Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 318 PM EST Fri Jan 31 2020 Valid 00Z Sat Feb 01 2020 - 00Z Mon Feb 03 2020 ...Heavy precipitation expected to impact the Pacific Northwest through Saturday morning... ...Unsettled weather along the East Coast should taper off on Sunday... Copious moisture from the eastern Pacific is currently bringing periods of heavy precipitation across northwestern Oregon and especially western Washington ahead of an energetic cold front. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches over the lower elevations together with more than a foot of snow over the higher elevations of the northern Cascades are expected through Saturday before drier air ushers in behind the cold front. Given the high snow levels ahead of the front, there will likely be snow melt across existing snow pack that may aggravate runoff and potential flooding concerns. In addition to the heavy rain, winds will be quite strong ahead of and just after the passage of the cold front. The front is forecast to push southeastward steadily across the western U.S. through the weekend. A period of snow can be expected near and just after the passage of the cold front across the Great Basin, Intermountain West, and the northern Rockies on Sunday. Meanwhile, unsettled weather is quickly spreading across the southeastern U.S. as a couple of low pressure systems develop along a front over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and just off the Southeast U.S. coast. The low off the Southeast U.S. is forecast to become the main storm center tonight before moving off the Mid-Atlantic coast on Saturday. Rain is expected to spread across the Carolinas into Virginia tonight before moving out to sea on Saturday. Some light wintry precipitation is also expected farther north across New York and Pennsylvania. Across the Great Lakes, periods of light mixed precipitation are expected through the weekend as an upper-level disturbance and a warm front approach. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., dry conditions will continue for much of California to the High Plains as a high pressure system governs the overall weather pattern. Temperature-wise, much warmer than normal conditions are expected for the central High Plains especially on Sunday as afternoon highs climbing into the mid-70s would challenge daily records. In contrast, much colder air will filter across the Northwest behind the cold front. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php