Breakfast Brief: Autumn winds and snow

This is the week that autumn has decided to move into the U.S., and bring big swings in weather. Today isn't any different.

Like a giant rollercoaster, the weather across the U.S. has been oscillation back and forth this week. A giant high pressure area settling across the Mississippi Valley—as seen on our WeatherRadar as clear skies— will bring plenty of sunshine today from the Plains to Northeast.

The autumn high pressure is accompanied by a cold and dry airmass. The TemperatureRadar shows daytime temperatures will only climb into the upper 60s as far south as northern Florida, with 50s and low 60s found across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley. Even Texas and Gulf Coast will only be in the 70s today.

Across the central Plains and Midwest, hold onto your hats and your steering wheel! A strong southwest wind with gusts exceeding 35 mph will cause local power outages while dropping humidity levels, increasing the risk of rapidly spreading fires. The WindRadar shows these winds strengthen throughout the day.

Autumn continues to make inroads across the West, too. A big western front will spread across the Mountain West, bringing heavy snow to the highest peaks of the northern Rockies and the ski resorts east of Salt Lake City. The eastern and southern Rockies will be in the 70s and low 80s before the front brings dropping temperatures later tonight and Friday.

A second Pacific system will bring rain and Cascade snow to the Northwest, too, but temperatures will only be in the 50s there. California and the Southwest will be mostly sunny and mild.

Not much has changed all week, with the western Caribbean and central Atlantic continuing to be monitored for future development. The central Atlantic system still has a chance of becoming a tropical depression as it approaches the northern Greater Antilles this weekend.

Along the western Caribbean coastline, a low-pressure area continues to edge closer to the Central American coast. If it stays over water, slow development is possible. This remains a major rainmaker along Central America's Caribbean coastline.

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