Old Man Winter has arrived and will bring frigid temperatures to much of the U.S. today. Snowflakes will also be flying in the Northeast and Southwest.
An elongated cold front will be stalled over the Rockies into the Southeast U.S. today, allowing bitter cold, Arctic air to invade much of the nation. There will also be a reinforcing cold front that drops south across the Great Lakes and Northeast. Lake-effect enhancement is likely within any snowfall directly downwind from the warm lakes.
Expect occasional rounds of snow throughout the day for the Great Lakes, Appalachia and the interior Northeast. Generally little snowfall amounts are expected for most. However, locally higher amounts are likely depending on the wind direction. A few flurries or very light snow showers could make it as far south as the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England.
Meanwhile, a low pressure system will develop on the western fringes of this stalled front over southern California and the Desert Southwest. Snow will be found across the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains in the morning, with any snow being limited to the central/southern Rockies and High Plains during the afternoon and evening. Light snowfall is expected for most places, but the Front Range of Colorado could see moderate to heavy snow at times.
Temperatures will be warmer across southern California, far southern Nevada and southern Arizona. Here, there could be a few rain showers throughout today.
The rest of the U.S. will stay unseasonably chilly but dry. This includes the Northwest, the eastern Plains, Midwest and Southeast.
The north-central U.S. will be the coldest area, with highs generally in single digits and teens for the northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley and Upper Great Lakes. Though, closer to the U.S.-Canadian border, temperatures could remain below zero for the entire day. Most of the Rockies and the interior Northeast will also report highs in single digits and teens.
Twenties and 30s will be most common across the nation, including the interior Northwest, Great Basin, southern Rockies and central Plains into the Midwest, Ohio and Tennessee valleys, Mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Expect 40s and few lower 50s for the Pacific Northwest as well as the southern Plains into the Southeast. Even northern Florida will see the mercury only climb into the 40s and 50s, while southern Florida records 60s. Mainly 50s and 60s cover California into the Desert Southwest.