Strong thunderstorms in the South; Snow in parts of the West

Rain fell in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys early Friday, while snow fell across portions of the Northwest.

Strong to severe thunderstorms containing frequent lightning, heavy downpours, large hail, wind gusts up to 60 mph and isolated tornadoes were forecast for the Deep South, Tennessee Valley and Southeast.

A low pressure system was expected to trigger scattered showers and thunderstorms across the Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

In the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, scattered rain and snow showers were forecast.

A low pressure system was expected to produce snow across portions of Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana with accumulations between 4 to 8 inches.

Partly cloudy skies and calm conditions were expected across most of the Plains, the Rockies, Great Basin and Desert Southwest.

Temperatures in the lower 48 states on Friday ranged from 84 in Homestead, Fla., to -13 in Big Piney, Wyo.

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On the Net:

National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov

Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com

University of Michigan site: http://cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/wxnet