Short Range Forecast Discussion...Amended NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 407 AM EST Wed Jan 16 2019 Valid 12Z Wed Jan 16 2019 - 12Z Fri Jan 18 2019 ...Major winter storm for California Wednesday and Thursday... ...Cold across the northern tier of the nation... A major winter storm will hammer much of California through early Thursday as a deep surface low tracks towards the coast. An impressive surge of deep moisture ahead of the cold front through Wednesday night will produce widespread heavy rain across the lower elevations of the West Coast states, with 2 to 4 inches of rain likely for many areas. A broad slight risk area for excessive rainfall encompasses much of central California, and a moderate risk for the mountainous terrain near Los Angeles, along with the possibility of mud slides. Blizzard conditions are expected for the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada through early Thursday with a few/several feet of new snow and winds in excess of 50 mph forecast. Very heavy snow is also expected for the mountains of northern California and extending northward across the Cascades. As the storm system moves inland across the Intermountain West, heavy snow is expected from Nevada across Utah, southern Idaho, Western Wyoming, and western Colorado, and these could be heavy at times with over a foot of snow at higher elevations. Elsewhere across the nation, frigid temperatures will remain in place across the Dakotas and the Upper Midwest after the passage of a strong cold front. In fact, high temperatures will be nearly 10-20 degrees below normal. There should be enough moisture with this front to produce some light snow over the lower Great Lakes and across New England. With a large surface high over the Gulf Coast region, return flow from the Gulf of Mexico will bring an increase in moisture through eastern Texas and into the central Plains, where some showers are likely on Wednesday. Precipitation will spread north and east across the Mississippi Valley on Thursday as a front pushes eastward across the Mississippi Valley and then the Mid-Atlantic region. Along the northern portions of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, expect some snow and a wintry mix with this system from Thursday night and into Friday. Hamrick/Reinhart Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php