Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 306 PM EST Sun Feb 04 2018 Valid 00Z Mon Feb 05 2018 - 00Z Wed Feb 07 2018 ...Winter weather threats to impact areas of the northeastern U.S. as well as the nation's mid-section... ...Heavy snow likely to fall over the upper Intermountain West and into the northern/central Rockies... ...Mild temperatures continue over the western states while frigid weather remains east of the Rockies... The upper pattern across the nation will change very little during the next couple of days as a broad trough extends from the Intermountain West all the way to the East Coast. In addition to the below average temperatures this pattern will feature, there should also be a pair of wintry precipitation threats during the period. The initial area of interest stretches from the Mid-Atlantic into interior New England where a broad area of winter weather advisories are in effect. Forecast amounts remain on the modest side with 4 to 8 inches of snow expected across northern sections of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine while light ice accumulations are possible from southeastern New York down into extreme northern Maryland. A gradual shift to a cold rain is forecast across these latter locations as the ground temperatures continue to rise above freezing. The additional wintry precipitation threats looms with the next system sweeping through the center of the country. With plenty of cold air already in place, light/moderate snow should spread over the central Plains and middle Mississippi Valley with general amounts in the 4 to 6 inch range. Farther south, as milder air overrides the modified Arctic airmass at the surface, a band of freezing rain should impact an area of southwestern Oklahoma up into southern Missouri. A conveyor belt of disturbances are forecast to sweep through the Pacific Northwest and into the Rocky Mountain region. As these impulses track atop a stalled Arctic boundary generally stuck close to the terrain, abundant precipitation will break out, particularly over regions of local upslope flow. Snow levels should be appreciably low enough to bring accumulating snows down into many of the valley locales. A couple feet of snow is likely to fall across the Bitterroots, Sawtooth, Tetons, and into the Bighorns. While not quite as heavy, expect anywhere from 12 to 18 inches to fall over the Washington Cascades as well as the Colorado Rockies. With a strong upper ridge anchoring the far eastern Pacific and into the immediate West Coast, temperatures will remain well above average for early February. Departures from climatology will likely be in the 10 to 15 degree range with 50s commonplace across the Pacific Northwest, 50s and 60s over areas of the central Great Basin, and even some lower 80s possible in the Desert Southwest. Some daily temperature records may be broken given the very mild overnight temperatures expected. While the western states bask in the persistent warmth, it will be quite the opposite story east of the Rocky Mountains. The cold spot in the nation should be the north-central U.S. where highs struggle to get out of the single digits while low temperatures drop into the negative teens. This continues the theme of cold weather which has seemingly had a stranglehold on the region this winter. Rubin-Oster Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php