Antartica

Weather Underground Forecast for Thursday, May 22, 2008. A very intense closed upper-level low pressure system over the Great Basin will drive the weather in the West on Thursday. Considerable cool rain and even some high elevation snow will fall from the Intermountain West through the Northern Rockies due to this feature. The amount of precipitation is a concern, and thus some Flood Warnings have been posted from eastern Washington through western Montana. As the day progresses, precipitation will move into the Plains from South Dakota through Missouri. Moisture will also leak into the Southwest, instigating showers and some possible thunderstorms from the southern Sierra Nevadas through the Four Corners region.

The precipitation will only be the first noticeable effect of the low pressure system, however. Because of the intensity of the low, strong winds are anticipated for a wide swath of the West from the Southwest through California and into the western Plains. The wind is also expected to create dangerous fire weather in the Southwest.

In the East, a low pressure system moving onto the panhandle of Florida from the Gulf of Mexico will instigate showers and thunderstorms for the Sunshine State. The Northeast will dry out behind a cold front, but will remain rather cool.

The Northeast will rise into the 40s, 50s, and some 60s, while the Southeast and Southern Plains will see temperatures in the 80s, 90s, and 100s. The Northern Plains will rise into the 70s, while the Northwest will see temperatures in the 60s and 70s in the lower elevations.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday ranged from a low of 27 degrees at Grand Forks, N.D. to a high of 108 degrees at Wink, Texas.