Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 307 AM EST Sat Jan 19 2019 Valid 12Z Sat Jan 19 2019 - 12Z Mon Jan 21 2019 ...Major winter storm expected to move rapidly across the Midwest into the Northeast this weekend... ...Severe weather and flash flooding are possible in the Southeast... ...Heavy rain likely for the Pacific Northwest into California this weekend, with heavy snow in higher elevations of the Northwest... A significant low pressure system is taking shape over the central Plains this Saturday morning. Combining with a surge of arctic air from Canada, this storm is expected to spread heavy wintry precipitation from the Ohio Valley northeastward through New England for the rest of the weekend. The storm is forecast to move at a rapid pace across the eastern half of the country. Nevertheless, the abundance of moisture and the vigorous dynamics of the storm will bring more than a foot of snow from across northern Pennsylvania and much of upstate New York into much of interior New England. The forecast storm track has been trending farther north over the past few days. Locations along I-95 over the Mid-Atlantic are now expected to see mostly rain through the event while mixed precipitation is expected farther north across southern New England. The central Appalachians can expect to see up to a quarter of an inches of ice while lesser amounts are expected farther west across the Ohio Valley. As the low pressure system gets more intense early on Sunday, winds across new England will become strong and gusty with heavy snow during the height of the storm. Meanwhile, rain could become heavy across the Mid-Atlantic spreading towards southern New England Sunday morning with mild temperatures before arctic air rushes in behind a strong cold front. Blustery northwesterly winds will usher in the coldest air so far this season into much of the Eastern Seaboard with readings dipping to near zero over interior New England, lower teens over the interior Mid-Atlantic! Farther south, the strong dynamics ahead of the strong cold front will bring strong to severe thunderstorms today across the Deep South from the lower Mississippi eastward into the Southeast. In the West, abundant moisture and dynamics associated a strong low pressure system is impacting the Pacific Northwest with moderate to heavy rain and inland mountain snow. By Sunday, moisture from the next Pacific system will impact areas farther south from Oregon down into northern California, with snow penetrating further inland across the higher elevations of the northern Rockies. By early on Monday, a low pressure system is forecast to take shape across the Great Basin where snow should become more widespread into the northern and central Rockies. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php