Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 257 PM EST Sun Dec 22 2019 Valid 00Z Mon Dec 23 2019 - 00Z Wed Dec 25 2019 ...Rain for the West Coast and Southeast U.S., and mainly dry elsewhere... An intensifying low pressure system near the eastern Gulf Coast, in response to an anomalous upper level low and shortwave trough, will be the main feature making weather headlines to begin the holiday week. Widespread moderate to heavy rain is currently falling across much of the Deep South and into Tennessee, and this will continue to expand eastward towards the Southeast Coast through the remainder of today and into Monday. The relatively long duration of this event will likely result in rainfall totals on the order of 3 to 6 inches across parts of eastern Georgia and South Carolina, and a moderate risk of excessive rainfall is now in effect for portions of eastern South Carolina where the risk of flash flooding is greatest. This storm system is expected to track eastward and out to sea, keeping the northward extent of the rain near the Virginia/North Carolina border. The second area of disturbed weather will be across the southwestern U.S. through Tuesday as a Pacific front and plume of moisture move inland across California on Monday, with 1 to 2 inches of rain likely across southern portions of the state, and heavy snow farther north over the Sierra Nevada. By Tuesday, the focus for enhanced rainfall will be across Arizona and southern Utah, and snow for the highest elevations. Lighter precipitation is expected across the remainder of the Great Basin as the front continues to progress east. In terms of temperatures, most of the nation is expected to be near to above average over the next couple of days, with the greatest anomalies over the central Plains and Midwest with highs up to 20 degrees above average. Slightly below average temperatures return to the West Coast behind the cold front. Dry weather is forecast to continue from the Front Range of the Rockies to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php