Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 300 AM EST Mon Jan 01 2024 Valid 12Z Mon Jan 01 2024 - 12Z Wed Jan 03 2024 ...Quiet and generally mild pattern across the country will mean minimal weather-related disruptions New Year's Day... ...Widespread showers and thunderstorms for eastern Texas into the Lower Mississippi Valley late Tuesday... ...Unsettled weather to arrive across California and the Pacific Northwest Tuesday... A quiet, tranquil New Year's Day (Tuesday) is in store for most of the country as precipitation chances remain limited and light. A light wintry mix will continue from the Lower Great Lakes into the central Appalachians with a clipper-type low pressure system moving through the region this morning. Little to no accumulations are anticipated except for higher elevations of the central Appalachins which could see a few inches. Some spotty rain showers will be possible into the coastal Mid-Atlantic. Some light snow will also be possible ahead of a frontal wave dropping into the Upper Midwest, as well as some light showers in the Southwest and along the western/central Gulf Coast ahead of a couple southern stream shortwaves. Temperatures wise, the northern tier of the country from the Plains through the Great Lakes and into New England will generally be running above average, with highs in the 30s and 40s. Colder temperatures will follow a cold front moving through the Southeast/Southern Plains. Forecast highs range in the 40s and 50s inland Monday, with 50s for the central Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle/northern Peninsula Tuesday. Morning lows here Tuesday and Wednesday may drop to near freezing. Elsewhere, highs should be near Winter averages for early January. The weather pattern starts to get a bit more active Tuesday. First, Gulf moisture returning ahead of the one of the passing southern stream shortwaves will lead to widespread showers and thunderstorms beginning in central and eastern Texas later Tuesday and spreading into the Lower Mississippi Valley by early Wednesday. The chances for heavier rainfall will be highest along the Gulf Coast. To the West, a storm system over the Pacific will drop southward along the West Coast, bringing coastal/lower elevation rain and mountain snow from the Pacific Northwest southward through northern/central California. Moderate to locally heavy rainfall is expected, with the heaviest rainfall most likely along the northern California coast. In addition, higher elevations of the Northern Coastal Ranges, Klamath Mountains, and Sierra could see some moderate to heavy accumulating snows. Putnam Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php