Forty-nine U.S. states were under various weather alerts as a strong winter storm moves quickly throughout the country, coming after a winter storm brought significant snowfall across parts of the East Coast over the weekend.
“Significant winter storms will track across the Lower 48 through this week,” the National Weather Service said in a bulletin issued on Jan. 8.
Blizzard conditions are occurring across the Midwest and Plains states, and winter storm warnings and advisories have been issued for areas in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio.
The storm, described as a “strong surface cyclone,” was intensifying across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandle regions on Jan. 8, the agency stated, noting that the system will deepen further as it reaches Missouri on Jan. 9, before “bottoming out in pressure across the Lower Great Lakes early Wednesday.”
Separately, winter storm advisories were issued for parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and California. The National Weather Service posted wind advisories and high wind warnings throughout the southern and eastern states.
The agency also noted that a strong winter storm may affect the Pacific Northwest, some western states, and the Cascade, Olympic, and Rocky Mountain areas.
“Strong winds and high-level snows will lead to considerate impacts to most of the mountain passes in the Cascades eventually spreading into the Northern Rockies of Idaho and western Montana,” the agency stated. “Strong winds with blowing snows and high snow rates are likely to result in Blizzard conditions with much of the Cascade [and] Olympic Ranges.”
More than a foot of snow is possible in some areas, it noted. The storm will likely affect the northern Rocky Mountains “well into Tuesday,” according to the agency.
Tornadoes Also Possible
In the southern United States, forecasters warn that the storm currently looming for the Midwest and Plains will clash with warmer air from the Gulf of Mexico, sparking the risk of thunderstorms and severe weather across the Gulf states. It means that there could be multiple tornadoes, especially along the coastlines of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, according to AccuWeather.“A piece of robust energy will bring disruptive thunderstorms that can produce damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes to the Gulf Coast states. An inflow of moisture along the Gulf of Mexico from eastern Texas and southern Louisiana will aid in the development of thunderstorms across the region,” AccuWeather forecaster Alexander Duffus said in a recent report.
He noted that the system will “bring the potential for damaging winds, hail, and a strong tornado overnight in areas like New Orleans, Louisiana.”
“It is vital that people in southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have methods to receive warnings on Monday night into Tuesday morning when storms are projected to ramp up,” Mr. Duffus said.
The rain combined with snow could result in hazardous flooding and rapid river rises, according to the National Weather Service.
“Warm overnight lows in the upper 40s are possible through the Mid-Atlantic by Wednesday morning,” the bulletin stated. “Additional snow is likely to be limited to highest terrain of the Adirondacks, Green, White, and Blue Ranges by Wednesday morning with the best chance of heavy/wet snow up to 6 to 9 inches into the terrain in Maine, where winter storm watches have been hoisted.
“The potential for areas of power outages are becoming likely given the high winds and precipitation totals.”
Separately, storms in Alaska and Hawaii put both states under some type of weather alert on Jan. 8, according to the National Weather Service. The only state that wasn’t included in any weather-related warnings or advisories was North Dakota.
