Weather report: Dry across the Plains

In the West, a few showers are moving into western Washington. Elsewhere, dry weather prevails. Cool conditions linger across much of the region, but mild weather is returning to the Pacific Coast States.

On the Plains, scattered snow showers and breezy conditions are affecting Montana and the Dakotas. Dry weather covers the remainder of the nation’s mid-section. On the southern Plains, rangeland, pastures, and winter grains are benefiting from the effects of Tuesday’s rain and snow.

In the Corn Belt, a disturbance crossing the Great Lakes region is producing some light snow. Colder air trails the disturbance into the upper Midwest.

In the South, Florida’s peninsula is receiving much-needed rainfall, triggered by a slow-moving cold front. Dry weather has returned to most other areas, although lowland flooding persists in the central Gulf Coast region.

Outlook: For today and Friday, cold air will overspread the Plains and Midwest. Cold conditions will shift into the eastern U.S. during the weekend, while temperatures will rebound to above-normal levels across the nation’s midsection. Early next week, another surge of cold air will reach the northern Plains and upper Midwest. Meanwhile, only light precipitation will occur across the U.S. during the next several days, except for late-week showers across Florida’s peninsula and some snow from the Great Lakes region into the Northeast. By early next week, however, locally heavy rain will develop from the Gulf Coast northward into the Ohio Valley, while shower activity will increase across the Northwest. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for February 19-23 calls for near- to below-normal temperatures nationwide, except for warmer-than-normal weather along and near the Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, above-normal precipitation in most areas from the Plains to the East Coast will contrast with drier-than-normal conditions across Florida’s peninsula and from the Pacific Coast into the Southwest.