Today's Weather Outlook

An intense Great Lakes storm will create plenty of weather headaches for the final Sunday of the calendar year, including a drastic temperature swing in the nation’s midsection.

Impactful weather will occur just ahead of and behind an Arctic cold front accelerating from the central Plains to the Illinois-Indiana border as well as eastern Texas throughout the day today. Not only will unusually warm weather be snuffed out, but 20 to 35-degree temperature drops will happen in cities such as Kansas City, Mo., St. Louis, and Oklahoma City. Toasty highs in the lower 60s to near 70 degrees will nosedive to near the freezing mark by or shortly after sunset.

In the northern Plains to the Upper Mississippi Valley and western Great Lakes, bitter cold weather is forecast. Temperatures will fall throughout most of the day in these locations, with frigid temperatures of single digits below zero in parts of eastern Montana and across the Dakotas. Middle 30s to lower 40s from the Twin Cities to Des Moines, Iowa, early in the day will fall into the single digits and lower teens by sunset. Snow will accumulate quickly on the storm’s northern and western colder flanks, particularly across North Dakota and Minnesota in the afternoon and evening. Two to 5 inches is forecast by the evening, in addition to gusty winds creating travel headaches.

Snow squalls may follow the Arctic cold front. Rain will occur in advance of the front, with a few thunderstorms expected along its southern extent. These thunderstorms may contain gusty winds and a brief tornado in the Middle and Lower Mississippi to Ohio valleys.

Meanwhile, sub-freezing air and plentiful moisture will lead to pockets of accumulating ice in northern and central Michigan, as well as across the taller Pennsylvania, southwestern New York State, and northwestern New Jersey terrain. Generally, one-tenth of an inch or less will accrue, particularly during the afternoon and evening.

The remainder of the nation will receive a precipitation reprieve in what has been a bustling fall and winter season thus far. This includes much of New England and the Mid-Atlantic to the Gulf Coast and Florida, as well as the entirety of the Western U.S.

Seasonably cool to seasonable weather will dominate the nation aside from the southern Plains to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley to close out the weekend. Highs will range from the 20s and 30s in New England and the interior West, to the 50s, 60s, and 70s across the Pacific beaches, Southwest, Gulf Coast, and Florida to the Mid-Atlantic. Warm 50s and 60s will reach Lower Michigan, Ohio, and bank up against Appalachia as well.