough sweeping through the center of the country and to points eastward will favor well below average temperatures throughout the period. Forecast anomalies should be around 15 to 20 degrees below climatology, particularly from the northern High Plains eastward into the upper Great Lakes. On Thursday, expected high temperatures should struggle to escape the single digits with some below zero readings possible over northern Minnesota. As the arctic boundary slides south and east, expect this frigid weather to follow suit with below freezing overnight lows likely down toward the Red River and the mid-South on Friday morning. While locations east of the Rockies remain on the chilly side, general ridging across the southwestern states will favor readings around 10 to 15 degrees above average. Low 80s should be numerous across the Desert Southwest the next couple of days. The most active weather in the country should remain across the Pacific Northwest and into the upper Intermountain West. A transitory pattern will allow an upper ridge to briefly build overhead before giving way to a quick moving disturbance. In advance of this system, expect an increase in the coverage of precipitation over the northwestern states, particularly across the Olympics and Washington Cascades given orographic effects. Accumulating snows should be favored over the higher elevations with over a foot expected over the latter ranges. Additional snow is in the forecast across some of the interior mountain ranges including the Bitterroots, Sawtooth, and Tetons. In advance of the mentioned arctic boundary surging through the middle of the country, light to moderate rainfall should break out from the western Gulf Coast up across the eastern third of the country. Expect anywhere from a quarter to half inch of rain over sections of the Tennessee Valley into the central Appalachians. Within areas of colder temperatures, some accumulating snows are possible over the Great Lakes and into the higher terrain of the central/northern Appalachians and the interior Northeast. Rubin-Oster Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php