…Heavy rain and severe weather threats shifting east toward the
Arklatex, Mid-Mississippi Valley, and into the Midwest/Ohio Valley today…
…Mountain snow and wind will spread south from the northern Rockies
today, reaching into much of the central Rockies and Four Corners on
Wednesday into Thursday morning…
…Watching South Florida and especially the Florida Keys for impacts
associated with Tropical Storm Rafael forecast to become a hurricane as it
enters the southern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday…
…Above average temperatures approaching record levels will spread across
the Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes, and East Coast…
The weather system that has sustained the heavy rain and severe weather
across the south-central U.S. for the past couple of days is beginning to
advance farther east. This is in response to a low pressure system
consolidating along the trailing front as supported by the final pieces of
energy of the deep upper trough reaching into the southern Plains. The
threats of heavy rain and severe weather today are shifting farther east
toward the Mississippi Valley this morning ahead of the front. As the low
pressure center tracks farther north across the upper Midwest today and
then into the Great Lakes by tonight, the heavy rain threat across the
Mississippi Valley will gradually lessen. The front is forecast to become
nearly stationary across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys by Wednesday with
scattered showers and thunderstorms remaining in the vicinity into
Thursday morning.
Focus will then shift into the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Storm Rafael is
forecast to track across western Cuba on Wednesday as a hurricane. The
Florida Keys will likely be closest to the path of Rafael with increasing
winds amid passing squally downpours associated with rainbands from Rafael
by later on Wednesday into Thursday morning. Please refer to the National
Hurricane Hurricane for the latest advisories on Rafael. Some moderate to
heavy rainfall well ahead of Rafael could move into the Southeast by
Wednesday night and continue into Thursday morning.
Weather out West is getting active again as another strong upper level
trough quickly digs across. A cold front and attendant low pressure system
have already traversed the Pacific Northwest. In addition to winter
weather across the mountains that has prompted winter weather advisories
and storm warnings, strong winds accompanying the low have also prompted
high wind warnings for the interior Pacific Northwest and portions of
Montana and Wyoming. The front will dip farther south into the southern
Rockies by Wednesday and then across the central and southern Plains by
Thursday morning. A round of new snow is expected to blanket much of the
Four Corners region behind the strong front. Temperatures will plunge as
an arctic air mass invades the region. Highs will be in the 30s and 40s
across the valleys and lows may approach the single digits in the cool
spots. Make sure to bundle up.
Kong/Wilder
Graphics available at
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php