Warm Weekend; Northern Rockies Winter Storm Next Week

Most of the U.S. will see a mostly dry, sunny and generally pleasant weekend with seasonal to above‑seasonal highs (roughly the 50s into the 80s), including low‑80s in parts of the inland Bay Area and South Florida and pockets of near‑record warmth in parts of Texas and the south‑central U.S. A ridge or benign surface conditions will keep coastal and inland areas warmer than normal through Monday–Tuesday with morning coastal fog/stratus before afternoon clearing. A more substantial pattern change early next week — as cold fronts and low pressure arrive — will bring showers, cooler highs (into the 40s–60s) and gusty winds in affected areas, with scattered inland or afternoon/evening rain for parts of Florida and some central coasts. Hazards to watch include elevated rip‑current risk along South Florida beaches, a Caribbean tropical wave being monitored by the National Hurricane Center, a small chance of brief spin‑ups/landspouts in parts of Oregon this weekend, and the possibility of patchy frost or first freezes in parts of Nebraska and some inland valleys early next week. A cut‑off low could produce nocturnal convection or thunderstorms along the central California coast Tuesday night, and a larger Pacific/Gulf of Alaska system may return rain to parts of the West and northern California next weekend. A potent storm is forecast for the northern Rockies and Montana early next week, bringing mountain rain, heavy high‑elevation snow, strong winds and winter advisories before a midweek warming trend.