LDN - Weather

The nation's weather

[December 23, 2011] (AP) Wet weather will move into the Northeast on Friday, as a low pressure system moves northward from the Southeast. The system that brought heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and strong winds to the lower Mississippi River Valley on Thursday will continue moving northeastward and into the Northeast.

(Click on map for larger image.)

This system will produce a front that extends down the East Coast. Warmer temperatures to the south will support rain showers across the Mid-Atlantic states, while rain showers will turn to snow showers in the far Northeast and New England states. Higher elevations of the northern and central Appalachians will also see snow showers. This extremely fast-moving system will move off the East Coast by midday, pulling scattered rain and snow showers eastward into the Atlantic Ocean.

Behind this system, high pressure continues building in the Plains and stretches eastward over the Mississippi River Valley into the eastern U.S. This will push cool and dry air in from Canada, allowing for sunny and cool conditions to persist across the central U.S.

In the West, a low pressure system over the Rocky Mountains weakens as it continues dipping southward and farther into the Southeast. Expect a few more inches of snow across higher elevations of New Mexico, with light rain at lower levels. The rest of the Western half of the nation remains sunny and cool as high pressure dominates.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday have ranged from a morning low of minus 20 degrees at West Yellowstone, Mont., to a high of 84 degrees at Fort Myers, Fla.

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