2nd snowstorm in less than a week to eye southern US
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 8, 2021 11:28 PM EDT
Just days after a storm blanketed parts of Missouri and Arkansas with snow before setting its sights on the Southeast late this week, yet another winter storm is gearing up to target the southern United States. Forecasters say early indications point to the next one unleashing snow across a wider area of the region, including parts of Texas, the southern Plains and Mississippi Valley. Unlike the first storm, the second may also go on to bring the chance of accumulating snow in part of the Northeast next week.
A storm that will plow into the Northwest late this week will drop southward across the Rockies with snow on Saturday before it is expected to start dumping snow over portions of New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma Saturday night and Sunday.
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"Exactly where the swath of moderate to heavy snow ends up later this weekend will depend on the track and strength of the storm and its ability to tap a fresh supply of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.
"At this early stage, it appears that the Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana, metro areas will not be bystanders for this winter storm, with the potential for up to a few inches of snow to fall with slippery travel during Sunday and Sunday night," Anderson said.
The last measurable amount of snow in Dallas was about a year ago, on Jan. 11, 2020, when 0.2 of an inch of snow was recorded at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. On average, Dallas picks up less than 2 inches of snow per year.
With the current projection of the storm's track and strength, AccuWeather meteorologists say that Lubbock and Abilene, Texas, are in the path of heavy snow from the storm with several inches possible. Lubbock managed to dodge snow from a winter storm on New Year's Eve, but Abilene received about 3 inches.
Should the storm shift its track a bit farther south, snowflakes may fall in cities such as Austin, San Antonio and Houston, Texas, as well as Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi.
The storm has a significant chance to bring at least some snow to parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and several inches of snow to the southern Appalachians on Monday. Cities such as Nashville, Tennessee, and Lexington, Kentucky, have the potential for some accumulating snow, and the mountains of western North Carolina are likely to add to their snow cover from the first storm that was occurring on Friday.
This time around, cities such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi, have a chance at picking up an accumulation of snow on Monday.
Since the storm may have less cold air to work with in the Southeast, compared to the storm on Friday, all or mostly rain may fall in the region from Atlanta to Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, to Norfolk, Virginia, from later Monday to Tuesday.
Beyond that, the storm is also likely to take a path farther north when compared to the Friday storm in the eastern part of the United States, which could bring wintry weather to part of the Northeast.
However, AccuWeather meteorologists now believe that the storm is not likely to become overly strong and will continue to move along at a swift pace east of the Mississippi River. The weak storm will tend to only bring light to moderate precipitation and the fast movement will limit the duration of the event.
Another factor to consider is the overall lack of cold air in the Eastern states. While the air may be just cold enough for some wet snow in parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, as well as the central Appalachians, the air may to too warm to support much in the way of snow in the coastal mid-Atlantic with the weaker storm idea now taking center stage.
Even if the storm is unlikely to bring a significant snowfall to the major cities of the Northeast, forecasters have been tracking the potential for a major pattern change that will unleash Arctic air across the eastern U.S. around the third week of January. The dramatically colder weather will be due to a weakening of the polar vortex -- a storm that normally presides in the upper levels of the atmosphere over the North Pole and keeps cold locked up farther north.
AccuWeather will continue to provide updates on the storm in the coming days.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
2nd snowstorm in less than a week to eye southern US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 8, 2021 11:28 PM EDT
Just days after a storm blanketed parts of Missouri and Arkansas with snow before setting its sights on the Southeast late this week, yet another winter storm is gearing up to target the southern United States. Forecasters say early indications point to the next one unleashing snow across a wider area of the region, including parts of Texas, the southern Plains and Mississippi Valley. Unlike the first storm, the second may also go on to bring the chance of accumulating snow in part of the Northeast next week.
A storm that will plow into the Northwest late this week will drop southward across the Rockies with snow on Saturday before it is expected to start dumping snow over portions of New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma Saturday night and Sunday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"Exactly where the swath of moderate to heavy snow ends up later this weekend will depend on the track and strength of the storm and its ability to tap a fresh supply of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.
"At this early stage, it appears that the Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana, metro areas will not be bystanders for this winter storm, with the potential for up to a few inches of snow to fall with slippery travel during Sunday and Sunday night," Anderson said.
The last measurable amount of snow in Dallas was about a year ago, on Jan. 11, 2020, when 0.2 of an inch of snow was recorded at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. On average, Dallas picks up less than 2 inches of snow per year.
With the current projection of the storm's track and strength, AccuWeather meteorologists say that Lubbock and Abilene, Texas, are in the path of heavy snow from the storm with several inches possible. Lubbock managed to dodge snow from a winter storm on New Year's Eve, but Abilene received about 3 inches.
Should the storm shift its track a bit farther south, snowflakes may fall in cities such as Austin, San Antonio and Houston, Texas, as well as Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi.
The storm has a significant chance to bring at least some snow to parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and several inches of snow to the southern Appalachians on Monday. Cities such as Nashville, Tennessee, and Lexington, Kentucky, have the potential for some accumulating snow, and the mountains of western North Carolina are likely to add to their snow cover from the first storm that was occurring on Friday.
This time around, cities such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi, have a chance at picking up an accumulation of snow on Monday.
Since the storm may have less cold air to work with in the Southeast, compared to the storm on Friday, all or mostly rain may fall in the region from Atlanta to Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, to Norfolk, Virginia, from later Monday to Tuesday.
Beyond that, the storm is also likely to take a path farther north when compared to the Friday storm in the eastern part of the United States, which could bring wintry weather to part of the Northeast.
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However, AccuWeather meteorologists now believe that the storm is not likely to become overly strong and will continue to move along at a swift pace east of the Mississippi River. The weak storm will tend to only bring light to moderate precipitation and the fast movement will limit the duration of the event.
Another factor to consider is the overall lack of cold air in the Eastern states. While the air may be just cold enough for some wet snow in parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, as well as the central Appalachians, the air may to too warm to support much in the way of snow in the coastal mid-Atlantic with the weaker storm idea now taking center stage.
Even if the storm is unlikely to bring a significant snowfall to the major cities of the Northeast, forecasters have been tracking the potential for a major pattern change that will unleash Arctic air across the eastern U.S. around the third week of January. The dramatically colder weather will be due to a weakening of the polar vortex -- a storm that normally presides in the upper levels of the atmosphere over the North Pole and keeps cold locked up farther north.
AccuWeather will continue to provide updates on the storm in the coming days.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo