A storm system was pushing through the Ohio Valley and Deep South early Saturday, threatening to move into the Northeast and give the region's coastal areas their first significant snowfall of the season. <br>
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Up to 3 inches of snow were forecast to fall during the day in a wide swath of the country from eastern Kentucky and Indiana to New England, with as many as 6 inches possible in the central Appalachians. <br>
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Rain was expected in the Deep South, with sleet and ice in some spots. Over an inch of rain was possible in parts of the South. <br>
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Scattered rain showers were forecast to move into Northwest and northern Rockies, with 3 to 5 inches of snow in high-elevation areas and isolated accumulations of up to 8 inches. Sustained winds of 35 mph were expected in much of the Rockies, with gusts exceeding 45 mph. <br>
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A weak disturbance was forecast to bring up to an inch of snow to the northern Plains. <br>
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Relatively quiet weather was expected in the Southern Rockies, Southwest, Great Basin, Florida Peninsula and most of the nation's midsection. <br>
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High temperatures Saturday were forecast in the teens and 20s in northern New England, the upper Midwest, northern Plains and central Rockies; 30s in the northern Rockies, central Plains, Tennessee and Ohio valleys and most of the Northeast; 40s in the southern Plains, northern Texas, southern Rockies, Great Basin and Northwest; 50s in northern California and much of the Southwest and Southeast; 60s along the northern Gulf Coast, and in southern California, the Desert Southwest and much of Texas; and 70s in Florida and southern Texas, with some 80s in southern Florida. <br>
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Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Friday ranged from a low of 20 below zero in Cook, Minn., to a high of 86 degrees in Harlingen, Texas.
