Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 PM EST Wed Feb 07 2018 Valid 00Z Thu Feb 08 2018 - 00Z Sat Feb 10 2018 ...Cold front moves offshore of the East Coast, causing the winter weather threat in the Northeast and heavy rain threat in the Southeast to wind down... ...Snow will spread from the Northern Rockies into the Plains, Mississippi Valley, and Great Lakes regions... ...Warmer than average temperatures continue for the West... The winter storm across the Northeast and the heavy rain across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic occurring on Wednesday will wind down on Wednesday night as the cold front associated with them moves into the western Atlantic Ocean by Thursday morning. Before then, a few thunderstorms could be strong and contain locally heavy rain across parts of the Southeast Wednesday night. On a related note, the Lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast are expecting another chance of rain and thunderstorms on Friday as moisture streams in from the Gulf of Mexico. On Wednesday night, the main area where additional snow is expected is in portions of New England, where 1 to 4 inches of snow is possible to the west of a surface low pressure system. Lighter lake effect snow is expected to continue through Thursday, however. Light accumulating freezing rain is possible along coastal Maine Wednesday evening and night. A stationary front lingering on the eastern side of the Northern Rockies will begin to push slowly southward on Thursday and Friday as the jet stream moves south into the Intermountain West and Central Plains. The increased upper-level support and sufficient moisture means there will be heavy snow for the Northern Rockies and the Bitterroot Range, where over 2 feet of snow is possible for the higher peaks. Snow will even spill out into the Northern High Plains--portions of Montana east of the mountains could see over a foot of snow. As a front moves into the Central Plains on Thursday and forms across the Middle Mississippi Valley and Upper Great Lakes by Friday, snow will spread north of the front. Parts of the Midwest, including the Chicagoland area, are currently expecting 6 to 10 inches of snow through Friday evening. The western U.S., with the exception of the Pacific Northwest, will remain warm and dry through the end of the workweek. Temperatures are forecast to be 10 to 20 degrees above average, and a few record highs are possible, particularly on Thursday. On the other hand, cold air will spill into the north central U.S., and by Friday temperatures in the Northern High Plains could be over 30 degrees below average. Tate Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php