Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 250 AM EST Fri Feb 05 2021 Valid 12Z Fri Feb 05 2021 - 12Z Sun Feb 07 2021 ...Heavy lake effect snow likely through Saturday across the eastern shores of the Great Lakes... ...Multiple rounds of heavy snow on the way for the Cascades and Northern/Central Rockies... ...Life-threatening wind chills enter the Northern Plains tonight... Active weather is set to continue over the next few days and bring plenty of winter weather hazards. A strengthening area of low pressure located over the Upper Great Lakes is forecast to move north-northeast into southeast Ontario, Canada this afternoon. Behind this system, strong westerly winds and bitter temperatures will make conditions ripe for lake effect snow across the typical snowbelts. To help this natural snow machine, ice coverage across the Great Lakes is currently well below average and will add more moisture to the potential snow bands. By Saturday as much as 6 to 12 inches of snow could fall across localized regions, with higher amounts possible downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. This system will also be responsible for light snow across the Interior Northeast and New England today, as well as rain showers along the central Gulf Coast and Southeast. Farther west, multiple rounds of heavy snow will traverse the mountainous regions of the Northwest and Northern Rockies beginning today. After the first area of low pressure passes this afternoon, a separate system will be on its heels and enter on Saturday. Upwards of two to three feet of total snowfall accumulation is expected in the higher elevations by Sunday. Heavy snow will also be likely across the High Plains of Montana, where up to a foot of snow is forecast. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect and include cities such as Billings, Great Falls, and Bozeman, Montana. By late afternoon on Saturday, the storm system to cross the Northern Rockies today will enter the Midwest and lead to a swath of light-to-moderate snow from southeast Nebraska to northern Illinois. Precipitation will also develop from the Gulf Coast to southern Appalachians as a separate area of low pressure forms along the Gulf Coast on Saturday. This low is forecast to move up the Mid-Atlantic coast by Sunday morning and possibly bring snow from western North Carolina to coastal New England. Higher than usual uncertainty remains with how far inland moderate snowfall will reach, but at least light snow accumulations can be expected for major I-95 cities from Richmond to Philadelphia by Sunday morning. Meanwhile, the coldest air of the season is set to enter the Northern Plains tonight and slowly filter southward into the Midwest and Ohio Valley by Sunday. High temperatures are forecast to be 20 to 30 degrees below normal. This equates to highs below zero for much of the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains this weekend. While these temperatures are very cold, only a few daily records could fall. Gusty winds will make it feel even colder. Therefore, Wind Chill Advisories and Wind Chill Watches have been issued for eastern Montana, much of North Dakota, and northwest Minnesota, where it could feel as cold as 50 degrees below zero at times. Temperatures this cold are extremely dangerous and can lead to frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. Snell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php