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 This storm will be the first in a series of Pacific storms to hit California over the next week,
which is welcome news for a state that has endured a mild and dry winter. Winter
storm watches and warnings are posted from the Cascades through the Sierra Nevadas in anticipation of over a foot of new snow. The snowpack in California supplies drinking water and agricultural irrigation for much of the Golden State. The storm will also be intense enough to instigate very strong winds, up to 100 mph, in the higher elevations of the West.
Meanwhile, a weak storm will move through the eastern third of the country and into the Atlantic Ocean by the end of the day. This will translate to diminishing showers along the
Eastern Seaboard as the front moves off the shore.
The middle of the country will remain dry as a high pressure ridge keeps the Plains dry.
Much of the country will remain mild to seasonally warm. The Northeast will see temperatures from the 30s in Maine to the 60s and 70s farther to the south. The Southeast will rise into the 70s and 80s, while the Plains will see similar temperatures. The Northwest will rise into the 30s and 40s.
Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Monday ranged from a morning low of 14 degrees at Mullan Pass, Idaho, to a high of 84 degrees at Tampa, Fla.
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