A surly weather front threatened to drive severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across the south-central U.S. on Tuesday while what AccuWeather called an “atmospheric fire hose” was forecast to hammer the West as the nation braced for a week of wild, dangerous weather.
The combination could fuel major travel disruptions on the heels of travel issues at the end of Thanksgiving weekend that resulted in 12,000 delayed flights Sunday and Monday, according to the tracking website FlightAware.
The National Weather Service warned that severe weather was likely across a swath of the Mississippi Valley – Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee – on Tuesday. Tornadoes and damaging winds could wreak havoc in pockets of the region.
In the West, a strong cold front accompanied by strong winds and heavy snow will sweep across portions of the Upper Midwest on Tuesday.
“Heavy snow will develop over the parts of the Mississippi Valley and Upper Great Lakes, which has prompted Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories over the region,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Paul Ziegenfelder said.
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High winds, power outages could target 125M Americans
A storm triggering severe weather and possible tornadoes in parts of the South from Tuesday to Wednesday will bring a blast of high winds as colder air sweeps from the Midwest to the Northeast, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. High winds and heavy snow in some areas could trigger power outages and travel delays. More than 125 million people from the Midwest to the Northeast could face disruptive wind gusts from the powerful storm system, AccuWeather said.
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Pacific Coast braces for heavy snow, driving rains
A burst of intense moisture known as an atmospheric river, or a plume of intense moisture, will take aim at part of the West Coast and move southward during the middle days of this week, AccuWeather said. Seattle could see its first snow of the season, and an “intense” 8-12 hour period of precipitation could bring dangerous conditions to western Washington from Tuesday night to Wednesday, forecasters say.
The storm will roll into Northern California on Wednesday into Thursday. Southern California could see excessive rains at week’s end, AccuWeather warned.
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“While the rain and mountain snow will be beneficial from a drought standpoint, enough can fall to lead to travel delays and disruptions,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Haley Taylor said.
USA TODAY
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