One of the most significant winter storms in recent history is pounding the Southwest with excessive amounts of rain and snow, along with damaging winds.
The heavy snow, rain and wind will also bombard the Four Corners area.
Rainfall in central Arizona could locally top 8 inches while snowfall in the higher mountains could range from 4 to 7 feet.
Snow levels will drop to between 4000 and 5000 feet over Arizona on Friday.
Winds will gust over 65 mph at times causing blizzard conditions, especially over the southeastern Arizona Mountains. Strong wind gusts will also sweep through the northern mountains by morning, as a strong cold front swings through.
Thunderstorms are likely across southern Arizona.
Areas from southern Utah and eastward across Colorado and the mountains of northern and western New Mexico are in for several feet of snow
Rain and a few strong thunderstorms will linger in Southern California as snow levels drop as low as 3000 feet.
Highs Friday will range from the 20s in northern Montana to near 60 in the Desert Southwest.
On Saturday, showers and mountain snow will lessen across the West as the storm shifts into the middle of the country.
Northern and central California will see more precipitation by Sunday night.
Midwest:
The West Coast storm will cross the Rockies and grow stronger again as it moves out of the Rockies and into the Midwest.
Freezing rain and a snow/sleet mixture will develop over the north-central states as rain increases over the central Plains.
Friday highs will range from the upper 20s and low 30s over much of the Dakotas to the 40s in the Ohio Valley and the 50s and near 60 in western and southern Kansas.
Colder air will drop down on Saturday and change the icy mix to snow across the Dakotas but mixed precipitation will linger over Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Northwest winds will also increase.
The latest storm will send rain thunderstorms eastward from eastern Nebraska and Kansas, through the mid-Mississippi Valley, into the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
By Sunday, colder air (temperatures returning to average for late January) will change the precipitation completely to snow across the north-central states while the rain in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley begins to shift into the East.
South:
The Southeast will see gradually improving conditions on Friday while rain will increase across far western Texas.
Winds will become strong and gusty across the southern high Plains.
Friday highs will range from the 40s in much of North Carolina and Tennessee to the 60s and 70s from southern Georgia and Florida to Oklahoma and Texas. Portions of extreme south Texas and south Florida may hit 80.
Over the weekend, a strong cold front will sweep from the southern high Plains early Saturday to the Southeast coast by early Monday. Locally heavy rain and thunderstorms will precede the front. Some of the thunderstorms could be severe.
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Much of Upstate New York and New England will stay dry on Friday.
The main trouble will slowly advance northward from the south as a wintry mix of precipitation falls across eastern West Virginia, western Virginia, Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, Delaware and southern New Jersey. There will be no significant accumulation east of the mountains.
The Baltimore-Washington area will see rain mix with sleet at times but temperatures should stay above freezing. Some light freezing rain may skim parts of the Philadelphia area, however, by morning.
Heavy rain and wind will prevail over coastal Virginia.
Precipitation will quickly end from west to east through the day.
Highs Friday will range from near 20 in northern Maine to the 30s and 40s in the Mid-Atlantic.
Significant rain will move into Upstate New York and New England on Sunday and Sunday night. Rain and melting snow may produce some very minor flooding problems.
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