Large storms with snow and ice may be on the horizon for this week
A shift in the weather pattern will open the door for several storms later in the month that could deliver snow and ice across multiple states in the central and eastern United States.
A shift in the jet stream could lead to stronger, more widespread storms moving from the Rockies into the Plains and the East during the fourth week of the month. The larger storms have the potential to bring plowable snow, damaging ice and major travel problems.
Weather-related travel disruptions are possible in the Midwest and Northeast this week, due to clipper storms and snow through Wednesday.
The jet stream has developed a large southward dip over the eastern United States, helping to stretch the polar vortex.
"While the cold resulting from this setup will ebb and flow, it will generally persist well into the new week," AccuWeather Senior Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.
The jet stream pattern guiding the storms and cold air is expected to change for a time this week.
"During the middle to latter part of this week, the jet stream will take on a more west-to-east pattern," Lundberg said. "That may ease the harshest cold for a time, but it could also allow one or two storms to spread snow and ice across a broad area of the Central and Eastern states."
Cold air flowing behind these storms will keep temperatures low from the Dakotas, Nebraska and western Minnesota to the Northeast through the last week of January. Any snow or ice that does occur is likely to stick around for a while amid the cold pattern.
The weather pattern in place across much of the nation this weekend is likely to persist and could strengthen during much of February.
"Our long-range forecast for February calls for below-average temperatures across much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, with the biggest departures from normal in the Midwest," Lundberg said. "For areas west of the Rockies, above-historical-average temperatures are in store with the greatest departures in the Southwest."
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