Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 301 PM EST Thu Jan 04 2024 Valid 00Z Fri Jan 05 2024 - 00Z Sun Jan 07 2024 ...Light to moderate snow expected for portions of the southern and central Great Plains along with localized flash flooding for the Gulf Coast on Friday... ...Significant icing possible for portions of the southern and central Appalachians Friday night into Saturday... ...Snow from developing East Coast winter storm to begin affecting interior portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Saturday... ...Pacific storm system to bring renewed round of heavy mountain snow and coastal rain to the West Coast Friday night into Saturday... An upper level disturbance will track eastward tonight from the southern Rockies into the central and southern Great Plains. Mostly light to locally moderate snowfall accumulations will impact eastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico through early Friday morning with snow spreading eastward into portions of Kansas during the day on Friday. A cold rain will affect locations farther south into Oklahoma, Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley. Warm and weakly unstable air will lift northward through the Gulf of Mexico, reaching portions of the Gulf Coast on Friday into Saturday, supporting threats for strong to severe thunderstorms capable of heavy rain and localized flash flooding. The threat for severe thunderstorms should stay focused with about 100 miles of the Gulf Coast and across much of the Florida Peninsula. As the storm system continues eastward through Friday night, rain will overspread the southeastern U.S. as an area of low pressure advances toward the Carolinas. Freezing rain, with increasing potential for signifiacnt accumulations of ice, is expected for parts of the southern and central Appalachians with accumulations over 0.1 inches impacting travel. Low pressure will track northward along the Mid-Atlantic coast on Saturday with mainly rain for the I-95 corridor from New York City and southward, although precipitation may begin as light snow. Better chances for accumulations will remain over interior portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast with the storm continuing through Saturday night. Across the western U.S., a temporary lull in precipiation is expected behind a weakening cold front/upper level disturbance on Friday. However, a stronger storm system is expected to reach the Pacific Northwest Friday night with coastal rain and mountain snow. Heavy snow will be possible for the Cascades and portions of the northern Rockies. As the upper disturbance moves inland on Saturday, precipitation will advance southward down the West Coast into California with areas of heavy snow expected into the Sierra Nevada. Otto Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php