Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 315 PM EST Wed Jan 02 2019 Valid 00Z Thu Jan 03 2019 - 00Z Sat Jan 05 2019 ...Heavy snow for the Northern Cascades and parts of the Northern Rockies... ...Snow and rain/freezing rain possible for parts of the Southern Plains... Heavy rain for parts of the Pacific Northwest Coast and from parts of the Western Gulf Coast/Lower Mississippi Valley into the Southeast.. An upper-level low over the Southern Rockies will move eastward to the Lower Mississippi Valley/Tennessee Valley by Friday. The circulation around the upper-level low will draw moisture northward off the Western Gulf of Mexico into the Southern Plains, on Wednesday, then from the Lower Mississippi Valley eastward into the Southeast overnight Thursday into Friday. Showers and thunderstorms will develop along the Western Gulf Coast that will slowly expand eastward into parts of the Southeast by Friday. Rain, heavy at times, will develop over the Southern Plains into the Lower Mississippi Valley with rain extending into parts of the Mid-Atlantic/Central Appalachians and the Southeast. The heavy rain will expand into parts of the Southern Appalachians overnight Wednesday then waning by Thursday evening. The heavy rain will continue over parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley that will move into parts of the Southeast by Friday. An area of snow with pockets of rain/freezing rain will develop over parts of the Southern Plains overnight Wednesday into Thursday evening. WPC has issued a slight risk of excessive rain over the parts of the Western Gulf Coast into parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley/Eastern Gulf Coast through Friday. Meanwhile, an area of upper-level energy over the Upper Great Lakes into the Middle Mississippi Valley will move eastward off the Northeast Coast by Thursday afternoon. The system will produce light snow over parts of the Great Lakes that will move into Northern New England by Thursday morning. The snow will end over the Great Lakes by Thursday afternoon and overnight Thursday for Northern New England. In addition, onshore flow over the Pacific Northwest will aid in producing rain and higher elevation snow over the region Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. A front will move onshore over the Northwest by Thursday evening moving inland to parts of the Northern Intermountain Region by Friday. Rain, heavy at times, will develop over parts of the Pacific Northwest Coast as heavy snow develops over parts of the Northern Cascades overnight Thursday into Friday. Also overnight Thursday snow will develop over parts of the Northern Rockies that will continue into Friday. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php