One to 2 feet of snow fell at higher elevations in the Southwest yesterday with the passage of a strong upper low and associated strong surface low. One to 1 1/2 feet of snow fell in the Washington Cascades with the passage of a surface low. Up to 1/2 foot of snowfall occurred in the Northeast yesterday in association with a surface low.
The coterminous snowpack is mainly cold and stable except for the southern fringes.
The system in the Northwest will head eastward, but disturbances aloft will cause widespread 1/2- to 1-foot of snowfall across the Northwest, Intermountains, and Northern Rockies today. The upper low which brought the snowfall to the Southwest will eject into the Plains and develop a surface low in the western Plains. This low will move smartly through the Midwest and the lower Great Lakes today and tomorrow. Up to a foot of snowfall is possible in the southern Great Lakes today and tomorrow and in the Northeast on Saturday. To the south of this snow band will be a good chance of moderate freezing rain during the next two days, from near St. Joseph, Missouri, through Massachusetts.
A midlevel trough over the Northwest, the one which brought the snowfall there yesterday, will translate eastward and help to bring snowfall to higher elevations in the West. This feature will also cause the development of a potent surface low in the Upper Midwest this weekend.