Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 259 AM EST Fri Jan 22 2021 Valid 12Z Fri Jan 22 2021 - 12Z Sun Jan 24 2021 ...Some locally heavy rainfall expected this morning across the Gulf Coast states... ...Much needed snowfall expected across the Sierra-Nevada, Wasatch and Four Corners going into the weekend.... ...Heavy lake-effect snow expected downwind of the Great Lakes today and tonight... A mid to upper-level trough will be gradually shearing out across the Gulf Coast states which will bring some areas of moderate to locally rainfall across this region. Generally this rainfall will be quite beneficial, and there will not be any concerns for any flooding or severe weather with this system as it gradually weakens and pulls away by tonight. Meanwhile, a storm system will be dropping down across northern California today and then will advance east into the Great Basin on Saturday, and towards the Four Corners region on Sunday. This next storm system will bring some much needed snowfall to the Sierra-Nevada and also areas of the Wasatch in Utah farther inland. Areas of light to moderate rain are expected for the lower elevations including the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. By Sunday, the energy and moisture with this system will be advancing across areas of Arizona and Colorado which will bring increasingly heavy accumulating snowfall to areas of the Mogollon Rim in Arizona and the San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado. Some areas locally are expected to see as much as 1 to 2 feet of new snowfall by early Sunday. Given the ongoing severe to exceptional drought situation for many areas of California and the broader Southwest U.S., this next system will be very beneficial. Farther off to the east, a cold front sweeping across the Great Lakes region and the Northeast this morning will bring some much colder air down to the southeast and across the unfrozen Great Lakes. This will drive locally heavy lake-effect snow showers and squalls today, and especially downwind of Lake Ontario where some areas of northwest New York State are expected to see some particularly intense snowfall. This will especially be the case near the Tug Hill plateau area. The lake-effect snow should taper down gradually across the Great Lakes by Saturday, with cold high pressure dominating the weather across the broader Northeast part of the country for the remainder of the weekend. Orrison Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php