A sharp, north-to-south temperature gradient will remain in place during the next few days, with bitterly cold weather confined to the nation’s northern tier and record-setting warmth limited to the Deep South.  Meanwhile, a series of relatively weak weather systems will be followed during the weekend by the arrival of a potent storm along the Pacific Coast.  The Western storm should result in another multi-day period of heavy snow in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada and heavy rain and high winds along the Pacific Coast. 

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