Rain threatened the Ohio Valley, western Tennessee Valley, and lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday while a mix of sleet and freezing drizzle was forecast for parts of Michigan and New York. <br>
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Cloudy skies and mild temperatures were expected across the mid-Atlantic and most of the Southeast. But a disturbance moving across Florida's peninsula was forecast to usher in clouds and rain showers, most concentrated in the far south of the state. <br>
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Missouri and Kansas were expecting clearing skies and warmer temperatures but farther north, snow was predicted across the Dakotas and upper Mississippi Valley. Most of the snow was likely to be light and scattered. <br>
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Heavier snow over North Dakota and northern Minnesota is expected to accumulate to 5 inches in isolated spots. <br>
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In the West, clouds, gusty winds, mountain snow showers and valley rains were forecast to dampen the central Rockies, northern Great Basin, Pacific Northwest and northern California. The mountains of western Wyoming and the Sierras were bracing for accumulations of over 6 inches. <br>
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Thunderstorms were possible across the northern Great Basin, some containing small hail along with gusty winds and lightning. <br>
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Highs on Thursday were forecast in the teens and 20s in the foothills of northern and eastern Montana; 20s and 30s in the Great Lakes and the Northeast, the northern Plains and upper Mississippi Valley; 30s and 40s in the northern Rockies and northern Great Basin; 40s and 50s in the northern Ohio Valley and southern New England, the central Plains and northern Missouri; and 60s and 70s in the Southeast and southern California. <br>
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Temperatures in the Lower 48 states on Wednesday ranged from a high of 82 degrees in Gila Bend, Ariz., to a low of 9 below in Cut Bank, Mont., and Williston, N.D.
