Weather
Unseasonably mild pattern ahead for the Heartland
During the next few days, significant storminess will be confined to northern California and the Northwest. High-elevation snow will blanket the northern Rockies, Cascades, and Sierra Nevada, while valley locations will receive drought-easing rain.
Late in the week, a developing storm system over the nation’s mid-section will produce rain and snow from central sections of the Rockies and Plains into the Midwest.
Five-day precipitation totals could reach 1 to 2 inches from the central Plains into the Great Lakes region. Other areas of the country, including the Southeast, Southwest, and northern Plains, will remain mostly dry.
Following a short-lived surge of cold air into the Midwest and East, much of the nation will experience above-normal temperatures by week’s end.
Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for the likelihood of warmer-than-normal weather across much of the eastern half of the U.S., while near- or below-normal temperatures will prevail in the West.
Meanwhile, drier-than-normal conditions across the northern and central Plains and upper Midwest should contrast with above-normal precipitation in northern California, the Northwest, and most areas east of a line from Texas to Michigan.