Weather

A mass of cold air will settle east across the Middle Atlantic and New England on Saturday. An area of high pressure will settle off the Massachusetts coast. Snow is forecast to move into a large part of the Northeast for a brief stint of moderate snow Saturday night.

Farther south and west, rain is projected to soak areas from central and coastal Texas to the lower Ohio Valley and the Carolinas. Some of the rain may be heavy enough to aggravate small stream and river flooding, as well as cause a couple of mudslides. Dry conditions are forecast to hold over much of Florida. Farther north, snow will break out on the northern edge of the rain over the Ohio Valley and will dot parts of the Great Lakes region. The Ohio Valley snow will become the main snow area for the Northeast at night.

Much of the Plains region can expect dry weather Saturday. Drought conditions will persist over the southern High Plains area.

In the West, a storm is forecast to spread rain and mountain snow from Washington and Oregon to Idaho and Montana. A press of much colder air is projected to begin this weekend, which will allow snow to fall close to sea level in Washington and perhaps northern Oregon. Meanwhile, the Southwest will remain free of precipitation.

FOCUS: Northwest Turns Frigid Next Week

Arctic air will spread from western Canada into the interior Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies early next week. Daily record low temperatures may be challenged as temperatures average 20 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit below normal.