…Unsettled weather along with high elevation snow to impact parts of the
Northwest, Intermountain West, and northern Rockies over the next few
days…
…Below average temperatures forecast across the central and eastern
United States, while summer-like warmth remains over portions of Texas
today and the northern Plain by Wednesday…
The weather pattern over the Lower 48 remains under the influence of a
strong high pressure system forecast to span from the Midwest to Gulf
Coast this week, before gradually settling over the East to end the week.
This will allow for dry conditions over much of the central U.S. and
Southeast, with unsettled weather confined to the peripheries of the high
pressure system. A pair of cold fronts traversing the Northwest and
northern Great Basin will usher in shower chances and high elevation snow
over the next few days. The greatest chances for at least 4 inches of
snowfall currently exist across the Cascades, Yellowstone region of the
northern Rockies, and the northern Utah mountains. Elsewhere, scattered
rain and snow showers are likely throughout parts of the Great Lakes, Ohio
Valley, central Appalachians, and Northeast within potent northwest flow
aided by a strong low pressure system in southeast Canada. Light snowfall
chances are likely to be confined to the higher elevated regions of
northern New England as well as the Adirondacks and central Appalachians.
A mid-October chill will be noticeable across much of the central and
eastern U.S. over the next few days as highs struggle to reach above the
50s for most locations. Low temperatures are also expected to dip well
below average for this time of year and into the 30s, leading to
widespread frost/freeze opportunities between the Midwest and
Mid-Atlantic. These autumn conditions will also reach the Gulf Coast,
Southeast, and much of the Sunshine State by Wednesday as the cold front
sinks southward over the Gulf of Mexico.
Above average and summer-like warmth is expected to linger across parts of
the country as well, with highs into the upper 90s today threatening daily
records throughout central and southeast Texas. However, this warmth will
be short-lived as the aforementioned cold front sinks south and into
northern Mexico by midweek. Warmer temperatures will then shift to the
northern Plains ahead of the western systems and on the northwest side of
the large area of high pressure over the Midwest. This pattern will allow
for warm southerly flow and afternoon temperatures to reach the 70s and
80s (20 to 30 degrees above average for this time of year). The warm
temperatures and low relative humidity when combined with gusty winds and
dry terrain are also forecast to produce critical fire weather conditions
for parts of the central and northern Plains on Wednesday.
Snell
Graphics available at
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php