Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 258 PM EST Sat Dec 21 2019 Valid 00Z Sun Dec 22 2019 - 00Z Tue Dec 24 2019 ...Heavy rain and mountain snow for the Pacific Northwest and rain returns to the Gulf Coast region in time for the weekend... Additional rain and high elevation snow will continue to make weather headlines across California over the remainder of the weekend as a second storm system will be making its way towards the coast Sunday morning. The heaviest rainfall is expected Saturday night and into Sunday across the northern California coast and adjacent coastal mountains, with 1 to 3 inches of rain likely, and heavy snow for the highest elevations. The rain reaches southern California by Monday to include the greater Los Angeles and San Diego areas with up to an inch of rainfall possible. A strong shortwave impulse tracking southeast from the southern Plains to the central Gulf Coast region is supporting the development of a strong surface low over the northern Gulf of Mexico. Widespread rain has developed across the Deep South in response to this, and both the coverage and intensity of this rain will continue to increase through the weekend. The heaviest rainfall is expected from central Alabama to the South Carolina coast where 3 to 6 inches of rainfall will be possible before the event tapers off Monday night. As a result, there will be a slight to moderate risk of flooding for parts of this region. In terms of temperatures, conditions will be gradually moderating through the weekend across the East Coast region after a couple days of very cold weather. In contrast, warmer than normal temperatures are expected across the Plains, and this should expand eastward to the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and the Southeast by the weekend. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php