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[March 16, 2010] (AP) New England was forecast to see another day of light showers, while scattered thunderstorms would persist in the southern Plains on Tuesday.

A low pressure system lingering off the East Coast was expected to continue pushing moisture over New England and the Northeast. But as temperatures remained in the 40s, most areas would see scattered rain showers. Significant rainfall was not anticipated because this system would continue to slowly move farther offshore and would pull any available moisture with it. Less than a quarter of an inch of rain was expected in most places.

Behind this system, high pressure was expected to continue building over the Plains and bring a mild day to the central U.S. Mostly sunny skies and warm conditions were expected over the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio River valleys. Thus, flood watches would remain in effect in the North, as these warm conditions continued to melt snow and ice over the region. Meanwhile, a small trough over the Dakotas was expected to move into the upper Midwest and Great Lakes, kicking up overcast skies that might trigger light precipitation.

In the South, a trough of low pressure at higher levels of the atmosphere was forecast to move through the southern Plains. This system would obtain moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and continue spreading moisture over Texas and Oklahoma. With warm air present, this would allow for scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop again Tuesday. This system did not have a history of producing severe storms.

Out West, another storm spinning in the Pacific Ocean would push a cold front over the Pacific Northwest. This was expected to kick up a few scattered showers, with light snow at higher elevations of the Cascades. California was forecast to remain dry and sunny as this storm remained in the north.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Monday ranged from a low of 3 degrees at Yellowstone, Wyo., to a high of 82 degrees at Long Beach, Calif.

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On the Net:

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]