The Nation’s Weather For Friday

…Unsettled weather continues for the West with locally heavy snowfall
expected for many of the local mountain ranges…

…Heavy rainfall will become a concern this weekend across areas of the
South, and there will be a threat for scattered areas of flash flooding…

…Above average temperatures for the eastern half of the nation through
Saturday, potentially record-breaking for some locations…

A series of upper-level troughs crossing through the Intermountain West,
and especially the Four Corners region, will maintain an expanded area of
unsettled weather across the West going through the weekend. This energy
will drive areas of locally heavy precipitation, and this will include
heavy snowfall for the higher elevations. In general, areas of the
northern and central Rockies are likely to see new snowfall amounts of as
much as 6 to 12 inches. However, the heavy snowfall threat should be a bit
more focused across the higher terrain of the Sangre De Cristo range in
south-central to southeast CO and also north-central to northeast NM by
Saturday, and the snow is likely to spread out into the southern High
Plains as low pressure deepens over portions of the middle to upper Rio
Grande Valley. Portions of the Sangre De Cristo range may see as much as
12 to 18 inches with locally heavier amounts by early Sunday. Temperatures
across much of the Four Corners region will be colder than normal, with
high temperatures locally as much as 10 to 20 degrees below average.

Energy associated with this ejecting winter storm threat across the
Intermountain West, will shift far enough to the east this weekend to
begin interacting with a cold front that will be slowing down and
eventually stalling out across areas of the South. Multiple waves of low
pressure will gradually eject east out of the Rio Grande Valley and along
this front which coupled with the pooling of moisture and instability from
the Gulf of Mexico should set the stage for multiple rounds of heavy
showers and thunderstorms. The front which will extend across southeast TX
into the Lower MS Valley and Mid-South will support the potential for this
activity to train over the same area, and therefore locally several inches
of rain will be possible. The Weather Prediction Center has depicted a
Slight Risk (level 2 of 4) for excessive rainfall for portions of the
South to account for this concern, and scattered areas of flash flooding
will be possible as a result.

Meanwhile, with a lack of cold air dropping south from Canada,
temperatures for much of the Eastern U.S. will be well above normal going
through Saturday. Some high temperatures will be as much as 25 to 35
degrees above average over the Midwest on Friday, and by Saturday, many
areas of the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast will be as much as
15 to 25 degrees above average which will include a likelihood for some
record highs being set.

TODAY’S MAP

TOMORROW’S MAP