The nation's weather

Weather Underground midday recap for Wednesday, March 13, 2013. Bookend storms moved through the country Wednesday. A storm exited the Northeast, allowing morning rain to gradually diminish as the storm itself moved into the Canadian Maritimes. Behind this storm, some moisture along with a weak cold front moved through the Ohio Valley and produced scattered snow showers from Illinois through Pennsylvania.

Elsewhere, moist Pacific air continued to stream into the Northwest, renewing rain and some high elevation snow. The excess rainfall prompted Flood Watches in western Washington. Additional rainfall over the next few days could continue to create flooding concerns in Washington as the region is set to receive several more inches.

Elsewhere, a high pressure system continued to build over the West Coast and Southwest, creating some of the warmest temperatures of the year thus far. Afternoon temperatures in the 70s and 80s were widespread in the Southwest, with some areas hitting the lower 90s. These temperatures were expected to increase further Thursday as the high pressure system builds.

The Northeast rose into the 30s and 40s, while the Southeast saw a range of temperatures from the 40s in Tennessee to the 70s in Florida. The Northwest rose into the 50s and 60s, while the Southern Plains saw temperatures in the 70s.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday have ranged from a morning low of -18 degrees at Langdon, N.D. to a midday high of 90 degrees at Thermal, Calif.