346 FXUS02 KWBC 230757 PMDEPD Extended Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 257 AM EST Fri Jan 23 2026 Valid 12Z Mon Jan 26 2026 - 12Z Fri Jan 30 2026 ...Last vestiges of the upcoming historic winter storm to depart a snowy Northeast Monday with coastal low exit... ...Central to eastern U.S. hazardous cold threat into next week... ...Guidance/Predictability Assessment... A horribly cold and snowy/icy pattern for many eases next week. Guidance solutions remain reasonably well clustered with the overall pattern evolution, but forecast spread and uncertainty increases more rapidly mid-later next week with small-mid scale weather systems embedded within the overall flow. Accordingly, the WPC medium-range product suite was primarily derived from a composite blend of the latest GFS/ECMWF/Canadian/UKMET models for Monday/Tuesday before switching to the more compatible ensemble means through longer time frames. This solution maintains good WPC product continuity in line with the National Blend of Models. ...Weather/Hazards Highlights... Arctic surface high pressure settling in the wake of the upcoming historic winter storm will hold dangerously cold temperatures in the central and eastern U.S. into next week. The airmass will gradually moderate next week, but may be more prolonged in areas with widespread snow/ice coverage. Amplified mean troughing aloft will bring rounds of weak to moderate clipper system snows from the north-central U.S. to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley/Northeast, but especially lee of the Lakes. Upstream, an amplified mean upper ridge will prevail near the West Coast in a benign pattern for much of the West, but modest rainfall may gradually work to the Pacific Northwest mid-later next week with energy riding the ridge. Widespread major impacts in the heavy ice/snow aftermath will suffer from increased recovery time in the lingeirng frigid air behind the storm. Daily records are most likely across the south-central U.S. as lows reach the single digits and teens into early next week. Meanwhile in the northern tier, bitter cold is forecast to linger into early next week, but become somewhat milder Tuesday before a somewhat less amomalous surge midweek set to subsequently work across much of the central and eastern states. Meanwhile, the Rockies should block much of this cold air from moving into the more seasonal West under closer influence of the upper ridge. Schichtel Additional 3-7 Day Hazard information can be found on the WPC medium range hazards outlook chart at: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/threats/threats.php WPC medium range 500mb heights, surface systems, weather grids, quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF), excessive rainfall outlook (ERO), winter weather outlook (WWO) probabilities, heat indices, and Key Messages can be accessed from: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/medr/5dayfcst500_wbg.gif https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/medr/5dayfcst_wbg_conus.gif https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/5km_grids/5km_gridsbody.html https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/day4-7.shtml https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/#page=ero https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wwd/pwpf_d47/pwpf_medr.php?day=4 https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/heat_index.shtml https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/#page=ovw $$