Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 256 AM EST Fri Dec 27 2019 Valid 12Z Fri Dec 27 2019 - 12Z Sun Dec 29 2019 ...Potent winter storm is expected across the northern Plains this weekend... A potent shortwave trough situated over the Desert Southwest Friday morning will support a surface low pressure system that will track eastward to the western High Plains by Saturday morning. The low is expected to develop further as it lifts towards the northeast through early Sunday and become a powerful winter storm from eastern Colorado to Minnesota. Winter storm watches are now in effect across these areas, with the potential of 6 to 12 inches of wind blown snow from northern Nebraska to southeastern North Dakota. Blizzard conditions are likely for some of these areas. Heavy snow is also expected for the central Rockies. Farther to the southeast, a corridor of freezing rain and sleet is expected from eastern Nebraska to northern Wisconsin. The potential exists for significant ice accretion owing to a prolonged period of freezing rain, perhaps greater than a quarter inch of ice. Mainly rain is expected farther east in the warm sector of the storm, with rainfall up to an inch possible across parts of the Midwest states with locally higher amounts. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., showers make a return to western Washington and Oregon as a weakening cold front approaches this region. Scattered showers and a few storms are likely for the Florida Peninsula with a sustained period of moist southeasterly flow. Mild and dry conditions are forecast to continue through Saturday from North Carolina to southern New England before rain returns on Sunday. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php