In the West, scattered rain and snow showers continue to spread inland toward the Rockies. In California, showers are slowing fieldwork but aiding pastures and winter grains.
On the Plains, mostly dry weather prevails. Mild conditions are returning to the High Plains, but chilly weather lingers across the eastern Plains. On parts of the southern Plains, winter wheat continues to benefit from recent soil moisture improvements.
In the Corn Belt, freezing rain and snow showers linger across southern and eastern areas, including the OhioValley, while cold weather persists in the upper Midwest. A substantial snow cover and persistently cold conditions are maintaining stress on livestock in parts of the northern Corn Belt.
In the South, some freezing rain is occurring this morning as far south as the piedmont of North Carolina. Elsewhere, Southeastern rain continues to provide relief from long-term drought, although high wind producing thunderstorms remain a threat.
Outlook: Unsettled weather will continue today across the South and East, as a storm moves from the Mid- South to the Mid-AtlanticCoast. Drought-easing rain will fall in the Southeast, although strong thunderstorms may also occur. Farther north, freezing rain, sleet, and snow may cause travel and electrical disruptions from the OhioValley into the Mid-Atlantic and NortheasternStates. Heavy snow will be most likely across southern New England, while significant ice accumulations can be expected in the northern Mid-Atlantic region. Elsewhere, snow showers will diminish across the Rockiesand Intermountain West on Saturday, but a powerful Pacific storm will reach the West Coast during the weekend. Early next week, snow associated with the Pacific system will overspread the northern Plains and parts of the Midwest, while showers and thunderstorms will return to the South. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for February 27 – March 2 calls for colder-than-normal weather across the eastern half of the nation, except for near-normal temperatures in southern Floridaand the Northeast. Meanwhile, above-normal temperatures will prevail in the West. Elsewhere, mostly dry weather from California to the Mississippi Riverwill contrast with near- to abovenormal precipitation across the eastern one-third of the U.S.and the Pacific Northwest.
