An intense, compact center of low pressure tracked across the lower Ohio Valley on Friday bringing heavy snow, flooding rains, and severe weather from the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes to the Appalachians. The barometric pressure at Paducah, KY dropped to a record low 28.88” as the storm’s center passed overhead. Non-thunderstorm induced winds were impressive with gusts topping 60 mph from central Illinois to Tennessee. Heavy snow stayed immediately S-E of Chicago, focusing on northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Much calmer weather is slated for the weekend as the fast-moving system heads across the Northeast. Winter Storm Warnings are in place from upstate New York to down-east Maine. Our weekend weather will feature mild conditions as well, with temps across the metro area forecast to run 3 to 5 degrees above normal over the two-day period.