The FOX Forecast Center is tracking the next cross-country storm expected to impact most of the U.S. later this week with threats of severe weather, flooding rain and heavy snow.
“We’re starting the week off with a huge nor’easter on the East Coast. Then, for the West Coast, a significant atmospheric river event,” FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “As we work our way to the end of the workweek, this atmospheric river event is going to turn into a big storm that’s going to produce some rain. And, yes, severe weather.”
On the warm side of the cross-country storm, severe thunderstorms will be possible Thursday along parts of the Interstate 35 corridor in Oklahoma and Texas and eastward into southwestern Arkansas and northwestern Louisiana.
“The severe threat right now looks to diminish by Friday. We’ll keep a close eye on it, but we’re still going to see scattered thunderstorms from the Gulf Coast all the way up through Mississippi and Tennessee,” Merwin said.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, computer forecast models suggest supercells will be possible along a dryline, which will be capable of producing tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds. The severe weather threat should wane into the nighttime hours.
“This warning could increase,” Merwin said. “Right now, we’re sitting at a two out of five. But again, it’s Tuesday. We’re looking at something on Thursday. So we could see some increase here. Places like Dallas, Texarkana, Lufkin, Houston, San Antonio, you all have to look out for this potential of strong severe weather on Thursday.”
A flood threat will also be present, especially on Thursday and Friday, focused on the Ark-La-Tex region, where already-saturated soils from recent rains could lead to an increased threat of flooding. This region is currently 8-plus inches above average in terms of year-to-date rainfall.
HOW HEAVY IS IT REALLY GOING TO RAIN?
Heavy snow is likely in parts of the Rockies and Plains on the cold side of the cross-country storm.
“The majority of this storm is going to be rain with exceptions of very far north locations,” Merwin said. “Minneapolis, Detroit and Green Bay, we’ll watch you for the potential here of crossing over to snow.”
The FOX Forecast Center said while the highest totals will be found in the high country, Denver could end up with 1 to 3 inches of powdery snow Wednesday and Thursday.
HOW COLD DOES IT HAVE TO BE TO SNOW?
As the storm system shifts east into the Plains on Thursday, a stripe of snow is expected from Nebraska into Wisconsin and northern Michigan. In that region, snowfall totals will likely increase from south to north, which means the highest totals can be expected in the Arrowhead of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the FOX Forecast Center said.
Even with the heaviest snow farther north, some travel impacts are still likely for Minneapolis-St. Paul, where a few inches of snow could fall.
Minneapolis is currently at its eighth-snowiest winter on record with 80.3 inches so far, less than 20 inches shy of the record 1983-84 season when 98.6 inches fell.
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