US

Weather Underground midday recap for Monday, December 21, 2009.

The country saw mild weather on Monday, which gave a short break from wintry weather conditions. A weak low pressure system hovered over the Great Lakes and brought cool conditions to the region. With just a bit of moisture present near the Great Lakes, the region saw light and scattered snowfall. Michigan and New York saw less than an inch of total snowfall accumulation on Monday. Highs remained in the 20s in most areas of the Northeast and Great Lakes regions.

Meanwhile to the south, high pressure build in over the Mid- and Lower Mississippi River Valley and stretched eastward to the East Coast. This brought mostly sunny skies and pleasant weather, but remained on the chilly side with highs in the mid-50s. The Southern Plains also remained sunny and temperatures reached into the 60s. However, the Northern and Central Plains saw increasingly cloudy skies as a trough built in over the High Plains. This brought a threat for snow and wintry weather, but precipitation has not yet initiated.

Further West, a low pressure system moved into the Pacific Northwest and triggered scattered showers throughout the day with light sprinkles stretching into Northern California. Seattle, Washington reported 0.40 inches of rain, while snowfall in the Cascades ranged from 2-4 inches.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Monday have ranged from a morning low of -9 degrees at Gunnison, Colo. to a midday high of 75 degrees at Harlingen, Texas.