Storm system brings snow from Midwest to Great Lakes

A storm system is bringing snow this morning to parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes, as well as very heavy rain to much of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Snowfall rates of near 1 inch per hour will be possible in parts of Illinois and Wisconsin this morning. Snowfall could pile up locally 3 to 6 inches through the morning.

As the storm moves east, some of the precipitation moving into the Northeast is changing from rain to an icy mix. Therefore winter weather advisories have been issued from parts of Eastern Pennsylvania to Maine.

While accumulations should remain light due to the rather relatively mild air, some slick spots could be possible this morning and through parts of the weekend -- especially in the higher elevations of the Poconos and Catskills this morning.

Some of the rain is falling at 1 to 2 inches per hour across parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Localized flash flooding will be possible this morning. Further south, there is an isolated potential for a strong to severe storm in parts of eastern North Carolina this morning. This line of heavy rain will move through the entire I-95 corridor.

By mid-day and afternoon, torrential rainfall will be possible, with localized flash flooding. Urban flooding with rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches are possible today in Philadelphia, New York, Hartford and Boston. A couple of rumbles of thunder will be possible as well.

This storm system clears out on Sunday with only a few snow showers possible near the Great Lakes and in part of the Appalachians.

The Pacific Northwest will also be seeing a series of storms over the next several days. Locally over 5 inches of heavy rain will be possible along the coast from Northern California to Washington. In the higher elevations of the Cascades, up to 2 feet of snow is expected this weekend.

As has been the case much of this winter, there is a lack of prolonged sustained cold air in the forecast. Much of the country is expected to trend near to above average this weekend. Looking ahead into the first days of February, much of the U.S. is looking like it will be trending mild.