A hyperactive weather pattern will bring an expansive low pressure system across mainland U.S., resulting in widespread impactful weather to progress from west to east across the country through the next few days.
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The widespread heavy rain currently in progress across the lower elevations of California, and mountain snows that have already overspread much of the Intermountain West, are the harbingers of things to come for the rest of the country.
The expansive Pacific cyclone responsible for the widespread inclement weather moving into the western U.S. will continue to march eastward through the next few days.
The heavy rain and mountain snow impacting California this morning are expected to gradually taper off later today into this evening when the center of the low pressure system departs and redevelops over the High Plains.
Meanwhile, the latest surge of arctic air will bring a day of cold and blustery conditions into the Northeast.
But as the arctic high pressure system quickly slides eastward into the East Coast this evening, moisture well ahead of the low pressure system from the West will quickly reach the upper Midwest where an outbreak of snow is anticipated tonight.
A colder surge of arctic air will also enter the northern U.S. this weekend, which will provide energy for the low pressure system to develop and intensify over the central Plains.
This reinvigorated cyclone will become rather expansive as it moves across the Ohio Valley Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Widespread 6 to 10 inches of new snow is expected to fall from the upper Midwest tonight, followed by the Great Lakes into New England this weekend, along with a swath of sleet/ice just to the south possibly as far south as the central Appalachians.
As the cyclone intensifies further, the cold front trailing south of the cyclone center will become quite potent, possibly bringing an outbreak of severe thunderstorms across the Deep South Saturday night into Sunday morning ahead of the front.
The Storm Prediction Center has a Enhanced Risk from extreme eastern Texas to western Alabama for the threats of large hail, severe wind gusts, and a few tornadoes.
In between the wintry weather in the North and the severe weather in the South, an impactful heavy rain and flooding event is forecast to emerge over the Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley, and parts of the Appalachians during the weekend when the intensifying cyclone interacts with a warm front coupled with an upper-level jet stream.
A Moderate Risk for Excessive Rainfall is in effect across these regions where rainfall totals of 3-6 inches are forecast with locally heavier amounts likely in training convection.
Listen to your local officials and local weather forecast office for more information regarding weather safety.
Much of the West and northern Plains will see below average temperatures, while the South remains warm with many locations seeing high temperatures over 80 degrees.
The East Coast will be seasonably chilly with highs in the 30s and 40s.
As the next arctic outbreak reaches into the northern High Plains, below zero temperatures are expected to appear near the Canadian border this morning before plunging further down into the -20s by Sunday morning. ■