Thursday's Weather Outlook

Serious cold is set to plunge into the Northern Tier of the U.S., bringing more lake-effect snow to the Great Lakes and interior Northeast. 

Potentially the coldest and driest air of the winter season will enter the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Temperatures dropping into the negatives will be common for the Dakotas, eastern Montana, Minnesota, and northern Wisconsin. This will continue to seep southeastward throughout the day. 

Early in the day, snow showers will move west-to-east across the Great Lakes and into the interior Northeast. For non-lake effect snow regions, light snowfall accumulations can be expected in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, northern Maine, western Pennsylvania, northern Ohio, and Michigan. For lake-effect snow regions, moderate to heavy snowfall accumulations can be expected once again, especially in western and northern New York. 

Rain showers will occur early in the morning for the Appalachian Mountains from West Virginia and southwestward into Tennessee. Further south, spotty rain showers will occur most of the day in the Mid-South, western Southeast, and Deep South. Light to moderate rainfall totals can be expected with this activity. 

While most of the Western U.S. will be dry during the day, rain showers will become more frequent in a few spots as night falls. In the Pacific Northwest, a few showers will move southeastward off the Pacific Ocean into western Oregon. In southern California, a large system far off the coast will provide some showers for the immediate coastal regions. These showers may extend themselves into the Desert Southwest of southern New Mexico and Arizona. 

Dry conditions are in the forecast for the Great Basin, eastern Pacific Northwest, Four Corners, the Plains, and Lower Midwest. Further to the east, the coastal Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and eastern half of the Southeast will also remain free of rain or snow. 

Temperatures in the negative teens and single digits will be common for the northern Plains, and northern Upper Midwest. More frigid air in the single digits, teens, and 20s is expected in the northern Rockies, northern half of the central Plains, Upper Midwest, northern Ohio Valley, and western half of the interior Northeast. Thirties and 40s are in store for the high terrain of the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and Rockies, as well as the central Plains, Pacific Northwest, Lower Midwest, southern Ohio Valley, coastal Northeast, and northern Mid-Atlantic. 

Forties and 50s will be felt in the southern Mid-Atlantic, Mid-South, northern half of the southern Plains, and Four Corners. Warmer air is in the forecast for the Southeast, Deep South, far southern Plains, and Desert Southwest with 60s and 70s. A couple of 80s cannot be ruled out in southern Florida.