A major winter storm is moving east from the Plains and it’s primed to upend weather patterns over a large swath of the United States. Following a weekend of relative calm, California is still recovering from the aftermath of heavy rains, flash flooding, and mudslides that accompanied recent storms. Tragically, these incidents resulted in the death of at least four people. One of these victims was a man who had been discovered inside his partly submerged car close to Lancaster.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has already warned that widespread whiteout conditions, if not blizzard conditions, are expected across the upper Midwest. That’s because an exceptionally powerful cyclone across the plains is driving the current storm system. It is expected to bring blizzard-like conditions and treacherous weather conditions across the Midwest and Great Lakes regions.
As the cyclone makes landfall, parts of northern New Jersey might get upwards of a foot of snow. Along the south shore of the Lake Superior, accumulations might even exceed 2 feet (60 cm). Besides heavy snow, the storm will produce damaging widespread strong winds during the next 48 hours. More freezing rain is headed New England’s way. Along with dry winds will come the potential for severe thunderstorms to erupt, especially in the eastern U.S. and areas farther south.
As the National Weather Service’s Bob Oravec explained, this is particularly complicated storm system.
“Part of the storm system is getting heavy snow, other parts of the storm along the cold front are getting higher winds and much colder temperatures as the front passes,” – Bob Oravec
Record highs in Little Rock came close to 70°F (21°C) on Sunday. By Monday, those highs are forecast to drop all the way to the mid-30s. On Sunday, even Atlanta was quite balmy, with a high near 72°F (22°C). Deeper, chillier air is on the way.
Oravec went on to explain the storm’s multifaceted effects throughout the country.
“They’re all related to each other – different parts of the country will be receiving different effects from this storm.” – Bob Oravec
Anyone in the South should prepare for an intense shock in temperature. The next cold front is expected to come through late Sunday night into Monday. This change marks a significant return to relatively normal winter weather after a relatively warm winter season.
“We’re definitely going back towards a more winter pattern,” – Bob Oravec