The nation's weather

Weather Underground Forecast for Monday, February 25, 2013.

A strong winter storm heads east-northeastward through the Southern Plains on Monday with plenty of precipitation. As the system treks across the northern tier of Texas, it will meet with ample moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, setting the stage for heavy rain and ongoing thunderstorms ahead of the low as well as ahead and along it¼'s associated cold front, from central and eastern Texas and Oklahoma into the Lower and Mid-Mississippi River Valleys. Additional heavy rain and thunderstorms are also anticipated in the Southeast as an associated warm front lifts northward across the Gulf Coast. Conditions from parts of the eastern Southern Plains through areas near the Central and Eastern Gulf Coasts should be favorable for severe storms and possibly rotating storms with threats of tornadoes and hail events.

Meanwhile, colder temperatures on the northern and western sides of the storm will support heavy snow development from areas of northern Texas into Kansas. Blizzard conditions will be possible from the Texas Panhandle through central Oklahoma and into southwestern Kansas as snow increases across the region through the day and strong northerly winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph create lowered visibilities to near white out conditions and ultimately dangerous travel conditions. Snow accumulation in these areas are expected to range from 3 to 8 inches in the western western Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, 8 to 15 inches across the central and eastern Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, and 6 to 12 inches in central Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas with locally higher amounts of 16 to 20 inches possible.

Elsewhere in the nation, a Pacific cold front will push through the Northwest with cool onshore flow on Monday, bringing rain and high elevation snow to the Pacific Northwest, parts of northern California, Northern Intermountain West, and Northern Rockies.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Sunday have ranged from a morning low of -11 degrees at Yellowstone, Wyo. to a high of 88 degrees at Hollywood, Fla.