Essex, IA

Weather Underground Forecast for Tuesday, February 14, 2012. Valentine's Day will be greeted by a storm that will begin the day in the Mississippi Valley before moving eastward into the eastern third of the country. In the colder air to the north, snow is expected to fall through the Ohio Valley before moving into the Northeast in the evening. The warmer air to the north will only allow areas of light to moderate rain to form from Louisiana through the Carolinas. By the end of the day, much of the precipitation from this storm will be off the eastern seaboard, leaving warmer air in the Southern Plains and much colder air in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest.

In the West, a storm will track through the Great Basin before slamming into the Rockies, where it will produce much needed high elevation snow. This will not be a tremendous snow producer, but several inches of the white stuff is expected.

Late in the day, a Pacific storm will make its approach to the West Coast. As the storm moves inland, it will instigate rain and high elevation snow in Washington and Oregon. This storm will be the next rain producer for California on Wednesday.

The Northeast will rise in to the 30s and 40s, while the Southeast will see temperatures in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The Northern Plains will rise into the 30s and 40s, while the Northwest will see temperatures in the 30s and 40s.