After a brief respite from the cold over the Rockies, it’s returning big time now from California east to the Plains with a major trough returning to the West. A major storm, named Gandolf is now developing and is set to bring a night of heavy snow from the Four Corners up through Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana into North Dakota. Very cold, arctic air will dive south as the storm forms on the east side of the trough. This system will not only bring a major winter storm to the West and Plains but will separate very cold air with very mild air further east.

For California the chill has now arrived and lows tonight set to dip well below freezing for most inland locales. Even the coastal cities will be chilly with lows dropping into the upper 30s and low 40s. Las Vegas will hit freezing. Expect widespread teens, single digits and high elevation sub-zeros for the High plateaus of the Great Basin and Rockies.

Highs tomorrow will be cold with 50s in LA and San Francisco, mid-40s in Las Vegas, low 50s for Phoenix. 20s will shiver cities such Salt Lake and Cheyenne, 10s for Billings across to Minot with snow and strong, gusty winds.

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Across the Mid-Section highs rise sharply, from 30s in Denver to 60s in Kansas. Some parts of Missouri, southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky could reach 70, over 30 above normal for the time of year. Along the boundary look for heavy, thundery rains and strong, possibly damaging winds.

As much as a foot of snow is possible through tomorrow across parts of North Dakota.

My wife and I strolled around Midtown Manhattan today and it certainly didn’t feel like a mid-January day. Though mornings are cool and the breeze feels cold, the afternoons feel very comfortable in the sun, especially without the breeze but if you think it’s mild now, wait till this weekend.. Highs from the Ohio Valley to East Coast will rocket to between 20-30 degrees above normal. Expect a high near 68 in Cincinnati, 70 in DC, 68 in Baltimore, 64 in Philadelphia and Trenton, 62 in Newark, 60 in Central Park, NYC, 57 in Hartford and 55 in Boston either Saturday or Sunday, perhaps on both.

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