The western United States has hardly seen a break in the last many weeks after being hit by record rain and snow from Washington down to California. The cumulative effect of all that rain and snow will increase the threat of floods and avalanches.
The Northwest Avalanche Center in Seattle warns that large natural avalanches will occur at all heights of Cascades, Olympics and Mount Hood. The center also warns that it is not recommended to travel back to the country at this time.
The rain and snow are very useful in mitigating drought conditions, but too much in a short time is far from helpful.
“All in all, this rain, combined with the melting snow from the coastal mountains and to some extent the lower slopes of the Cascades, will push many rivers upward, with some potentially reaching close to the flood stage,” the Portland National Weather Service said in Oregon.
Southern snow equals travel problems
After a very mild Christmas week in large parts of the southern United States, the new year is trying to give winter a comeback.
“Today, a wave of low pressure is expected to develop along the Arctic front draped across the deep south,” the Weather Prediction Center said Thursday morning. “The combination of snow and ice can cause dangerous road conditions tonight in this region.”
“Like the low tracks through the southeast today, heavy snowfall is expected to develop over parts of the Tennessee Valley to the central Appalachians, with some ice further south across parts of southern / eastern Tennessee and northern Mississippi / Alabama,” the prediction center added.
This will also not only be a light dusting of snow. Some mid-south cities may end up with half a foot of snow before this system moves out.
“An area with heavy snow, with speeds on the order of 1-2+ inches per hour, could develop and spread parts of the west through mid-Tennessee, including much of the Greater Nashville metropolitan area,” the Storm Prediction Center said Thursday.
Generally, areas in a winter road advice will look between 1 to 3 inches. Locations in the winter storm warning areas are likely to see between 4 and 7 inches.
The main timeline for the snow in the middle of the south begins Thursday morning and continues into the late afternoon. Some showers may continue through the evening hours as the wind picks up along the exit of the storm system.
Thursday night, the system begins to shift into the Mid-Atlantic region.
“Either way, with cold temperatures in place and accumulating snow, conditions will worsen as precipitation begins,” the Baltimore Weather Service said. “Although it is a short-lived event, snowfall rates are around 1 inch per hour (due to the snow) likely, and this will cause snow-covered and slippery roads to develop rapidly in most areas. Snow can mix with a little sleet / rain at first across our extreme southern zones in central VA and southern MD, but if there is a mix it will change to snow. ”
Even more snow north
Friday morning, the low-pressure system will move off the Mid-Atlantic coast and quickly begin to deepen offshore, causing accumulating snow to spread from the Mid-Atlantic Sea into the Northeast.
“The storm track for an approaching low-pressure system is starting to become clearer,” the NWS office in Boston said. “At this point, it looks like this system will pass just south and east of the 40N / 70W benchmark. This will support the accumulation of snowfall throughout almost all of southern New England.”
However, there are some uncertainties. The NWS office in New York points out that any shift in the trail of the storm will change the amount of snowfall. For example, if the trail moves a little closer to shore, it may increase the volume, especially over Long Island and southern Connecticut, but a trail slightly to the east out to sea may result in smaller volumes.
Another question mark on the weather forecast will be whether heavier snow bands, such as snow showers, develop.
The same low pressure system will also generate gusts across the northeast as we head into the weekend.
It may be January, but the big lakes do not know. They are still quite warm, relatively speaking, and this means that the sea power snow will also be in full gear as yet another low-pressure system slides past the region.
“A low-pressure system that rises into eastern Canada will allow for heavy snow effects when cool westerly winds blow over the still relatively warm lakes,” the WPC said. “Favorable locations below the lakes could see 6 to 12 inches of snow Saturday morning, with locally higher amounts.”
The polar spring
In the southeast, the snow usually melts as fast as it comes, so one should not have a long time to enjoy it. In this case, the snow will linger thanks to the temperatures that take a dive in the pole.
“Less daytime temperatures will engulf the northern plains today, while temperatures as much as 20-25 degrees below normal will disperse the central plains, parts of the southern plains and east into the Midwest and the Ohio Valley on Friday,” the WPC said. . .
Even cities as far south as Atlanta, Memphis, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama, are unlikely to get over the freezing point of high temperatures on Friday.
East of the Rockies, below-average temperatures will extend all the way from the Canadian border down to the Gulf Coast, except for Florida.
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