Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 303 PM EST Wed Jan 09 2019 Valid 00Z Thu Jan 10 2019 - 00Z Sat Jan 12 2019 ...Snow ending tonight across northern New England... ...Precipitation ending across the Pacific Northwest tonight before rain moving into California later on Friday... ...Rain/thunderstorms and wintry precipitation expected to expand from the southern Plains towards the central Plains and Midwest Thursday night into Friday... A rapidly intensifying low pressure system is currently spreading moderate to locally heavy snow across parts of northern Maine. This low is forecast to quickly move away into southeastern Canada tonight, ending the snow across northern New England. Cold air will then usher into the Northeast under blustery northwesterly winds behind the system. Much of the central portion of the country will enjoy fine weather with chilly temperatures typical for January through Thursday. Over the northern High Plains, however, downslope winds will warm temperatures to more than 20 degrees above normal on Thursday behind a warm front. Meanwhile, moisture will begin to gather over Texas as return flow from the Gulf of Mexico develops behind a strong high pressure ridge. Moisture from the subtropical eastern Pacific will also be injected aloft and the interacting dynamics will gradually promote the formation of a low pressure system over the southern High Plains. Rain and some thunderstorms are forecast to expand eastward across northern Texas into the central Plains on Friday. By Friday evening, snow and some frozen precipitation can be expected to approach the mid-Mississippi Valley. After being impacted by a series of energetic weather systems, the Pacific Northwest will get a break in the active weather on Friday. In the meantime, mountain snow and coastal rain will continue through tonight across the area before gradually tapering off on Thursday. California will also see the rain ending on Thursday but more rain ahead of another Pacific front is expected to reach the coast later on Friday. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php