Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 147 AM EST Sun Dec 16 2018 Valid 12Z Sun Dec 16 2018 - 12Z Tue Dec 18 2018 ...Strong storm systems for both the West Coast and East Coast this weekend... There will be two main weather features of interest through the weekend and into Monday. The first will be a well defined low pressure system slowly tracking eastward across the Mid-Atlantic region and slowly exiting out to sea by Sunday evening. The result has been copious amounts of rainfall from the southeast coast and Ohio Valley to southern New England. In fact, the rainfall from this event alone has resulted in some cities across the East Coast region setting new annual rainfall records. Given the warmer nature of this storm system, any winter weather should be relegated to the higher elevations of interior new New England, and all rain for the major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor. The second area of interest will be the West Coast states as a powerful Pacific storm system affects the region through Sunday. Although the main surface low will be well to the north across the Gulf of Alaska, the trailing cold front will have enough of a pressure gradient with it to generate strong winds and extremely rough surf from northern California to western Washington, and various wind and surf related bulletins have been issued regarding these hazards. Heavy rain and high mountain snow are also expected as the front moves inland, particularly for northern California and northwest Washington. There will be a brief respite on Monday before the next system arrives on Tuesday with more inclement weather. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., sunny to partly cloudy conditions are expected from the Rockies to the Ohio Valley and Florida as an expansive high pressure ridge governs the weather pattern through the weekend. Overall, temperatures are expected to be near to above average for the majority of the continental U.S. through Tuesday morning with no major incursions of arctic air masses expected. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php