…Severe Weather outbreak probable across Mississippi Valley and parts of
Ohio/Tennessee Valleys on Friday…
…Storm system brings unsettled weather to the West…
…Critical Fire Weather Risk over parts of the Southern Plains for the
rest of the week…
…Warm temperatures across the Central and Eastern U.S….
A powerful upper trough will bring damaging winds, heavy mountain snow,
heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures to much of the West through the end
of this week. Heavy snow and powerful wind gusts of 40-70 mph below many
major passes will create dangerous to potentially impossible travel
conditions across the Sierra Nevada and northern California higher terrain
today. An additional 1-2+ feet of snow which, along with high winds, could
cause scattered power outages. Additionally, heavy rain may cause flash
flooding across portions of southern California through tonight. Heavy
snow above 5000 feet and strong winds will cause widespread hazardous
travel in the southern Intermountain West and Rockies today and Friday.
Rapid strengthening of the system as it tracks northeast over the Great
Plains Friday to Saturday will result in widespread high winds with
increasing coverage of snow. Areas of blowing snow and possibly blizzard
conditions may cause dangerous travel due to low visibility. A wintry mix
is also possible for parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota.
The aforementioned system that brings blizzard conditions to the Plains on
Friday is also expected to produce a severe weather outbreak across much
of the Mississippi Valley and parts of the western Ohio/Tennessee Valleys.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a Moderate Risk (level 4/5) of Severe
Thunderstorms across eastern Missouri, far southeast Iowa, central and
southern Illinois, far western Kentucky, far northwest Tennessee and
extreme northeast Arkansas, where widespread damaging winds (some greater
than 65 kts), several tornadoes (some strong) and large hail will all be
possible late Friday afternoon and evening. This sprawling and dynamic
system will also pull warm, dry air from the Desert Southwest into the
Southern Plains where tightening pressure gradient will generate strong
winds and the potential for fire weather. The Storm Prediction Center
issued Critical Fire Weather Risk area across much of the Southern Plains
through the weekend as a result. Red Flag warnings and High Wind Warnings
are also in effect for much of the Southern High Plains.
Deep southerly flow into the Plains out ahead of the emerging dynamic
system will lead to potentially record breaking temperatures for parts of
the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest and southeast Texas through Friday.
High temperatures in the 60s and 70s over the Upper Midwest and Northern
Plains will represent 20-40 degree departures from average. Highs in the
80s and 90s over Texas will represent 20-30 degree anomalies. This warm
air pushes into the East Coast this weekend. High temperatures remain well
below average in the West beneath the amplified upper trough late this
week.
Kebede
Graphics available at
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php
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