Daily briefing: Thursday rain & snow

A much busier day is in the forecast as the anticipated widespread winter storm starts to take shape. Frigid air and an abundant moisture plume will set the stage today. Also, the snowbelt will have lake-effect snow. The daily briefing is published every weekday at 5 a.m. ET.

The WeatherRadar is busy today as a major winter storm begins to take shape. Ice, snow, much below-average temperatures and rain are all expected through the weekend. Thanks to a cold air mass dipping down from the north and running into an abundant moisture plume out of the eastern Pacific, snow, rain, thunderstorms and ice are in today's forecast.

Snow will spread across the Mountain West and into the Plains states while thunderstorms and rain stretch from the Desert Southwest through the southern Plains. As warm air meets up with the frigid air mass in the middle of the system, freezing rain enters the picture this afternoon, just in time for the PM commute in the Texas Panhandle and southern Oklahoma.

Showers will keep umbrellas up in the Southeast while the Great Lakes stay cold and snowy, thanks to the lake-effect snow pattern.

Highs will be warmest today along the West Coast and from Southern California to Florida in the upper 60s and 70s, with South Florida and far southern Texas reaching the 80s. We get much colder the further north you go. Sub-freezing highs, even below 0, are expected from the High Plains to Oklahoma and into the interior Northeast. Slightly more tolerable highs in the 30s and 40s will be found in the Pacific Northwest and much of the Mountain West, and all the way to the Tennessee Valley and Mid-Atlantic. Pockets of 50s will be found in the Deep South and the Southeast Coast.

Have you used the WindRadar? Track gusty winds throughout the winter season to know when to add a couple of layers.