Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 254 PM EST Tue Dec 11 2018 Valid 00Z Wed Dec 12 2018 - 00Z Fri Dec 14 2018 ...After waning early Wednesday morning, a second round of heavy rain/snow for the Northwest Wednesday night... ...Potential for heavy rainfall and severe storms from eastern Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley late Wednesday/early Thursday... A strong Pacific storm system will continue to affect the northwestern U.S. through the remainder of this evening with heavy coastal rain, mountain snow and gusty winds. As the associated cold front moves through the intermountain region tonight, the intensity of precipitation will begin to wane but gusty winds will follow the system east into the Rockies and nearby areas of higher terrain. By Thursday morning, a second storms system will begin to ramp up across the Pacific Northwest as onshore flow ahead of a cold front takes aim into Washington. Higher elevations of the Cascades into the northern Rockies will see heavy snow, with an additional 1-2 feet possible for the northern Washington Cascades while the Olympics possibly picks up another few inches of rain which may lead to flooding concerns. However, for locations farther inland across the Northwest, the threat for precipitation appears low which is in contrast to the ongoing storm system. Across the southern Plains Wednesday night, a storm will emerge with a strong cold front to sweep through the southern Rockies into Texas and Mexico. Moisture return ahead of the system's cold front will allow for widespread rainfall from the Gulf Coast to the middle Mississippi Valley into the day on Thursday. A low threat for embedded severe storms will exist from eastern Texas into Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Through Thursday night, the heaviest rain is expected from eastern Texas into Arkansas and Louisiana. Given recent heavy rainfall across some of these locations, flooding could be a concern by Thursday morning. Light snowfall accumulations will be possible on the back side of the storm system across portions of western and northern Texas. The rest of the nation will see rather quiet weather with no significant/widespread hazards or temperature departures from average. Otto Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php