Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 241 PM EST Mon Jan 06 2025 Valid 00Z Tue Jan 07 2025 - 00Z Thu Jan 09 2025 ...Departure of East Coast winter storm to be followed by relatively quiet weather for much of nation through Wednesday... ...Critical fire weather concerns for portions of southern California on Tuesday... A winter storm located over the upper Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic region as of Monday afternoon will be quickly exiting eastward into the western Atlantic tonight. While the bulk of accumulating snowfall has ended, light additional accumulations will be possible across portions of the central Appalachians to the Mid-Atlantic coast early tonight. High pressure and colder temperatures will filter eastward from the central U.S. through Wednesday supporting relatively tranquil weather for much of the central and eastern U.S. Meanwhile, northwesterly flow aloft over the Northeast will maintain light to moderate lake effect snow showers for locations to the immediate south and east of the lakes over the next few days. Light to moderate snow showers will also impact northern New England due to the passage of a number of upper level disturbances slowly moving east. Temperatures will be below average from the Great Plains to the East Coast through Wednesday, roughly 5 to 20 degrees below climatological daytime maxima for early January. Across the western U.S., upper level ridging over the eastern Pacific into western Canada will allow for the amplification of troughing into the southwestern U.S. through Wednesday. In addition to scattered snow showers and slightly colder than average temperatures for interior portions of the West, strong winds are expected to develop for parts of the southwestern U.S. As high pressure builds over the northern Great Basin and low pressure holds steady over southern Arizona, a strong pressure gradient will develop in the vicinity of higher terrain from the Desert Southwest into the Sierra Nevada and southern California. Wind gusts up to 60 mph (locally higher) will increase the potential for downed trees and power outages. In addition, gusty winds on Tuesday will set up Santa Ana winds which will promote Critical fire weather conditions over the southern California coast given low relative humidity in place, with favorable fire weather conditions continuing through Tuesday night. Otherwise, the eastern edge of the ridge along the West Coast will maintain dry and slightly warmer than average temperatures over the next couple of days from the Pacific Northwest to coastal California with no precipitation in the forecast until perhaps Thursday for the Pacific Northwest. Otto Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php