The first significant snowfall of this winter is set to hit parts of the northwestern US and the Northern Plains later this week, while other parts of the country can expect to see summer-like temperatures thanks to El Nino.
Snow is expected as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning with a surge of cold air and deep moisture spreading from Washington and Oregon through much of Montana.
A storm is expected to drop into the Northwest on Tuesday night.
Higher elevation areas have been warned to expect potentially heavy snowfall and therefore disrupted travel.
Several key high-elevation mountain passes located in the Cascades, including Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie Pass and Stampede Pass, may be impacted.
Snow is expected as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning with a surge of cold air and deep moisture
Snow is expected as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning with a surge of cold air and deep moisture spreading from Washington and Oregon through much of Montana
The rest of northwestern US will get their first flakes of snow on Tuesday afternoon into the evening.
Idaho, Montana and the Cascades in Oregon will also begin to accumulate snowfall with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark.
On Tuesday night temperatures will plummet to well below freezing in high elevation areas.
Temperatures in northern Idaho will drop into the teens by early Wednesday morning while parts of northwestern Montana will plunge to the single digits.
Tuesday night will see heavy snowfall with the combination of cold air and moisture.
Six inches or more of snow could pile up quickly at pass levels in the Cascades on Tuesday night, with amounts approaching a foot possible for areas above 7,000 feet.
Snow will continue to build across the Northwest and the northern Rockies on Wednesday.
Wind speeds will also increase during this time and blow snow, which could significantly reduce visibility and worsen travel.
The northern US will experience overall warmer temperatures than average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts
The organization also estimates that the south will have a wetter than average winter all the way to February
Higher elevation areas have been warned to expect potentially heavy snowfall and therefore disrupted travel
A few inches of snow will accumulate down to 1,000 feet in parts of Washington on Wednesday, but Seattle will experience only a chilly rain.
Snow will begin to wind down across the Cascades on Thursday, but will then spread to portions of the northern Plains as the storm treks east.
More than a foot of heavy snow will bury parts of South Dakota on Thursday and into Thursday night.
By Friday, significant accumulating snow will come to an end across much of the northern US, but a few flakes will still fly along the US-Canada border before the storm crosses fully into southern Canada.
Despite this the northern US will experience overall warmer temperatures than average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts.
The warmer weather will be felt in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, northern New England – and in New York City, where temperatures are expected to reach 81 degrees.
The upper Midwest, California, and parts of the South are also likely to be warmer than average.
The organization also estimates that the south will have a wetter than average winter all the way to February.
Above-average precipitation levels will likely hit Florida, southern Georgia, and southern Alabama
The warmer, wetter weather is brought about by the effect known as El Niño.
El Niño occurs every two to seven years when ocean temperatures warm up in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, impacting weather patterns around the world, according to the National Weather Service.
This winter’s El Niño — the first in four years — has a 30 percent chance of being as strong as, or stronger, than powerful El Niño’s in the past, including that of the 1997-98 winter and the 2015-16 winter, according to NOAA.
Content source – www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com
