A pattern change developing later this week will bring welcome rain and mountain snow to drought-stricken areas of the West while also opening the door for an active storm track into the central and eastern U.S.

Parts of southeast California as well as Arizona and New Mexico will pick up rain and mountain snow from a low-pressure system tracking across those locations through Thursday. But a much larger weather pattern change will take shape as we head toward the weekend.

High-pressure aloft near the West Coast will migrate westward toward the central Pacific over the next few days. That will allow multiple weather systems to dive southward into the West from the Gulf of Alaska late this week into early next week.

Given the cold origin of these systems, they likely won't produce widespread, heavy amounts of rain and snow. However, any moisture these systems provide to California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, western Colorado and New Mexico is welcome given the widespread long-term drought and well below-average snowpack.

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