The nation's weather

Weather Underground Forecast for Friday, February 22, 2013.

A strong winter storm will continue to impact the Central and Eastern U.S. on Friday. The system is expected to continue moving eastward over the Mississippi River Valley, bringing heavy snow to the Upper Midwest and Mid-Mississippi River Valley, with more freezing rain moving across the Tennessee Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic states. Snowfall totals will range from 4 to 7 inches for the Upper Midwest, with ice accumulation up to a half of an inch possible for the Eastern Valleys. Thus, winter storm warnings and advisories have been issued from the Central Plains through the Great Lakes and into the Upper Ohio River Valley. Meanwhile, to the south, expect showers and thunderstorms to persist for the Southeast as the system creates a warm front that continues pulling moisture and energy in from the Gulf of Mexico. Thunderstorm development is likely anywhere from the Lower Mississippi River Valley through the Carolinas and into Virginia. Some of these storms will turn severe with strong winds, damaging winds and possibly a tornado. If storms turn severe they will most likely be contained to areas from southern Louisiana through southern Georgia.

Meanwhile, out West, a series of disturbances will move across the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West on Friday. This will produce more rain and mountain snow showers, which will reach into far northern California by Friday night. Winter weather advisories have been issued for most of the region as snowfall accumulations will range from 6 to 15 inches above 4,000 feet.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday have ranged from a morning low of -25 degrees at Crane Lake, Minn. to a high of 95 degrees at Weslaco, Texas