Weather pattern outlook through February

A major surge of Arctic air is expected to expand southward through Canada into the United States late this week and through the weekend, then it will expand east and west through the first week of February.

Based on what I am seeing now, I think the first 12 days of February will have the best chance of accumulating snow events along the U.S. East Coast and up into parts of Atlantic Canada. The pattern would seem to favor storms tracking up near or just offshore with enough cold air in place. Also, the time of year (early/mid-February) is when we typically see our best chances of bigger snow events along the coast.

As we get into the third and fourth week of February, it looks like the core of the cold retreats into far northeastern Canada with milder, Pacific air gaining steam across southern Canada and the Lower 48 states.

Spring leaf out across the Gulf Coast region of the southern U.S. has already begun, which is about two to three weeks ahead of schedule. It looks like much of the far southern U.S. will remain warmer than normal into February.