Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 315 PM EST Sat Jan 04 2025 Valid 00Z Sun Jan 05 2025 - 00Z Tue Jan 07 2025 ...Disruptive winter storm to impact the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic through Monday with widespread heavy snow and damaging ice accumulations... ...Severe thunderstorms expected across the Lower Mississippi Valley on Sunday... ...Pacific Northwest to Northern/Central Rockies to remain active with lower elevation rain and mountain snow through Monday... A winter storm is expected to develop tonight over the central U.S. as low pressure organizes from the Texas Panhandle into Oklahoma. Below average temperatures already in place across a broad swath of the Central Plains to Midwest will be met with increasing ascent ahead of a potent mid-level low to track from Kansas tonight, to Virginia/North Carolina on Monday. At the surface, as the low tracks essentially due east toward the East Coast over the next 48 hours, mixed precipitation over portions of Kansas and southern Nebraska will changeover to all snow during the day on Sunday as winds increase from the north. The combination of blowing snow and wind gusts to 40 mph will result in significantly reduced visibility and blizzard conditions at times from Kansas into portions of the lower Missouri River Valley. Snow, heavy at times, along with sleet and freezing rain will translate eastward on Sunday and Sunday night through the Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic region. Freezing rain and bands of heavy snow will result in severe travel delays along the storm's track. Snowfall of 6 to over 12 inches is expected to the north of I-70 from near Salina to St. Louis. A swath of heavy snow exceeding 15 inches from northeastern Kansas into north-central Missouri would be the heaviest snowfall in a decade. A stripe of 6 to roughly 12 inches is expected to impact locations between I-70 and I-64 across the Ohio Valley with mixed precipitation along the southern edges. An elongated path of freezing rain accumulations in excess of 0.25 inches is likely from southeastern Missouri into central Kentucky with potential for 0.50 inches which would result in widespread tree damage and long-lasting power outages. Moderate to locally heavy snow is expected to reach the northern Mid-Atlantic region Sunday night with a wintry mix expanding from the central Appalachians to central/eastern Virginia. On the warm side of the storm system, severe thunderstorms are expected ahead of the storm system's cold front as it crosses the Lower Mississippi Valley. Threats for tornadoes, large hail and damaging straight line winds have prompted the Storm Prediction Center to carry an Enhanced Risk (level 3/5) of severe thunderstorms from northeastern Louisiana into western Mississippi on Sunday. Locally heavy rain will also accompany these storms as they move eastward ahead of the cold front on into the southeastern U.S. While temperatures will be anomalously warm from eastern Texas into the Lower Mississippi on Sunday, a renewed blast of cold air will follow behind the storm into the central and southern U.S. where high temperatures on Monday are expected to be 15 to 25 degrees below average. Across the West, a pair of storm systems are forecast to move into the Pacific Northwest tonight and Sunday night, bringing lower elevation rain to the Coastal Ranges of Washington and Oregon, with mountain snow from the Cascades to the higher elevations of the northern and central Rockies. While a few cooler pockets may exist, temperatures west of the Continental Divide will generally be above average through Monday, up to 10-15 degrees above early January averages. Otto Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php