The Nation's Weather 10.09.09

By WEATHER UNDERGROUND (AP)

A cold front is expected to sweep across the country on Friday bringing more heavy rain and thunderstorms to the Southern Plains and East.

Precipitation should peak in the morning while the front is stretched between Southern Texas and the Ohio Valley and will likely be heaviest along a line between San Antonio, Texas, and Cleveland, Ohio. Intense thunderstorms are predicted along that line, with the possibility of strong winds, large hail and frequent lightning for some locations.

Later in the day as the front moves east, heavy precipitation should move to the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains. East of the mountains, some rain is expected to spill over into the East Coast, but cloudy conditions are most likely across the region. In New England and New York, showers and thunderstorms are possible from mid-afternoon on.

In the West, light snow is predicted in Idaho, Montana and northern portions of Wyoming. On the West Coast, temperatures are expected to warm up a bit from the record breaking cold weather the region had seen over the last week.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday ranged from a low of 7 degrees at Yellowstone, Wyo. to a high of 101 degrees at Laredo, Texas.