In a case of déjà vu, for the second time this week, a sprawling winter storm tracking across the central and eastern U.S. will pack a trio of threats, including blizzard conditions in the Midwest, severe weather in the South and flash flooding in the East.
Just a few days ago, a deadly winter storm slammed the central U.S. and brought nearly a foot of snow and whiteout conditions from the Plains to the Great Lakes as deadly severe storms and tornadoes raked the South, while high winds and flooding rain knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Americans on the East Coast and sent rivers rising to historic levels.
An active January pattern will continue into next week, and the latest winter storm is already beginning its trek across the nation. Here are the latest impacts and timing for the winter weather system the FOX Forecast Center is tracking into the weekend.
A major winter storm will charge into the Midwest on Friday and blast major cities such as Chicago and Milwaukee with heavy snow and high winds. It could even become a blizzard if the wind overlaps with the snow long enough to reduce visibility to one-quarter mile or less for at least three hours.
If Blizzard Warnings are issued for the city of Chicago, it would be the first time that has happened in about five years (Nov. 26, 2018). The city of Milwaukee has not been under a Blizzard Warning in nearly 13 years (Feb. 1, 2011).
Snowfall totals between 5 and 8 inches are forecast for cities like Chicago and Des Moines, Iowa. Even higher amounts are expected to the north across Wisconsin, where Milwaukee and Green Bay could pick up a foot or more of snow.
Click here for the latest on the Midwest blizzard.
Severe thunderstorms are predicted to track across the South from late Thursday into Friday, packing threats of damaging wind, large hail and tornadoes, some of which could be strong (EF-2 or higher).
Thursday’s severe weather threat will occur mostly during the overnight hours and be focused on East Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and western Mississippi.
The severe storms will shift to the east on Friday, with a risk of severe weather expected for parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Damaging winds and a few strong tornadoes are the main threats through Friday evening before the storms push offshore into the Atlantic.
Click here for a more detailed forecast on the severe weather threat.
Much of Friday should be relatively quiet along the East Coast, but a slug of heavy rain is forecast to push into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday evening. Much of the region will pick up an inch or two of rainfall by Saturday afternoon.
Given the ground is already saturated after the heavy rainfall earlier this week, flash flooding could become a concern from Friday night into early Saturday before the rain exits off the coast later Saturday.
New York City, Philadelphia and Boston have all been highlighted for a Level-2-out-of-4 risk of flash flooding by NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center.
Gusty winds will also accompany the rain, but the gusts are not expected to be as strong as those from Tuesday’s storm when some areas reported gusts over 70 mph.