Breakfast brief: Spring, is that you?

After what seemed like a long winter for many parts of the U.S., spring warmth will continue to expand across the U.S. today. The West Coast, won't be so lucky though. The Breakfast Brief is published daily, Monday through Friday, at 5:00 a.m., Eastern time.

A large high pressure system extending from the southern Plains to the East Coast will produce a sun-filled Tuesday. Strong southerly flow will spread spring warmth northward into the Great Lakes and the Northeast. The TemperatureRadar shows highs approaching 60 in Boston while 70s stretch from Texas to the Carolinas. The WindRadar shows gusty winds in the Northeast.

The Upper Midwest and northern Great Lakes won't be so lucky. A weak cold front will keep the spring temperatures at bay with highs in the 30s and 40s common. Chicago will barely touch 40 while Minneapolis and Milwaukee stay in the 30s.

Two systems will cause trouble across the West Coast. The first one, seen on WeatherRadar, is spinning off the southern California coast and will sweep downpours into Los Angeles and San Diego. Snow will fall across the central and southern Sierras much later on Tuesday.

A second Pacific storm will bring pockets of rain showers to the Northwest while snow falls in the Cascades.

The rest of the Mountain West will have increasing clouds and be seasonable.