A storm system over the Rockies and Southwest promises blizzard conditions and severe weather across the eastern half of the country over the next few days.
The FOX Forecast Center expects a band of heavy snow to fall from Missouri to Michigan, with severe thunderstorms possible from Texas through the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic.
Just like the last two storm systems, major cities in the Northeast will miss out on seeing accumulating snow, with temperatures too warm to support freezing precipitation along the coast, but it will be a much different story along the Great Lakes.
The storm system has produced blizzard conditions in several mountains of the Pacific Northwest and triggered deadly avalanches in California.
Major impacts are expected to begin late Thursday across the Plains and last until the storm system enters Canada and off the East Coast on Saturday.
Winter weather effects
Snow is expected to be lightest on the Plains and increase in coverage and intensity across the Great Lakes.
Storms across the Rockies will create a pack of heavy snow from Missouri to Michigan. The Washington Post via Getty Images
The first flakes are expected to start flying Thursday, with Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Indianapolis all seeing accumulating snow by Friday.
Forecast models show some communities in the Great Lakes could pick up double-digit snow accumulations with wind gusts greater than 40 mph.
The Chicago area was placed under a Winter Storm Watch on Thursday and local National Weather Service meteorologists warned that blizzard conditions were likely in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana Friday afternoon into Saturday morning.
Computer model runs show the heaviest snow will occur from northern Illinois through Wisconsin and Michigan, where more than a foot of new powder is possible.
Snow is expected to be lightest on the Plains and increase in coverage and intensity across the Great Lakes.
Millions of residents from the Plains through the Great Lakes are under winter weather warnings.
The combination of heavy snow and high winds could make travel impossible along the I-80 corridor, with freezing precipitation making it as far south as Interstate 40.
Cities like Chicago and Detroit are poised to at least double their snow accumulation for the season. The Windy City has only reported around 6″ of snow since Dec. 1, and Detroit has only seen a paltry 1.1″ of snow.
As warm air becomes dominant, south of Interstate 40, communities have a chance of seeing strong to severe storms.
Effects of severe weather
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has highlighted areas in the South several days before the actual storm system arrives, meaning certainty is high for the threat of damaging winds and tornadoes on Thursday and Friday.
More than a foot of new powder is available from northern Illinois through Wisconsin and Michigan. AP
Thursday’s highest threat zone is centered in East Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The SPC has placed the region at level 2 out of 5 on its thunderstorm risk scale.
On Friday, the threat zone is expected to advance eastward and stretch from Mississippi through North Carolina.
Forecasters warned that due to the prevailing instability, the atmosphere may be more conducive to the development of supercell thunderstorms than those experienced earlier this week, which featured more linear storm structures.
Discrete cells are known to produce stronger tornadoes than those associated with squall lines, leading to more widespread wind damage.
Thursday’s highest threat zone is centered in East Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
“Discrete thunderstorms are always a big concern because they can make strong tornadoes,” Merwin said. “It’s like coming to a buffet and you have one person. These discrete thunderstorms can consume all the energy in the atmosphere.”
Communities like Dothan, Alabama; Panama City, Florida; and Claremont, North Carolina, which was hit hard during Tuesday’s severe weather outbreak, were included in the threat zone on Friday.
However, the SPC places areas of southeast Alabama, central Georgia, including Atlanta, and the Carolinas at a level 3 out of 5 on its thunderstorm risk scale.
“But the subtropical jets, because of the El Niño phase, allow this to rip and roar and stay active in the South,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Steve Bender said.
Arctic air follows
Behind the frontal boundary will be the coldest air of the season, dropping temperatures to around 0 degrees as far south as Missouri and values reaching at least -30 degrees along the US-Canada border.
Passengers wait for a bus in Chicago as it snows. The Washington Post via Getty Images
As the next work week progresses, the arctic air mass is expected to spread south and east, but questions remain about the permanent pattern of the cold air.
Will the cold air persist for a long period, or will the air mass moderate, giving only a little winter punch?
This detail is important because if cold air masses have staying power, it is very likely that future storm systems will be able to tap into and produce snow in areas with historic deficits.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
