Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 304 PM EST Sun Feb 16 2020 Valid 00Z Mon Feb 17 2020 - 00Z Wed Feb 19 2020 ...Heavy snow across the higher elevations of the Pacific Northwest to the central Rockies is expected to taper off on Monday... ...Unsettled weather expected to spread into the eastern U.S. on Tuesday... ...Heavy snow possible from the upper Midwest to the Great Lakes Monday into Tuesday... A low pressure system is expected to bring unsettled weather along the Mississippi Valley on Monday before expanding quickly into much of the eastern U.S. on Tuesday. The main upper-level trough associated with this system is currently across the northwestern U.S., resulting in periods of heavy wet snow across the higher elevations from the Pacific Northwest down into the central Rockies as well as moderate rainfall for the lower elevations. By Monday, the precipitation should taper off into scattered mountain snow as the main energy of the system shifts eastward and gathers over the Great Plains. Snow across the upper Midwest is expected to become more widespread and heavier on Monday as a low pressure system develops. The heaviest snow is forecast from central Wisconsin through the central Great Lakes where more than 6 inches of total accumulations are possible before the low moves eastward into New England on Tuesday. Father south, the system will also ingest moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to expand across the central Gulf Coast on Monday and then overspread much of the Deep South on Tuesday ahead of an intensifying cold front. By Tuesday, the heaviest rain should be moving into the interior Southeast as lighter rain spreads into the Mid-Atlantic. Farther north, snow is expected across interior New England on Tuesday as the low pressure system moves into the region where more than 6 inches of accumulations are possible. Temperatures will be milder than normal for the southern and southeastern U.S. before colder air arrives behind a strong cold front on Tuesday. Milder air will also move up the Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday as the rain arrives. Meanwhile, the dry spell will continue across much of California with no precipitation expected through Tuesday. In contrast, widespread rain across the Southeast will move off into the Atlantic tonight before more rain develops along the central Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php