AccuWeather forecasters watching out for a big storm next week
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 10, 2022 1:51 PM EDT
|
Updated Feb 12, 2022 6:10 AM EDT
A major shift in the weather pattern for the eastern United States will bring above-normal temperatures next week, as heat eases in the West along with some much-needed moisture. However, the pattern transition won’t come without consequences. A big storm will take shape in the nation’s midsection along the stark temperature contrast. Some places could get snow while others could face an outbreak of severe weather.
Over the past four to six weeks, a southward dip in the jet stream in the East and a northward bulge in the jet stream in the West has been dominant. The pattern has allowed for periodic cold and stormy conditions in the Eastern states and mainly dry and warm conditions west of the Rockies.
That will change next week.
The jet stream pattern that will persist into this weekend will do a 180-degree flip. A northward bulge will set up in the East and a southward dip will develop in the West next week.
Even though many portions of the Southern and Eastern states have experienced some mild days with temperatures reaching the 30s, 40s and 50s F, the warm surge slated for the latter half of next week can add 10-20 degrees to those highs and result in widespread temperatures reaching the 50s, 60s and 70s next Thursday and Friday. In much of the Northeast, the highest temperatures since December are possible.
Average highs for the middle of February range from 57 in Atlanta to 47 in Washington, D.C., 41 in New York City and 38 in Boston.
Meanwhile, record-challenging warmth west of the Rockies from this week will be swapped with more typical highs ranging from 30s in the mountains to the 60s and low 70s in coastal Southern California. Portions of the Southwest may experience their lowest temperatures since December by late next week.
The dip in temperatures will be accompanied by sporadic rain in low-elevations and light to moderate snow in the mountains from the Cascades in the Northwest to the Sierra Nevada in California and eastward into the central and southern Rockies.
The new jet stream configuration will pave the way for a major storm to develop over the southern Plains and Rockies. Then, it will ride northeastward over the Central states to the Great Lakes region during the middle and latter part of next week. As the storm takes shape east of the Rockies, it will pull in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, helping to fuel precipitation that will fall in different forms.
On the storm’s cold northwestern side, a stripe of moderate to heavy snow with difficult travel is likely to extend from near the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma to portions of Wisconsin and Michigan and perhaps Chicago. Snow could lead to a slippery travel zone across the middle of the country, spanning portions of interstates 29, 35, 70, 80, 90 and 94. The winter weather could also impact shipping.
A narrow zone or pockets of ice can occur just south and east of the snow area over the southern Plains and just ahead of the advancing storm in parts of the Midwest and perhaps the northern tier of the Northeast.
Since the air is likely to be warm at the onset of the storm compared to the cross-country storm in early February, rain will fall instead of snow and ice from much of the southern Plains and middle Mississippi and Tennessee valleys.
On the storm's warmer and southeastern flank from portions of eastern Texas and Louisiana southern Michigan and parts of the central Appalachians and Northeast, heavy rain is likely with the greatest risk of localized flooding expected across portions of the central and lower Mississippi Valley as well as portions of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
Thunderstorms that develop in part of the South Central states could also become severe, with the potential for tornadoes to touch down.
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At this early stage, there is a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms erupting from portions of central Texas to central and eastern Oklahoma next Wednesday, and that threat is likely to shift or expand eastward next Thursday across the lower Mississippi Valley, AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Michaela Heeren said.
AccuWeather meteorologists will continue to monitor the national weather pattern change and the potential for a major storm to take shape in the central U.S. in the coming days.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather Forecasts
AccuWeather forecasters watching out for a big storm next week
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 10, 2022 1:51 PM EDT | Updated Feb 12, 2022 6:10 AM EDT
A major shift in the weather pattern for the eastern United States will bring above-normal temperatures next week, as heat eases in the West along with some much-needed moisture. However, the pattern transition won’t come without consequences. A big storm will take shape in the nation’s midsection along the stark temperature contrast. Some places could get snow while others could face an outbreak of severe weather.
Over the past four to six weeks, a southward dip in the jet stream in the East and a northward bulge in the jet stream in the West has been dominant. The pattern has allowed for periodic cold and stormy conditions in the Eastern states and mainly dry and warm conditions west of the Rockies.
That will change next week.
The jet stream pattern that will persist into this weekend will do a 180-degree flip. A northward bulge will set up in the East and a southward dip will develop in the West next week.
Even though many portions of the Southern and Eastern states have experienced some mild days with temperatures reaching the 30s, 40s and 50s F, the warm surge slated for the latter half of next week can add 10-20 degrees to those highs and result in widespread temperatures reaching the 50s, 60s and 70s next Thursday and Friday. In much of the Northeast, the highest temperatures since December are possible.
Average highs for the middle of February range from 57 in Atlanta to 47 in Washington, D.C., 41 in New York City and 38 in Boston.
Meanwhile, record-challenging warmth west of the Rockies from this week will be swapped with more typical highs ranging from 30s in the mountains to the 60s and low 70s in coastal Southern California. Portions of the Southwest may experience their lowest temperatures since December by late next week.
The dip in temperatures will be accompanied by sporadic rain in low-elevations and light to moderate snow in the mountains from the Cascades in the Northwest to the Sierra Nevada in California and eastward into the central and southern Rockies.
The new jet stream configuration will pave the way for a major storm to develop over the southern Plains and Rockies. Then, it will ride northeastward over the Central states to the Great Lakes region during the middle and latter part of next week. As the storm takes shape east of the Rockies, it will pull in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, helping to fuel precipitation that will fall in different forms.
On the storm’s cold northwestern side, a stripe of moderate to heavy snow with difficult travel is likely to extend from near the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma to portions of Wisconsin and Michigan and perhaps Chicago. Snow could lead to a slippery travel zone across the middle of the country, spanning portions of interstates 29, 35, 70, 80, 90 and 94. The winter weather could also impact shipping.
A narrow zone or pockets of ice can occur just south and east of the snow area over the southern Plains and just ahead of the advancing storm in parts of the Midwest and perhaps the northern tier of the Northeast.
Since the air is likely to be warm at the onset of the storm compared to the cross-country storm in early February, rain will fall instead of snow and ice from much of the southern Plains and middle Mississippi and Tennessee valleys.
On the storm's warmer and southeastern flank from portions of eastern Texas and Louisiana southern Michigan and parts of the central Appalachians and Northeast, heavy rain is likely with the greatest risk of localized flooding expected across portions of the central and lower Mississippi Valley as well as portions of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
Thunderstorms that develop in part of the South Central states could also become severe, with the potential for tornadoes to touch down.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
At this early stage, there is a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms erupting from portions of central Texas to central and eastern Oklahoma next Wednesday, and that threat is likely to shift or expand eastward next Thursday across the lower Mississippi Valley, AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Michaela Heeren said.
AccuWeather meteorologists will continue to monitor the national weather pattern change and the potential for a major storm to take shape in the central U.S. in the coming days.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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