Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 147 PM EST Wed Nov 28 2018 Valid 00Z Thu Nov 29 2018 - 00Z Sat Dec 01 2018 ...Snow will continue to impact northern New England and New York through Thursday... ...Heavy precipitation is expected near northern California over the next few days with significant snowfall in the Sierra-Nevada into Friday morning... ...Precipitation returning to the Plains/Midwest Friday night... Snows across New York and New England should persist into Thursday as a pair of surface lows merge and deepen offshore Maine. Strong, cold northwest flow over the Great Lakes will bring heavy lake-effect snow downwind of Lake Erie and Ontario into tonight. Temperatures across New England will remain below normal through Friday with some moderation expected late in the week. A wet, active pattern will continue for the West over the next few days, particularly near northern California. A pair of low pressure systems move into the West early Thursday and late Friday. Heavy snowfall across the Sierra Nevada is expected above 4,000 feet, with localized amounts of up to 3 feet by Friday morning, which has prompted winter storm warnings. By Friday, precipitation will shift mostly to the higher terrain of the Great Basin with some lingering showers and higher elevation snow occurring in California and parts of the Pacific Northwest. Because of the recent burn scars and expected heavy rainfall over several days, flash flooding is a concern for parts of California. See WPC's excessive rainfall discussion for more information. An upper level disturbance and associated surface low will drop southeast from Canada into the northern Plains today, moving into the Upper Midwest by tomorrow. This system will bring light snow and freezing rain to portions of the Dakotas, Minnesota, and the Great Lakes through Thursday night. South of this system, the southern Plains can expect temperatures to be well above average over the next few days. Because of the active pattern across the West, expect below average temperatures for California and the Central Great Basin--with near normal temperatures for the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West. The first of the series of systems emerges into the Plains late Friday, bringing a broad area of rain to the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, with snow expected across the northern Plains. Roth/Reinhart Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php