Breakfast Brief: A few snowy scares

The Upper Midwest is in for a bit of a snowy surprise on this last day of October. Autumn tries to push summer away across more parts of the U.S. on this Halloween.

The WeatherRadar shows a large autumn storm stretching from the Midwest and western Great Lakes southward across the Mississippi Valley to the Gulf Coast. Heavy rain will fall over the Great Lakes and Midwest while showers and thunderstorms will be possible across the southern Mississippi Valley and the central Gulf Coast.

Across the Upper Midwest, cold air sweeping in behind the system will trigger heavy wet snow across western Great Lakes, with a bit of snow possible in Minnesota's Twin Cities as the sunsets and the trick or treaters head outside.

East of this extensive central U.S. storm, the South, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic will have another unseasonably warm day. Highs will be in the 80s as far north as New York City, with Pittsburgh and Boston both reaching the upper 70s. A few mid-80s will be found across Florida and the interior Southeast.

The western and southern Plains and Southwest will have a sun-filled day with temperatures running from the 40s in the Dakotas to more comfortable 50s and 60s across the southern Plains, Texas and the Southwest.

The Northwest, northern California and the northern Rockies won't be so lucky. A Pacific storm will bring heavy rain to the Portland and Seattle while the Cascades and the northern Rockies see a wintry mix of snow and rain. Highs will be the 40s with higher elevations being colder.

The main tropical development zones remain quiet, but a broad low-pressure system in the western Caribbean needs to be monitored. It has been watched all week and there is still a chance something develops this weekend.

No other tropical development is expected over the next several days.

It's never too early to prepare for the winter season! Is your blizzard kit in order?