Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 253 PM EST Wed Jan 08 2020 Valid 00Z Thu Jan 09 2020 - 00Z Sat Jan 11 2020 ...Locally heavy snow for the Cascades with another round of moderate to heavy rain for lower elevations of the West Coast... ...Storm system to spread colder temperatures into the West while a significant warming trend develops from the Southern Plains to the East Coast through the end of the week... ...The beginning of a multi-hazard storm system will begin on Friday from the Upper Midwest to the Gulf Coast... A surface low will accompany an upper level disturbance across the West Coast tonight bringing a focused area of heavy precipitation near the low track. However, other than a quick moving round of locally heavy mountain snow for the Washington and Oregon Cascades with locally heavy rain for the southern Oregon to northern California coast tonight, the weather across the U.S. will be fairly quiet until Friday. A departing coastal low from offshore of New England tonight will bring an end to gusty winds and snow showers for the Northeast by late Thursday morning. Attention will then turn to the upper level disturbance crossing the western U.S. and its impacts on a front downstream. A cold front will be slow to advance on Thursday, stretching from western Texas into the Great Lakes region. Return flow on the western side of a strong surface ridge in the western Atlantic will advect moisture and warmer temperatures northward from Texas and the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes just ahead of the cold front. Anomalous warmth will continue on Friday from Texas to the Great Lakes with high temperatures running roughly 15-25 degrees above average. High temperature departures of 10-15 degrees above average will affect the East Coast. Given slow movement of the front across the Mississippi River Valley and moisture spreading northward, showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop Thursday night into Friday from eastern Oklahoma into the Ohio Valley. Locally heavy rain will be possible into portions of Illinois and Indiana where heavy rain over the past 1 to 2 weeks has left soils less able to take on additional water. However, as a potent upper level disturbance moves out into the Southern Plains, strong to severe storms are expected to develop from eastern Texas into Louisiana and Arkansas Friday afternoon where the Storm Prediction Center is highlighting an Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms. Flash flooding will also be possible with these storms, especially farther north from eastern Oklahoma into Arkansas and southern Missouri. A wintry mix will also develop on the northwest side of the precipitation shield, likely impacting portions of eastern Kansas into southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The storm system will continue through the weekend, moving from west to east. Otto Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php