Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 AM EST Wed Dec 05 2018 Valid 12Z Wed Dec 05 2018 - 12Z Fri Dec 07 2018 ...Storm system to bring rain and mountain snow to California Wednesday into Thursday... ...A surge of cold air enters the Central U.S. on Thursday, with freezing rain or snow beginning by early Friday in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle... Precipitation in California will continue the next few days as a slow moving upper level system drops southward along the West Coast. Locally heavy rainfall is possible across parts of central and southern California with flash flooding and debris flow a concern, particularly over sensitive burn scar areas. Snow in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada range is also expected, but accumulations should be fairly light. This same system will spread low elevation rain and high elevation snow showers into the Southwest and southern Great Basin on Thursday as well. Elsewhere across the country, sprawling surface high pressure dominates resulting in a relatively quiet weather pattern for much of the short range period. Temperatures across the Eastern third of the country, as well as the northern Rockies will be 10 to 15 degrees below early December normals on Wednesday, with a reinforcing shot of cold air entering the northern tier states by Thursday as well. Afternoon highs on Thursday may be 10 to 20 degrees below average across the Northern and Central Plains and into the Upper Mississippi Valley in the wake of a cold front stretching from the Great Lakes to Texas. Light snow for northern locations and light rain for southern locations will accompany this front as it works south and east on Thursday, with precipitation increasing in intensity by early Friday across the Southern Plains as the upper level system in California pushes eastward and brings a surge of moisture into the region. Snow or freezing rain may be possible as far south as the Texas panhandle. Santorelli Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php