Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 242 AM EST Tue Dec 31 2019 Valid 12Z Tue Dec 31 2019 - 12Z Thu Jan 2 2020 ...Major winter storm beginning to abate and heavy precipitation returns to the Northwest... The winter storm that has hammered much of the north-central U.S. over the past couple of days is now beginning to wind down across the Great Lakes region, and a second surface low has developed off the New England coast. One more day of rain, snow, and some ice is expected across the Northeast as the coastal low slowly tracks northward across the region. The heaviest snow is expected for northern Maine where 6 to 12 inches of accumulation is likely. Lake enhanced snow is forecast, mainly from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, as cold northwesterly flow around the departing low blows across the warmer lake waters. For the Pacific Northwest, a pair of cold fronts will make their way inland with a surge of moisture off the Pacific. The result will be heavy rain for coastal areas of Washington and Oregon, and heavy snow for the Olympics and Cascades. The central and northern Rockies will also be affected by these storm systems with at least a foot of snow possible for the higher elevations of northern Idaho and western Montana through Thursday morning. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., showers and thunderstorms are forecast to develop across the western Gulf Coast region on Wednesday in association with a warm front lifting northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Mainly dry conditions are expected from western Texas to the Midwest, and also from Florida to the Mid-Atlantic. Much of the nation should begin the new year with temperatures near to above normal. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php