Today's Weather Outlook

A major spring storm in the Central U.S. will be the main weather story today, bringing everything from mountain snow to a severe weather outbreak.

A powerful low pressure system will drift from the northern Plains into the Great Lakes today. An associated warm front will be draped from the Midwest into the Southeast. There will also be one cold front slicing through the southern Plains, with a reinforcing cold front dropping across the Rockies.

Rain and thunderstorms will be most likely in the northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes throughout the day. Expect a smaller chance for showers and thunderstorms in the central/southern Plains, the Midwest, Deep South and Southeast. There will likely be chances for rain in the Great Basin and Rockies to start the work week. However, higher elevations will likely see wet snow or a rain/snow mix.

Multiple corridors of severe thunderstorms are expected across the Upper Midwest today through tonight. The most dangerous period is likely during the late afternoon and evening, when there is the potential for strong tornadoes. Large to very large hail and damaging winds are likely as well.

While there could be a few showers in the Pacific Northwest, high pressure will generally prevail across both coasts. Dry weather is in the forecast for the interior Northwest into California and the Desert Southwest as well as the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

It will feel more like winter for parts of the Rockies and northern Plains, where temperatures will struggle to reach the 30s and 40s. A few of the tallest peaks could also only see highs in the 20s. Expect 50s and 60s for the Pacific Northwest, the Great Basin and the lower elevations of the Rockies. Seventies and a few 80s cover California into the Desert Southwest.

There will be a sharp gradient for the rest of the north-central U.S. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s for western Nebraska, central South Dakota and northern Minnesota, with 70s and 80s in eastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota and southern Minnesota. The central and southern Plains can expect 80s and 90s.

Meanwhile, for the Eastern U.S., there will mainly be highs in the 70s and 80s. The exception will be the Upper Great Lakes and interior Northeast, where temperatures should peak in the 60s. Isolated 90s are also possible in Florida.