The CNN Weather Brief Report on Deep Storms and Winds in the Outskirts of the Northern Plains, Minnesota, and the Lower Mississippi Valley
CNN released a version of the article originally in the CNN Weather Brief every Monday. You can receive them all the time, even during significant storms.
Wind chill values of 35 to 55 degrees below zero are possible into the end of the week as a result of the brutally cold temperatures.
In Burlington, the National Weather Service stated that the region is likely to experience the first real fall-like system with winds and rain in a long time.
New York and Boston can expect 1 to 2 inches of rain by the end of the weekend, before the storm system departs the region.
The potential for very heavy rain could accompany the front, bringing up to two inches of rain for much of the area, and isolated locations could see even more.
It is expected that there will be median rainfall totals by the evening of Wednesday, with a potential for some spots to see around one inch, our first substantial rain in at least a couple of weeks.
There will be a lot of rain in the western part of the country this weekend and there will be a lot of dangerous weather around the country.
With snow expected to fall at a rate of 1-2 inches per hour and 40 mph winds, there is a possibility for bad weather in the central and northern Plains on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Most coastal communities will pick up 1 to 3 inches of rain through the weekend, and some areas of northern and central California could receive 3 to 5 inches of rain in total. The main concerns will becoastal erosion and flooded roadways.
It will be important to keep an eye on the winds in California with gusts of up to 40 mph in the valleys, 50 mph for coastal areas and even higher gusts forecast for exposed coastal headlands, mountaintops and ridges.
Parts of central Minnesota could see “several inches of fluffy snow” that will continue into Wednesday night, the National Weather Service office in Twin Cities said on Facebook. By Thursday, wind gusts in the area will reach up to 40 to 50 mph.
The weather service says that low visibility will cause more dangerous travel conditions on top of snow covered roads. There’s a chance of power outages from the Midwest to the Northeast from the strong winds.
The December tornadoes are more likely in the lower Mississippi Valley, where there is often a secondary peak in the fall and winter.
Parts of Texas and Oklahoma have been put on a tornado watch. There are a couple of tornadoes possible, as well as wind gusts up to 75 mph.
“The details regarding the areas most at risk from tornadoes will become clearer as the event approaches and smaller-scale trends become more evident,” Elliott said.
The Twin Bridges Ski Resort received 48 inches of Snow in 24 hours, and more than 35 inches, in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range During December 1st
The Twin Bridges area received 48 inches of snow in a 48 hour period, while 46 inches came from the other side of the state.
Winter storm warnings were in place overnight for the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, where an additional foot of snow could fall in the highest elevations before 4 a.m.
There could be road closings due to the weather in South Dakota, according to the South Dakota Department of Transportation.
A forecaster at the National Weather Service office said that the snow is more than double what they would expect this time of year.
“It looks a lot like Christmas out here,” Deutschendorf said. It did not come with a lot of wind, and it stayed to everything. It’s like a picture postcard.”
While he was impressed with the snow totals so far, he was cautiously optimistic about how the precipitation would affect the state’s dry spell.
On its website, the ski resort wrote that they were Buried in Olympic Valley, California.
This storm is definitely going to be remembered. We’ve now received 7.5 feet of snow since December 1st. Plus, in just 24 hours from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, we received more than 35 inches of snow — the 6th largest snowfall total in 24 hours that we have on record,” resort operators wrote.
Multiple tornadoes and destroyed structures observed by the National Weather Service in Farmerville, South Dakota, and Fort Worth, Texas on Tuesday afternoon
The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said travel through the area will be nearly impossible Tuesday and Wednesday, and possibly into Thursday.
In Minnesota, the National Weather Service issued various winter weather alerts, including a winter storm warning, an ice storm warning and a winter weather advisory. Challenging winter weather could affect travel all week, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
In Anchorage, Alaska, an “unprecedented amount of snowfall” has led to schools being closed for four days and shut down the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University on Monday.
These areas need the moisture and have seen great relief to drought conditions in the past week. The percentage of Tennessee that is under the dry spell went from 92 percent to 46 percent this week.
Meanwhile, damage was reported in the Oklahoma town of Wayne after the weather service warned of a “confirmed tornado” shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday. Video footage from Oklahoma TV station KOCO showed substantial damage to a home in Wayne, which is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
The National Weather service reported that Farmerville, Louisiana was the site of a tornado with 140 mph winds. At least 20 people were injured, and the tornado demolished parts of an apartment complex and a mobile home park, Farmerville Police Detective Cade Nolan said.
According to the national weather service in Fort Worth, Texas, five tornadoes were confirmed across north Texas as of Tuesday afternoon, but a dozen may have occurred.
Weather Damages in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area during a Cold, Tornado-Censored Bust Collission
“There’s essentially no one traveling right now,” said Justin McCallum, a manager at the Flying J truck stop at Ogallala, Nebraska. He got to work before the roads were closed and won’t be able to get home on Tuesday. I can see to the doors, but not the rest of the lot. I’ll probably just get a motel room here tonight.”
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety tweeted Monday: “This is a ‘we are not kidding’ kind of storm.” People were urged to stock up on essentials and stay home.
The weather service’s headquarters in Maryland said there will be a lot of activity this week.
In northern Utah, a tour bus crashed Monday morning as snow and frigid temperatures blanketed the region. The driver lost control while changing lanes and the bus flipped on it’s side in Tremonton. The Highway Patrol said 23 people were injured.
Dozens of businesses and homes were damaged by a line of storms that hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area. More than 100 flights were canceled and more than 1000 flights were delayed as a result of the storm.
A young boy was found dead in a wooded area of Pecan Farms where his home was destroyed Tuesday after a tornado hit Four Forts, Louisiana, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Shreveport, Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator said in a statement.
The roof of the service center was torn off by a possible tornado, leaving pieces of it hanging from the power lines, according to the deputy director.
The city sent photos to show the damage done to the streets, trees, buildings, and a semitrailer near a parking lot.
In Colorado, all roads were closed in the northeast quadrant of the state. The severe weather in the ranching region could also threaten livestock. Extreme winds can push livestock through fences as they follow the gale’s direction, said Jim Santomaso, a northeast representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association.
The Twin Cities Weather System After a Monstrous Snowstorm on Thursday and Thursday. Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Power Lines in the Upper Midwest
National Weather Service meteorologist Melissa Dye in the Twin Cities said this is a “long duration event” with snow, ice and rain through Friday night. Minnesota was expecting a lull Wednesday, followed by a second round of snow.
The monstrous storm that walloped much of the US this week has now brought nor’easter conditions as it moves across New York and New England ahead of the weekend.
In response to the massive storm system, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned residents of the hazardous road conditions the storm is threatening to bring as millions across in the Northeast are under winter weather alerts Friday.
“We urge everyone in the impacted regions to avoid unnecessary travel tonight and tomorrow,” Hochul said in a Thursday statement. “Work from home if possible, stay off the roads, and make sure you and your loved ones remain vigilant.”
In anticipation of what will be a week of travel nightmares, United, American, Delta, Southwest and Jet Blue have issued travel waivers for dozens of airports across the country from the South to the Northeast, because in addition to snow covering roadways, low visibility could make air travel dangerous.
A dangerous cross-country path has been cut by the relentless storm system since the beginning of the week.
Additionally, strong winds may knock out power lines in the Midwest, especially in areas where heavy snow fell last week and is already weighing down tree branches. Millions will find a way to stay warm as temperatures plummet to well below freezing.
And in parts of the Mid-Atlantic, the storm brought a quarter inch of ice was reported Thursday morning to the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Maryland, and about a tenth of an inch had built up in parts of Virginia.
Thousands of people were without proper heating in the Upper Midwest after powerful winds whirled by the storm, knocking down power lines.
Montana and the Dakotas are Big Blizzards: Predictions for the Montana Snow and Wind, and the Louisiana Tornadoes
Local officials say that a mother and her son were killed Tuesday in Louisiana when a tornado destroyed their home.
Places that will escape the snow, won’t escape the cold. The very cold air will start hitting areas in eastern Montana through the Dakotas. Temperatures will be running 40 degrees below normal for these places. The combination of cold temperatures and windy conditions will send wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero.
Wind chill advisories are in affect for much of Montana, the Dakotas, portions of Minnesota and Nebraska where the wind chill could be as low as 60 degrees below zero.
Even southern cities that aren’t used to wintry conditions will get a bad taste of it during the holiday season, with Austin, Houston, Atlanta, and even Daytona at risk of freezing early in the week.
Blizzard conditions occur when you have falling or blowing snow combined with winds of at least 35 mph leading to reduced visibility to at least a quarter of a mile for at least three hours.
Power outages will also be a concern for the Windy City as winds could gust as high as 50 mph on Friday. This will make the storm worse, as the wind chills will drop to at least 20 degrees below zero.
“It’s night in the northern hemisphere Arctic regions and there’s snow and ice covering that entire area. So, you’ve basically got a source freezer sitting up there in the Arctic polar regions,” Greg Carbin, branch chief at the prediction center said. There is a lot of snow in the north-central United States and the cold air can hold on to the characteristic of the polar Express.
“Whiteout conditions are expected during that time with travel becoming very difficult or impossible,” said the weather service. If you are stranded in a wind chill of 30 below to 45 below zero, this event is likely to be life threatening.
The storm will bomb out Friday night into Saturday morning, making this a bomb cyclone before entering the Northeast and New England. When a storm drops more than 24 bars in pressure in a 24 hour period, it is called a bomb cyclone.
The Cause of the I-95 White Christmas Storm and Its Implications for Air Transport, Winds, and Public Works in the Northeast
I-95 has a lot of rain and that can cause problems in those areas that are seeing snow. There can be some melting of the water.
Millions of people across the country will have a white Christmas due to this major storm. Some areas had already been covered in snow and cold, so they were already certain of being there.
There is a 10% chance of the DC area getting at least one inch of snow on Christmas Day. “With the pattern coming together the way it is, I’d be willing to bump that up to a 30% chance and it could increase pretty substantially here in the next couple of days, depending on what scenario comes out.”
There are many people under winter weather and wind chill warnings. The alert goes as far south as the Texas/Mexico border.
The dangers of frostbitten are on the rise and wind chill advisories are in place for Fargo, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Wind chill, which indicates what the wind feels like, will be as low as 40 degrees below zero.
Seattle is under a winter storm warning. The storm is expected to spread out across northern and central Montana in the afternoon.
A winter storm watch has been issued for Chicago and it is expected to be one of the hardest hit cities. With blizzard conditions likely, holiday travel could grind to a halt for many seeking to celebrate with family and loved ones.
The weather service said that water pipes will be at risk of bursting. A wind chill watch for Amarillo, Texas, is in effect from Wednesday night through Friday afternoon.
“Outdoor pipes will be at risk due to well below freezing temps and windy conditions late this week,” the weather service in Fort Worth said. If you want to cover pipes, let the faucet drips.
The National Weather Service names the cause of the storm as a cold high pressure system, which swept down from Canada on Tuesday and is poised to march towards the Southeast on Wednesday and Thursday.
Air travel was mainly unaffected by the approaching polar front on Tuesday with more than 578 delays and 257 cancellation at airports in the U.S. according to the Flight Aware tracking site.
An outage that left 180,000 without power across New England over the weekend was resolved by Monday, but the Associated Press reported that attempts to bring extra utility workers into the state ahead of this week’s storm were stymied by slick roads.
The Denver weather service predicts Wednesday night will be the coldest day of the month for 32 years, and a warning warning for southern cities to stay indoors
People venturing outside should wear layers, cover their skin, and change into dry clothing quickly. But, experts say, the best prevention by far is simply to stay indoors.
Denver will go from a high of 47 on Wednesday down to a low of minus 14 on Thursday. That would be the city’s coldest day in 32 years, according to the weather service.
It is possible that snow falls as far south as Jackson, Mississippi, Memphis, and Nashville in Tennessee. Nashville is expected to get about an inch of snow, but most of the southern cities will not see any.
The weather service described the storm as a once-in-a- generation event, estimating it would reach the pressures equivalent of a Category 3 storm when it reaches the Great Lakes.
It is a situation in which snow totals may not tell the whole story. Poor visibility can be caused by even small amounts of snow and wind gusts, when combined with very cold temperatures. The weather service stated that the sudden arrival of these conditions can increase the danger.