Heavy snow and gusty winds will impact the central and southern Rockiesinto the central Plains through tonight and Saturday......Light accumulating snowfall expected across the Midwest......Temperatures will be below average for large sections of the countrythis holiday weekend......Some rain expected to traverse the Gulf Coast states...A storm system crossing the Intermountain West will continue to bringareas of heavy snowfall to the central and southern Rockies, and also thecentral Plains going through tonight and Saturday. Coinciding with theheavy snow will be very cold temperatures and gusty winds which willresult in snow-covered roads, reduced visibilities, and hazardous travelconditions. Additional snowfall amounts of as much as 6 to 12 inches canbe expected over the central and southern Rockies, with some of the higherpeaks seeing 1 to 2 feet. The snow that is currently over Nebraska willsettle southward tonight and advance over large areas of Kansas onSaturday, and this will bring as much as 4 to 8 inches of snow here. Thiswinter storm should then taper down going through the remainder of theweekend, but the temperatures will remain locally well below average.Many areas of the rest of the country will also be below average headingthrough the holiday weekend as an elongated axis of cold high pressureinitially stretching from the Intermountain West east through the Plains,Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states remains in place most of the period.Temperatures will be as much as 10 to 20 degrees below normal, with thecolder temperature anomalies persisting out across the central Plainswhere the aforementioned winter storm and added snowpack will helpreinforce the cold airmass.However, high pressure at least over the Midwest and toward the East Coastwill weaken and give way by early Sunday to multiple areas of low pressureand the arrival of a couple of new cold fronts. This will include theremnants of the aforementioned winter storm over the Rockies and Plainsthat will cross the Midwest with at least a swath of light accumulatingsnowfall. Meanwhile, a weak storm system traversing the Gulf Coast stateswill give way to an area of low pressure forming just offshore of theMid-Atlantic states by late Sunday. This will bring some rain to the GulfCoast states and eventually areas of the Mid-Atlantic coastal plain. Justafter this period heading into early next week, this low center coupledwith weak low pressure over the Ohio Valley should consolidate and lead toa stronger area of low pressure and heavier precipitation that will impactportions of New England.