Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 258 AM EST Fri Jan 05 2024 Valid 12Z Fri Jan 05 2024 - 12Z 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 today... ...Significant icing possible for portions of the southern and central Appalachians tonight 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 Northwest Coast tonight into Saturday... An upper trough moving through the Plains and Mississippi Valley will support the development of a dynamic storm system impacting an the Great Plains to the East Coast this weekend. Today, this upper disturbance will generate light to moderate snow across portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, while producing showers and thunderstorms over much of the western/central Gulf Coast. Northern stream energy pivoting over central Canada will support additional snow showers across portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest beginning this afternoon and continuing into the Great Lakes through Saturday before phasing with the Nor'easter. For the interior Mid-Atlantic and New England, there is increasing confidence in heavy snow from Saturday afternoon into Sunday. The greatest uncertainty in the rain-snow transition is from southeast Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey into southern New England. People in those areas should still be prepared for the possibility of snow, and changes to the forecast. North of those areas, confidence in heavy snow is higher. The combination of heavy, wet snow and gusty winds in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts may lead to some power outages and tree damage. Gusty onshore winds may lead to minor flooding along the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts, particularly for the Sunday morning high tide cycle. In the Appalachian region of western North Carolina, western Virginia and eastern West Virginia, accumulations of ice in excess of 0.1 inches, due to freezing rain, are likely with locally higher accumulations possible. This icing, along with some areas of sleet, may produce hazardous travel conditions tonight and Saturday. Meanwhile, another East Pacific system will enter the West tonight, bringing heavy mountain snow to the western mountains and coastal rain to the Northwest coast through Sunday. Around a foot of snow is expected for the Cascades and Sierra while slightly lesser totals are possible for the highest peaks of the Intermountain West. This system will go on to intensify into a dynamic storm over the Great Plains and cause widespread impacts from there to the East Coast early to mid week. Kebede Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php