Forecasts for Tropical Storms in the Mid-Atmospheric River, as seen by the CNN Weather Brief, on Thursday, December 5. Cold Fronts from the East Coast to the Northeast
Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, the CNN Weather Brief, which is released every Monday. You can get them every week or during storms.
Most days, highs on the East Coast are usually in the 50s and 60s, but next weekend will be only in the 40s and 50s from the Great Lakes to the Northeast.
“A more active fall weather pattern is expected to evolve by the end of this week and continuing into the weekend as a couple of cold fronts move across the central and eastern states,” the Weather Prediction Center said.
The Weather Prediction Center has a slight risk of excessive rainfall for much of the Northeast and New England on Thursday, including places like New York City, Buffalo and Burlington, so we will have to look out for flash flooding in these areas.
Up to two inches of rain could be brought on by the front, and isolated locations could see even more.
The weather service office in Grand Rapids noted that there is a chance for some spots to see around one inch of rain by Wednesday night, it’s the first substantial rain in at least a couple of weeks.
An atmospheric river is a large stream of water off the Pacific Ocean. Similar to a fire hose, it shoots moisture into one area for an extended period of time, resulting in very heavy rain or snow.
The North Dakota Winter Storm is Expected to Enable Difficulties for Travelers Monday Through Thursday, and the Northeast is Predicted to Infer Tuesday through Thursday
“A winter storm is expected to impact the Northern Plains Monday night through Thursday,” the National Weather Service office in Bismarck, North Dakota said. “Difficult travel conditions are expected Monday night through Wednesday night from heavy snow, reduced visibility, and drifting snow.”
Most coastal communities will pick up 1 to 3 inches of rain through the weekend, and some areas of northern and central California could receive 3 to 5 inches of rain in total. Coastal erosion and flooded roadways will be the main concerns.
Winds will also be a concern for California, with gusts of up to 40 mph in the valleys, 50 mph for coastal areas, and potentially even higher gusts forecast for exposed coastal headlands, mountaintops, and ridges.
Most heavy snowfall – a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour – is expected to end Saturday night, with snow showers possibly persisting through Sunday. Snow totals in Maine could reach up to 2 feet, the weather service said early Saturday. The Northeast is expected to be clear of the storm by the end of the weekend.
It will be very difficult to travel in these areas due to icy roads and whiteout conditions. Power outages will also be possible due to very strong winds.
MatthewElliott, a senior forecaster at the Storm Prediction Center, told CNN that tornadoes in December are fairly uncommon when compared to the spring, but are more likely across portions of the Southeast and Lower Mississippi Valley.
The greatest flash flooding threat will be from the lower Mississippi Valley into the central Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians from Tuesday into Wednesday.
“The details regarding the areas most at risk from tornadoes will become clearer as the event approaches and smaller-scale trends become more evident,” Elliott said.
Travel through the area is likely to be nearly impossible on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Interstates in South Dakota could become impassable amid the blizzard conditions, resulting in roadway closures across the state, the South Dakota Department of Transportation warned Monday.
In Minnesota, the National Weather Service issued various winter weather alerts, including a winter storm warning, an ice storm warning and a winter weather advisory. The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a statement Monday that the winter season could impact travel all week.
According to the spokesman for the mayor’s office, the snowstorms that have hit the city over the last week brought anywhere from 30 to 45 inches of snow.
A Monstrous Storm System Hits the Midwest and High-Slopes of the U.S. Thursday, Dec. 10.2 and Sunday
These areas need the moisture and have seen great relief to drought conditions in the past week. Tennessee went from 98% of the state to being at 42% this week.
The monstrous storm that walloped much of the US this week has now brought nor’easter conditions as it moves across New York and New England ahead of the weekend.
Millions of people in the Northeast are under winter weather warnings Friday because of the storm system, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned locals about the dangerous road conditions.
“We urge everyone in the impacted regions to avoid unnecessary travel tonight and tomorrow,” Hochul said in a Thursday statement. Make sure you and your loved ones remain vigilant by working from home if possible, and stay off the roads.
In neighboring Pennsylvania, state transportation officials implored drivers to avoid unnecessary travel due to the low visibility caused by wind and heavy snow.
The storm system has left a path of destruction across the country, causing severe weather to affect different parts of the US.
Poweroutage.us indicated that the storm left about 100,000 homes and businesses in the dark across Minnesota,Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania, early Friday.
Elsewhere, the same storm system hitting the Northeast delivered tornadoes earlier this week to several southern states. Since Tuesday, there have been tornadoes reported in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma.
The storm brought about an inch of ice to the mountains of Maryland and West Virginia, and less than a tenth of an inch to parts of Virginia.
Powerful winds whirled by blizzard conditions knocked down power lines in the Upper Midwest as temperatures in some areas plummeted to near or below freezing, leaving thousands without proper heating.
Farmerville, Louisiana, Authorities notified the National Weather Service on Saturday afternoon after a tornado struck the village of Little, Nikolus
Meanwhile in Louisiana, Yoshiko A. Smith, 30, and her 8-year-old son, Nikolus Little, were killed Tuesday when a tornado struck Caddo Parish and destroyed their home, local officials said.
A tornado with 140 mph winds traveled through Farmerville, Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service. At least 20 people were injured, and the tornado demolished parts of an apartment complex and a mobile home park, Farmerville Police Detective Cade Nolan said.
The heavy snow that fell on Friday caused havoc with the power grid in several states, including Vermont and New Hampshire. Forecasters have been pointing out that places with higher elevations were more likely to see heavier snow.
Vermont is currently suffering the most outages per capita, as nearly 40,000 homes and businesses – roughly 10% of the state’s total – remained without electricity as of 4 a.m. ET Saturday, according to Poweroutage.us.
Vermont state police advised drivers to slow down after a lot of car crashes on Friday. The roads were shut down because of the storm impact.
More than 24 inches of snow was recorded over a 36 hour period in the Vermont town of Wilmette, according to the weather service.
“We are watching two different weather events right now – one producing rain and snow this morning for most of the state, and the other has the potential to bring several feet of snow in the Tug Hill Plateau and areas along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario,” said Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
Plus, up to 2 feet of snow can accumulate in areas near or south of Buffalo, New York. The weather service said the snow bands are likely to be very narrow and will lead to drastically changing conditions over a short distance.
“Snow showers are gradually coming to an end across the region with only light scattered snow showers expected through Saturday morning,” the weather service said.