Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 AM EST Thu Jan 17 2019 Valid 12Z Thu Jan 17 2019 - 12Z Sat Jan 19 2019 ...Major winter storm continues across the western U.S. and then reaches the Plains by Friday... A severe winter storm has been hammering California Wednesday night, and very heavy snow is expected to continue for the Sierra Nevada and also the mountains of northern California. Blizzard warnings are in effect through Thursday morning for the highest elevations, with snowfall amounts in excess of three feet expected! In addition to the heavy snow, heavy rain will also fall across the lower elevations, with most of it happening through Thursday evening. A moderate risk of rainfall has been issued for a small area in southern California, particularly where the burn scars exist in the Los Angeles region. Precipitation will begin to wind down by Thursday night and into Friday morning as the frontal system progresses farther inland across the Intermountain West. The upper level trough responsible for the ongoing storm over the western U.S. will generate a new surface low over the western High Plains by Friday morning and this will be the next big feature to monitor going into the upcoming weekend. In the stormâ€s wake, an arctic surface high will plunge southward from Canada and result in frigid temperatures across the Plains and the Upper Midwest, with temperature departures on the order of 15 to 25 degrees below normal! Freezing rain, heavy snow, and heavy rain are expected in association with the storm system through the central and eastern U.S. over the next few days. Heavy snow will begin by Friday evening over the central plains and then progress eastward by the weekend. See WPC's winter weather products and discussion for more information on this system. Hamrick/Reinhart Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php