The cold is in place across the Rockies and central states and will continue to move into the South and East behind the cold front. Lows Friday morning will be in the single digits from the northern and central Rockies (perhaps even a few below zero readings in the mountain valleys) to western Upper Michigan, Wisconsin and northwest Illinois. The teens will extend from the Texas/Oklahoma Panhandles to Lower Michigan and the 20s will extend from the remainder of west Texas and the western and northern suburbs of Dallas to the Northeast. During the day Friday, highs will be 5 to 20 degrees below average from the southern Plains to Maine which means a range from the teens in the Upper Midwest to the middle 50s along the central Gulf Coast at New Orleans and Mobile.

Snow will last into tonight across eastern Colorado and western Kansas. Denver could see totals of 2 to possibly 4 inches.

Lake effect snow is already piling up over Upper Michigan and northern Lower Michigan. By Friday morning, the most favored areas could total near one foot of snow.

Meanwhile, the lake effect will develop off of the eastern Great Lakes tonight and Friday. Locally in northwest Pennsylvania and southwest New York, totals could reach 5 to 10 inches. East of Lake Ontario in the Tug Hill Plateau, totals could exceed one foot.