National Weather Forecast for January 5,2013

Active weather continues in the East on Saturday, while wet weather returns to the West by Saturday evening. A low pressure system over Texas will quickly advance northeastward over the Mississippi River Valley and into the Ohio River Valley. This will bring rain showers to the Eastern Valleys, with snow and freezing rain anticipated over the Mid-Mississippi Valley, into the Lower Ohio Valley. At the same time, a system drops southeastward from central Canada, bringing more snow showers to the Great Lakes. Snowfall accumulation across the Upper Midwest and Upper Mississippi River Valley will be light with only a few areas seeing measurable amounts of snowfall.

In the Southeast, onshore flow from the Gulf of Mexico will continue pushing moisture into the Gulf coast. This will allow for rain showers to spread from eastern Texas and into northern Florida.

Meanwhile out West, a trough of low pressure drops southward from the Gulf of Alaska and moves into the Pacific Northwest by Saturday evening. Flow around this system will create a cold front that will extend southward, moving over the West Coast. This will bring rain and high elevation snow showers to the Pacific Northwest and northern California.

Snow levels will lower to 3,000 feet for northern California and the northern Sierras, with snowfall accumulation ranging from 2 to 4 inches, while over 4 inches are likely above 7,000 feet.