California Here is the color code: Northeast Winter Storm Radar at 1:42pm. Blue is snow. Salmon is freezing rain. The freezing rain is moving southeast.  At noon Friday the dark orange is accumulating freezing rain -- an ice storm. Pale orange is lesser freezing rain. Dark blue s heavy snow.  At this time (2:50pm EST), the following warnings/watches are out: Deep purple = ice storm warning.  Pink = winter storm warning (snow) Purple = winter weather advisory. An ice storm warning is a serious situation with power failures likely. Please prepare now!

Extreme cold is moving into the Lower 48 states. In addition to travel and  logistics issues, I am concerned about power outages.  No change in this forecast indicated as of 3:30pm CST. The NWS watch/warning maps have been updated.  Above is a forecast of below normal temperatures (i.e., -40.0 = 40°F below normal) for Tuesday night. The extreme cold will move south and east. As of 3:30pm Sunday, here's a depiction of National Weather Service watches/warnings: Color code: Orange = blizzard warning Pink = winter storm warning Light brown = high wind warning  Bright green = flood warning  Dark blue = winter storm watch  Purple = winter weather advisory  Dark brown = high wind advisory  Here is a map of current power failures (3:30pm): There are more than a million people  without power.  Let's focus on the central U.S. as the snow and cold event will cause major  disruptions.  Starting Monday, heavy snow will begin with plummeting...

---- Please note: this forecast has been updated.  The newer forecast is here . ---- --- original forecast below --- A winter storm watch is in effect for much of north Texas and southeast Oklahoma. This is updated from this morning.  The winter storm watch includes the DFW Metroplex as well as Little Rock and Shreveport.  Below are my preliminary snowfall amounts.... The snow in north Texas should begin Thursday afternoon and spread north and east thereafter.  Temperatures are going to be bitterly cold. Please make cold weather preparations now!!

There is an update pertaining to the ice storm here .  Let's begin with an overview: Dark turquoise is a winter storm watch for heavy snow or ice. The purple areas from Iowa to the east are for today's snow. The purple area in Kansas is for freezing rain or drizzle starting Saturday.  Here are snapshots of the forecast storm at various points in time.  Noon Saturday 6am Sunday 6pm Sunday 8am Monday Blue is snow with darker shades of blue corresponding to heavier rates of falling snow. Orange is sleet. Pink and purple are freezing rain with purple indicating a high rate of freezing rain.  Green is rain and yellow/red is thunderstorms.  Accumulation Forecasts Snowfall to 6am Monday With the warm weather of late and the ground being warm (for January), it is uncertain how much of this snow will actually accumulate. Nevertheless, this will be a heavy snow ( ≥ 4") in many areas. It is fair to say that the heavier snow will probably be along and to the north of Inters...

12:35pm Update: While this forecast is still valid,  there is a newer forecast here . A major winter storm is likely in the central U.S. this weekend. Here are some details.  Please take this into account if you are going to travel this weekend. 6am Saturday to 6am Sunday This storm will be moving from northwest to southeast. Most all of this precipitation will be in the form of snow with some sleet possible in Missouri. Not shown on the map is the potential for some freezing rain developing in Kansas Saturday night. 6am Sunday to 6am Monday I have modified this map to pull the potential for freezing rain and/or moderate to heavy snow farther south into Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Some sleet or freezing rain is possible over the southwest third of Missouri. In the rest of the area, moderate to heavy snow is likely.  This storm has the potential to significantly disrupt airline travel at Chicago and, possibly, Detroit.  Below are forecast temperatures (not wind chil...

Please use these forecasts for planning travel! If you are planning to change planes in Minneapolis (Delta Airlines' hub), you may wish to see if they will route you through their hubs in Detroit or another city. While the Minneapolis airport usually does a fine job with snow, this storm is going to test their abilities.  Late data indicates winds may be a bit higher than originally forecast, meaning there will be some drifting of the snow.  Here is the forecast snow to 7pm Monday.  More snow is forecast to fall after that time. The map below is the probability of 4" or more of additional snow until 7am Tuesday.  Below Are Forecast Radar Images The blue represents falling snow, with the darker colors representing heavier snow. This is for 7am Sunday.  7pm Sunday radar. 

It is looking like a winter storm will be developing over the northern Great Plains over the weekend.  Sunday and Sunday Night At lower left is the probability of 4" or more of snow. It is also possible there will be strong winds with this storm. So, I recommend those traveling on I-90 and, especially, I-94 begin looking at alternate routes. Note also the high probability of heavy snow over the Sierra.  Monday and Monday Night With Monday's snow, preliminarily, amounts may be high over parts of Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas. Again, consider the possibility of re-routing a road trip. If you are planning to fly through Minneapolis, you may wish to consider a re-route through Northwest's Detroit hub, if possible.  Update 4:45pm: The National Weather Service is also raising the alarm . 

Pink is a winter storm warning. NYC has a winter storm watch  but I believe it will be upgraded to a warning.  Winds will gust to 35 or even 40 mph through this area, causing drifting of the heavy snow.  I expect NYC to receive at least 6 inches and probably more. 

In addition to the risk of an ice storm in the southern Great Plains, there are two areas where excessive rainfall are forecast to occur. Texas and Louisiana More than seven inches are forecast to fall the next week from near Houston/Galveston to Lake Charles to Alexandra. Normally, I would be predicting flooding but much of that area is extremely dry The reds and browns are the driest.  West Coast The lightest yellow is more than ten inches of precipitation, mostly snow. At lower elevations, more than five inches are forecast to fall as far south as Carmel. This weather system will be far enough south to cause significant rains over the Baja desert.  Above is a map from the NWS which indicates where flooding may occur -- on a scattered basis -- from tomorrow (Saturday) through Monday. 

© 2024 Mike Smith Enterprises, LLC Please bookmark:  www.mikesmithenterprisesblog.com After a quiet weather pattern at the end of December, things will be changing dramatically the next seven days with: Tornadoes Flooding Heavy Snow Let's take things one threat at a time.   Flooding While parts of the Southeast are very dry, Red and brown = very dry the area from Georgia to North Carolina, where more than five inches (orange) are forecast to fall, may see significant flooding, especially if a third storm forecast beyond the 9th, produces additional heavy rain. Note the heavy (for January) precipitation forecast from southeast Colorado, across Kansas and the Ozarks and into the Midwest. Much of that may fall as heavy snow. See below.  Tornadoes This is preliminary  outlook as to where tornadoes and severe thunderstorms may occur (yellow) Monday and Monday night. While it is very likely the threat may shift a bit as Monday approaches, even though it is January, y...