The storm that arrives late tonight looks to produce a lot of precipitation, but even with temperatures below freezing, no snow is expected.

As the storm approaches from the south, the winds between 2,500 and 4,000 feet will also be from the south, bringing tremendous amounts of warm air in.  Temperatures at that altitude will be between 40 and 50 degrees during most of the storm.  Down here at ground level, the wind does not look to be as strong, and the direction of the wind will be much more from the east (or even northeast to start).

So, as snow falls into that warm layer from above, it melts into rain.  That rain then freezes on surfaces upon contact, and produces a glaze here at the ground.

The worst travel period with the storm will likely be between 5:00am and 10:00am Friday.  As the morning goes on, the precipitation intensity will also pick up, but we are optimistic that temperatures will begin to climb above freezing by midday.  Even with the sky cloudy, there should be enough energy from the sun getting through to allow pavement temperatures to creep above the freezing mark, although many elevated surfaces (power lines, decks, cars, pine needles) will still have a crust of ice on them.

Once the storm passes, the weekend looks nice: dry with afternoon highs in the 50s.  Beyond the storm Friday, we see another chance for rain in the Tuesday night to Wednesday window.  Temperatures will then be closer to normal towards the end of next week, but no bitter cold looks to break into the state for about another 10 days.

Sean Sublette