Weather

Winter weather to vary across the Heartland

A storm system over the Great Lakes region will slowly weaken and drift eastward. However, wintry weather will linger into New Year’s Day across parts of the Northeast.

Meanwhile, unsettled weather will persist for much of the week in the Northwest, where precipitation will help to boost sub-par mountain snowpack.

Five-day precipitation totals could reach 2 to 6 inches or more in the Cascades and along the northern Pacific Coast. In contrast, dry weather will prevail through week’s end in central and southern California and the Desert Southwest.

Late in the week, heavy rain should return across the South, while snow may blanket some areas from the Midwest into New England. Storm-total rainfall could reach 2 to 4 inches from the central Gulf Coast to the southern Appalachians.

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for the likelihood of near- or below-normal temperatures nationwide, except for warmer-than-normal weather in California and the Desert Southwest.

Meanwhile, near- or above-normal across the nation’s northern tier should contrast with drier-than-normal conditions in the southern two-thirds of the U.S.