Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 300 PM EST Mon Nov 16 2020 Valid 00Z Tue Nov 17 2020 - 00Z Thu Nov 19 2020 ...Unsettled weather continues over the northwestern U.S.... ...Light to moderate late-effect snow is likely downwind of the lower Great Lakes... An active weather pattern over the northeastern Pacific will continue to bring unsettled weather into the Pacific. A low pressure system is forecast to rapidly intensify off the Northwest coast through tonight. As the warm front associated with the low lifts northward, the heaviest precipitation will lift northward to near the Canadian border tonight. However, the next plum of moisture ahead of a cold front will quickly move onshore into the Pacific Northwest and northern half of California early on Tuesday, before spreading well inland reaching the northern Rockies by Wednesday morning. This will lead to another round of mountain snow along the Cascades, down into the northern Sierra Nevada and later across interior Idaho and northwestern Wyoming. Strong gusty winds can also be expected from northern California to coastal Oregon and Washington into Tuesday as the strong low pressure system and the associated cold edges closer. On the other side of the CONUS, lake effect showers are forecast downwind of the lower Great Lakes through Tuesday as a colder and more unstable air mass moves over the warm lake waters. Favored areas east of Lakes Ontario and Erie will likely see at least a few inches of snow. Light snow is also possible down along the western slopes of the central Appalachians and up across interior New England on Tuesday. Most other areas of the U.S. should remain dry for the next couple days. Rain showers over southern Florida should gradually taper off later on Wednesday as a cold front slides further to the south. An upper-level ridge is expected to build across the western and central U.S. ahead of the strong storm system off the Northwest coast. Temperatures will respond as they warm to 10 to 25 degrees above normal for much of the West, spreading into the northern and central Plains on Wednesday. A handful of daily record highs could occur in the Southwest and California over the next couple of days with afternoon temperatures reaching the upper 80s. Additionally, fire danger will be elevated across portions of southern California given the warm and dry conditions. Meanwhile in the East, temperatures are expected to cool down through midweek behind a cold front. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php