There are lots of great weather resources on the internet. One of the best is the Forecast Discussions that the local national weather service offices post several times a day.
They are a little meteorology heavy but most of it is written in plain english. Here is my favorite snippet from this evenings Des Moines Posting.
OUTGOING STORM TOTAL SNOWFALLS NOW
RANGE FROM AROUND 6 INCHES IN THE SOUTHEAST...TO 9 TO 13 INCHES
CENTRAL...AND 14 TO 17 INCHES IN OUR FAR WESTERN AND NORTHWESTERN
COUNTIES. AT FIRST BLUSH THESE AMOUNTS APPEAR A BIT HIGH BUT ONE
MUST REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE 84-PLUS HOUR TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS. THERE
REMAINS SOME QUESTION AS TO WHETHER ANY OF THE CENTRAL AREAS WILL BE
ABLE TO GET 6 INCH SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN ANY 12 HOUR WINDOW THUS
MEETING
WARNING CRITERIA. THERE ARE ALSO QUESTIONS OF WHETHER OR NOT
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN OUR
CWA. HOWEVER...IT
APPEARS THAT THE CONSOLIDATED SURFACE LOW WILL STALL SOMEWHERE OVER
OUR AREA FOR MANY HOURS FROM FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY WHICH MAY
RESULT IN WEAKER WINDS OVER MUCH OF THE AREA.
National Weather Service Text Product Display