Hello everyone!

Today will feature two areas of active weather, one across the Rocky Mountains as Pacific moisture and upper level energy moves east, and another near Lake Superior as a cold front brings rain, snow, and possibly freezing rain.

This is the national weather overview map for today, showing who is likely to see what types of weather. Note the mountain snows spanning nearly the entire length of the Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to Montana. Valley locations will see snow mix with and change to rain, with little accumulation, however the higher elevations could see some decent accumulations. As with the Sierra snows, if you’re headed to the high mountain passes, look for wintry conditions, but otherwise, this is another base builder for the ski areas. 

The accumulated total precipitation snow map shows how much liquid equivalent precipitation will fall as snow today. To get actual snow totals, multiply these numbers by about 10 in the Sierras and about 15 in the Rockies. For more information on this product, and converting its output to snowfall accumulation forecasts, check out this video. As you can see, this will be a solid event for the higher elevations, but the heavy accumulation will stay away from the big population centers, mitigating impacts.

Farther east today, look for rain and snow to impact the upper Midwest as a cold front moves through. North of Duluth, this precipitation will fall as snow with minor accumulations. South of Duluth, rain is expected, with some freezing rain possible in the hills of Northern Wisconsin as cold air holds on in the valleys longer than aloft. No major icing impacts are expected, though it takes hardly any ice at all for roads to become incredibly slick. No organized thunderstorm activity is expected on the southern side of this system, though showers are possible as far south as Missouri and Illinois.

Elsewhere across the country, generally quiet weather is expected.

For more information about your local forecast: https://weather.us/

For more information about the local forecast for ME/NH: https://forecasterjack.com/2017/11/17/cool-and-blustery-today/

-Jack