Winter has not yet officially begun, but the atmosphere is already approaching a full late February fatigue. After a post-Thanksgiving blast dumped record snow in Chicago, shut down interstate highways and caused thousands of flight cancellations, a new storm is barreling northeast from the Plains, raising fears of further travel disruption.
Fresh snow and ice is expected to hit much of the same region on Monday, followed by snow in the interior Northeast through Tuesday, heavy rain along the coast and streaks of ice across the Ohio Valley.
If you’re hoping to avoid travel trouble by heading out early this week, Mother Nature might have the last laugh. This fast-moving but high-impact system comes uncomfortably quickly on the heels of one of the most chaotic post-Thanksgiving travel weekends in years.
A new storm begins to develop in the West this weekend, with a powerful low pressure system funneling Pacific moisture into the Northwest, Great Basin, and Rocky Mountains. Fresh snow fell in the higher elevations, and light snowpack drifted into the lower valleys.
On Monday, this rotating energy will combine with Gulf Coast moisture to produce showers and thunderstorms across Texas and the Deep South, bringing even colder air to the northern edge of the storm. By Monday evening, the snow and wintry mix will extend from the Central Plains to the Mississippi Valley, lower Midwest and Great Lakes.
If the weekend storm leaves behind some lake-effect snow, parts of the Great Lakes will have steady snow for most of the day. Des Moines, St. Louis and Chicago are just a few of the places expected to see several more inches of snow on Monday. Shovels will have to stay around a little longer.
Rain, snow and ice moving east
The storm will intensify as it moves east. Widespread rain will move into the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Gulf Coast regions Monday night into Tuesday. Flash flooding is possible across the South. The northwest side of the cold system will pull snow back into the Appalachians and interior Northeast.
Just south of the heavy snowfall, warm air will slide over cold ground, potentially producing localized freezing rain along the central and southern Appalachians. Even a thin layer of ice in the highlands of Virginia and North Carolina is enough to cause travel problems and sporadic power outages.
As you approach the I-95 corridor, the prediction becomes a little less reliable. New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D.C., may see snow initially, but the exact path of the low-pressure center will determine whether it snows or quickly turns to rain. The line between these two outcomes is very thin and depends on how quickly the coastal cyclone deepens offshore.
December is the beginning of meteorological winter, which lasts until February. It will feel that way in the first week of the season. Many spots in the central and northern United States will be stuck in the teens to 20s starting Monday, with new snow and ice accumulating on top of what’s already fallen. Strong winds make it feel even colder.
Once the snow and ice are gone, it gets even colder. A new influx of arctic air is expected to spread across the central and eastern United States later this week, dropping temperatures to their lowest levels so far this season. Some regions, particularly the Plains, Midwest, and Interior Northeast, may see daily lows on Thursday and Friday.
The upcoming arctic outburst could be a harbinger of more cold weather deep into December due to the collapse of the polar vortex.
