Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
253 AM EST Sat Jan 25 2020

Valid 12Z Sat Jan 25 2020 - 12Z Mon Jan 27 2020

...Wintry weather expected across portions of the Great Lakes,
Appalachians and Northeast...

...Heavy rain and some areas of flooding will be possible in the northern
Mid-Atlantic...

...Waves of unsettled weather in the Pacific Northwest where multiple
bouts of heavy rain and heavy mountain snow are expected...

A large upper level low pressure system will be responsible for the wet
and wintry weather many residents of the Great Lakes and Northeast will
experience today. Starting with the wintry impacts, parts of the western
Great Lakes will receive several additional inches of snow Saturday. Look
for snowfall to taper off by Saturday evening in these areas. Further
east, snow and freezing rain may be problematic in the central and
northern Appalachians as snow accumulations up to one inch and a glaze of
ice is expected. The Poconos and Catskills will see the wintry weather
first this morning, followed by the Adirondacks and northern New England
Saturday afternoon. Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for these
mountainous locations as travel could be hazardous in spots.

Aside from the winter weather impacts, heavy rain with the storm system
will be a concern as rainfall totals of as much as 1 to 2 inches are
expected this morning for the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New
England. The best chances for localized flooding will be early this
morning in portions of northern Virginia and central Maryland. As the
storm system lifts northeast through New England by Sunday and begins to
pull away, drier and somewhat colder air will arrive from the Midwest.
There should continue to be plenty of snow shower activity across the
Great Lakes and central Appalachians on Sunday with locally a few inches
of snow possible.

Meanwhile, multiple bouts of heavy precipitation will continue across the
Northwest throughout the weekend as a series of cold fronts move in off
the Pacific Ocean. This will include heavy rain for the coastal ranges
where several inches of rain are expected with locally higher amounts
exceeding 5 inches possible. In addition to the rain, heavy snow will fall
over the higher peaks of the Washington and Oregon Cascades where as much
as 2 feet of new snowfall can be expected through the weekend. Some of
this heavy snowfall will reach the Intermountain West with locally heavy
accumulations in the northern Rockies.

Weekend temperatures across the contiguous U.S. will generally be near to
above normal. The warmest anomalies will be focused over the High Plains,
Upper Midwest, and Great Lakes regions. This seasonally warm temperature
regime is a result of the milder upstream Pacific air advancing east
across the country, along with a lack of any cold high pressure dropping
south from Canada.

Mullinax

Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php