Breakfast brief - Midwest to Northeast trouble

The final day of 2024 will be a quiet one for most of the U.S. However, trouble is lurking across the Great Lakes and the Northeast, just in time to flip the calendar to 2025. The Breakfast Brief is published daily Monday through Friday at 5:00 a.m., eastern time.

A quick-moving winter storm will streak out of the Great Lakes and the Midwest, moving into the Northeast tonight. The WeatherRadar shows it moving across New York City just before the big drop, but a few thunderbolts could produce rumbles of thunder.

Great Lakes and Midwest will be just cold enough, especially later this afternoon, for wet snow to develop. Chicago, Detroit and Columbus, Ohio, could begin New Year's festivities with a wintry wonderland as temperature drop into the lower 30s.

Across the Rockies, Upper Midwest and northern Plains, the first of several arctic blasts expected over the next several weeks will keep temperatures teens and 20s. Definitely bundle up if New Year's plans take you outside.

It will be a totally opposite story across the the southern Plains, Texas, South and Southeast. Middle to upper 60s will make it a great day to spend outside while Florida and southern Texas hit the middle to upper 70s. Even Washington, D.C., will approach 60 degrees before the sunsets and colder temperatures arrive. Watch for it on the TemperatureRadar here.

California, Great Basin and the Southwest will have a quiet end to 2024 too. A sun-filled day will send temperatures into the 60s from southern and central California to the southern Rockies while the Great Basin will be chillier. Highs in Salt Lake City will be in the 30s while Las Vegas will near 60 degrees.

The Northwest will see waves of clouds and sunshine as a Pacific storm spins just offshore.

Heading to the slopes for the New Year. See what resorts are nearby and view their open status, snowpack and more on the app!