The Nation's Weather

The winter storm that pounded the nation's midsection Wednesday afternoon will weaken as it travels east Thursday.

A weakening wave of low pressure associated with the storm will hinder moist flow from the Gulf of Mexico, allowing areas of the Southeast and the Central Appalachians to experience light snowfall accumulations through Thursday evening. As this system exits to the east, a frontal boundary located off the Southeast coast will become more defined. Cold air from the Plains and low pressure along the front will yield several inches of snow in parts of the eastern Mid-Atlantic, while the front produces rain showers and thunderstorms in the Florida Peninsula. Expect scattered showers and storms in Florida to persist through Friday.

Outside of lake effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes, a fairly quiet weather pattern will develop across the rest of the nation Thursday. Bitter cold daytime temperatures in the Plains will gradually warm back to near average values through the rest of the week. Meanwhile, high pressure will remain the dominant weather feature of the West, allowing dry and calm weather conditions to prevail across most of the region. A few weak disturbances will drop across the Rockies through Friday with light snow.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday ranged from a morning low of -27 degrees at Laramie, Wyo., to a high of 79 degrees at Naples, Fla.

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Online:

Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com

National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov

Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com