A series of upper-level troughs crossing through the Intermountain West, and especially the Four Corners region, will maintain an expanded area of unsettled weather across the West going through the weekend.
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This energy will drive areas of locally heavy precipitation, and this will include heavy snowfall for the higher elevations.
In general, areas of the northern and central Rockies are likely to see new snowfall amounts of as much as 6 to 12 inches.
However, the heavy snowfall threat should be a bit more focused across the higher terrain of the Sangre De Cristo range in south-central to southeast CO and also north-central to northeast NM by Saturday, and the snow is likely to spread out into the southern High Plains as low pressure deepens over portions of the middle to upper Rio Grande Valley.
Portions of the Sangre De Cristo range may see as much as 12 to 18 inches with locally heavier amounts by early Sunday.
Temperatures across much of the Four Corners region will be colder than normal, with high temperatures locally as much as 10 to 20 degrees below average.
Energy associated with this ejecting winter storm threat across the Intermountain West, will shift far enough to the east this weekend to begin interacting with a cold front that will be slowing down and eventually stalling out across areas of the South.
Multiple waves of low pressure will gradually eject east out of the Rio Grande Valley and along this front which coupled with the pooling of moisture and instability from the Gulf of Mexico should set the stage for multiple rounds of heavy showers and thunderstorms.
The front which will extend across southeast TX into the Lower MS Valley and Mid-South will support the potential for this activity to train over the same area, and therefore locally several inches of rain will be possible.
The Weather Prediction Center has depicted a Slight Risk (level 2 of 4) for excessive rainfall for portions of the South to account for this concern, and scattered areas of flash flooding will be possible as a result.
Meanwhile, with a lack of cold air dropping south from Canada, temperatures for much of the Eastern U.S. will be well above normal going through Saturday.
Some high temperatures will be as much as 25 to 35 degrees above average over the Midwest on Friday, and by Saturday, many areas of the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast will be as much as 15 to 25 degrees above average which will include a likelihood for some record highs being set. ■