The nation's weather

[December 30, 2010]  (AP)  The major winter storm of the West was expected to remain the main weather producer of the nation Thursday as it pushes eastward across the Four Corners. An arctic air mass was forecast to settle over the region and support more snow development across the Great Basin, the Continental Divide and the High Plains. Areas of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and the central High Plains were expected to experience the heaviest amounts of snow, with possible blizzard conditions. Areas in the southern Rockies should expect snow accumulations of 14 to 25 inches above 6,000 feet and 7 to 14 inches at 5,000 to 6,000 feet.

Significant snow totals coupled with increasing southwest winds from 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph will likely create blowing snow and dangerously low visibilities. Residents of these regions were encouraged to monitor their local weather conditions throughout the day and exercise caution when traveling.

Meanwhile temperatures across the West were expected to remain chilly Thursday. Daytime highs were expected to stay 5 to 10 degrees below average near the coast and 10 to 20 degrees below average across the western interior.

The storm of the West was also expected to spread into the upper Midwest Thursday with strong northerly winds and a wintry mix of precipitation. Ahead of the system, warm southwest to southerly winds will spread across the area, raising daytime temperatures to about 10 to 25 degrees above average from the central Plains to the Great Lakes by Friday.

To the south, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was forecast to continue to spread northward across the lower Mississippi Valley, fueling showers from the lower Mississippi Valley through southern Illinois.

Finally, high pressure was expected to dominate the eastern third of the nation with calm weather conditions. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday have ranged from a morning low of minus 8 degrees at Whitefield, N.H., to a high of 83 degrees at Edinburg, Texas.

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Online:

Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com/

National Weather Service:
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/

Intellicast:
http://www.intellicast.com/

[Associated Press article from Weather Underground]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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