Weather Underground midday recap for Friday, March 15, 2013.
Snow showers persisted for the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Friday, while another system slid across the Northern Plains throughout the day. A low pressure system moved over the Great Lakes and into eastern Canada. As this system advanced eastward, a cold front trailed behind the system to the west, which allowed for snow and freezing rain showers to spread from southern Minnesota, across Wisconsin, and into northern Illinois and Indiana. Snowfall totals in these areas ranged from 1 to 2 inches, with isolated amounts up to 4 inches. At the same time, another frontal boundary extended southeastward from the low pressure system and triggered scattered snow showers across New York State and parts of the Northeast. Heaviest snowfall fell along the downwind shores of the Lower Great Lakes. Behind these frontal boundaries, another system dropped into the Northern Plains from Canada. A trough of low pressure over Canada slid southward and brought cool and snowy conditions with it. This triggered heavy snowfall across most of North Dakota, far northern South Dakota, and moved into northern Minnesota. Snowfall accumulation ranged from 3 to 5 inches by Friday night. Winter weather advisories have been issued for the region from the Dakotas through the Upper Midwest, as dangerous roads and travel conditions affected these areas.
Further west, a few light and scattered showers persisted for the Pacific Northwest and Rockies as onshore flow from the Pacific brought moisture into these areas. Significant precipitation has not developed. Meanwhile, the Southeast started to warm back up with temperatures in the mid-70s across the Eastern Valleys and Southeast. The Desert Southwest saw another warm day as highs reached into the mid- to upper 80s.
Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Friday have ranged from a morning low of -13 degrees at Mt. Washington, N.H. to a midday high of 89 degrees at El Centro, Calif.
