Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 240 PM EST Sat Feb 02 2019 Valid 00Z Sun Feb 03 2019 - 00Z Tue Feb 05 2019 ...Excessive rain likely over parts of Southern California... ...Heavy snow likely over the Sierra Nevada, northern Rockies, and from the Northern Plains to Upper Midwest... ...Rain falling on frozen ground will produce freezing rain over parts of the Upper Great Lakes... A developing upper-level low over the Eastern Pacific will move onshore over California Saturday evening, with the energy moving into the Northern Plains overnight Sunday into Monday. An area of heavy rain is impacting southern California and will move into parts of the Southwest on Sunday before waning overnight Sunday into Monday. Heavy snow will impact the Sierra Nevada, with upwards of 6 feet of total snowfall this weekend. The heavy precipitation over southern California will lead to a high risk of flash flooding and debris flows, particularly near burn scar areas. The rain and higher elevation snow will expand inland to the Northern/Central Rockies and the Southwest by Sunday morning, with particularly heavy snow across the higher elevations of Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. The Western U.S. will see more active weather underneath an upper-level trough through early next week. By Sunday, the energy impacting the West Coast will enter the Central Plains and bring heavy snow to the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Freezing rain will be possible on the frozen ground of the Upper Great Lakes, while showers are possible over the Middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys by Monday. In the East, multiple areas of upper-level energy will flow over the Gulf Coast through Monday, producing a low off the Southeast Coast overnight Saturday into Sunday. Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will flow northward over the Gulf Coast extending into the Southeast by Sunday. Across the Northeast, an area of light snow will impact northern New England as a cold front passes through on Sunday, with another chance for light snow and wintry mix Monday when the boundary returns north. Overall, temperatures will run about 10 to 20 degrees above normal across the eastern third of the U.S. early next week. Snell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php