Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 255 AM EST Mon Dec 31 2018 Valid 12Z Mon Dec 31 2018 - 12Z Wed Jan 02 2019 ...Much colder for the Plains and southern Rockies/Plains... ...Mild but wet for much of the eastern U.S. today with severe storms possible... ...More snow for the Four Corners as well as northern New England... A strong arctic cold front whooshing through the northern Plains will continue to drop southward and eastward today and Tuesday. This arctic boundary will cause temperatures to plummet through the day across parts of the central Plains as wind chills reach hazardous levels (-10 to -30 degrees F) from Montana through Nebraska today through Tuesday morning. Some light to moderate snow (a few inches to over 8 inches in the Black Hills of South Dakota) will accompany the frontal passage but will be blown around by strong winds of 20-35 mph and gusts to 50mph. This system will continue to sink southward Tuesday and bring yet another round of significant snowfall for parts of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Some locations are forecast to receive 1-3 inches in the valleys but 6-12 inches in the mountains. High temperatures on Tuesday will be very cold over New Mexico and the Texas panhandle where highs will only reach the high 10s and 20s. Farther east, mild but unsettled weather is expected for areas east of the Mississippi as an area of low pressure reaches the Ohio Valley later this afternoon. The widespread rainfall may be enhanced by embedded thunderstorms, possibly severe, from northern MS/AL into middle Tennessee. The Storm Prediction Center has a Slight Risk area highlighted including Huntsville, AL to Nashville, TN. The rain will push into the Northeast later this afternoon as the surface low deepens on its track towards the Great Lakes. Along and southeast of the cold front, mild/warm temperatures will surge northward and record highs may be tied/broken today over the Southeast but especially Florida today and Tuesday. Fracasso Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php