Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 135 PM EST Tue Feb 18 2020 Valid 00Z Wed Feb 19 2020 - 00Z Fri Feb 21 2020 ...Heavy rainfall and areas of flash flooding are expected across portions of the South through Wednesday... ...A strong and broad area of Arctic high pressure will settle south across the Northern to Central Plains and Midwest going through midweek... ...Some accumulating snow possible for eastern North Carolina late Thursday... A very strong cold front pushing southeast across the Lower Mississippi/Tennessee Valley region and into the Southeast will be accompanied by bands of heavy rain and thunderstorms going through tonight and early Wednesday. These rains will be falling across areas of the South that are experiencing historic flooding, especially over central Mississippi, and the additional rainfall will prolong ongoing runoff problems and foster additional areas of flash flooding. Unfortunately, significant river flooding is likely to continue for several more days. Drier and much colder weather is expected to filter south in behind this cold front, and a very strong area of Arctic high pressure will drop south from Canada and facilitate a large area of below normal temperatures including portions of the Intermountain West, the Plains, Midwest and Eastern U.S. by late Wednesday. This cold air will filter all the way down across the Gulf Coast states by Thursday, and regionally the temperatures are forecast to be as much as 15 to 25 degrees below normal. Aside from the rainfall threat with the front in the near-term, there will also be a wave of low pressure developing along the same front as it moves offshore of North Carolina by late Thursday. This coupled with the cold air is expected to favor a threat of accumulating snow for the coastal plain of North Carolina going through Thursday night, and a few inches of snow will be possible here. The remainder of the country will be very dry, with temperatures that will be near normal, which will include the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest U.S. going through the end of the week. Only southern Florida will tend to have temperatures warmer than normal this week, but that should change by Friday as the aforementioned cold front finally crosses down the full length of the Florida Peninsula. Orrison Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php