CHICAGO, Ill. – A sprawling fall storm is sweeping across the nation Friday, bringing widespread rain, strong winds, and mountain snow from the Rockies to the East Coast. The National Weather Service reports the low-pressure system will track north of the Great Lakes through Saturday, trailing a sharp cold front that’s already triggering showers and isolated thunderstorms along a wide corridor from the Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic.
According to the Weather Prediction Center, gusty southerly winds will pull warm, moist air northward into the Ohio Valley and Southeast, fueling pockets of stronger storms Friday night. A few isolated severe thunderstorms are possible from northern Alabama into the Carolinas, capable of producing damaging wind gusts. Farther north, steady rain will spread across the Great Lakes and Northeast, with blustery conditions persisting into Saturday.
In the western U.S., a separate Pacific storm is moving inland across Washington and Oregon with a mix of low-elevation rain, gusty coastal winds, and accumulating mountain snow across the Cascades and northern Rockies. Travel over mountain passes may become slick or slow through the weekend.
The central and southern Plains will remain dry and seasonably cool behind the front, while temperatures in the eastern half of the country fall sharply Saturday night as cold air pours southward.
