Weather report: Dry weather covers most of the Midwest

In the West, rain and snow showers stretch across the northern tier of the region from western Washington to the northern Rockies. Farther south, colder air is overspreading California and the Great Basin, accompanied by isolated showers. In contrast, warm, dry weather prevails in the Southwest.

On the Plains, a few snow showers are spreading across Montana. Dry weather covers the remainder of the nation’s mid-section. Meanwhile, warm weather is returning to the central and southern High Plains, where today’s high temperatures will generally range from 65 to 80°F.

In the Corn Belt, cold weather covers the upper Midwest, where this morning’s low temperatures dipped to 0°F or below as far south as northeastern Iowa. Dry weather and below-normal temperatures cover the remainder of the Midwest, except for some snow showers in the lower Great Lakes region.

In the South, a freeze warning is in effect this morning across much of Georgia. However, temperatures remained safely above the freezing mark in Florida’s citrus belt. Elsewhere in the South, cool, dry weather prevails.

Outlook: A disorganized storm system beginning to affect the western U.S. will cross the Southwest on Friday and reach the central High Plains on Saturday. During the weekend, the system will move northeastward into the Midwest. Early next week, a cold front associated with the storm will traverse the southern and eastern U.S., accompanied by showers and thunderstorms. During the next 5 days, precipitation totals of up to an inch can be expected from the Southwest into the Midwest, while rainfall could locally exceed 2 inches in the Mid-South . Northwest of the storm’s path, late-season snowfall can be expected from the central Rockies into the upper Great Lakes region. A brief surge of cool air will trail the storm, but by early next week, temperatures will quickly rebound to above-normal levels across the western half of the U.S. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for March 12-16 calls for colder-than-normal conditions across the eastern half of the U.S., except for near- to above-normal temperatures in New England . Warmer-than-normal weather will prevail in the West. Meanwhile, below-normal precipitation across roughly the southern half of the nation will contrast with wetter-than-normal weather across the nation’s northern tier.