Ag Weather Forum

Winter has decided to finally start visiting the United States as we have seen colder air penetrate deeper, big storm systems off the West Coast, and snow moving through the northern tier of the country. That comes just in time for Thanksgiving travel plans, as the pattern continues to showcase potential hazards for those traveling around the holiday. Many of us across the country will have to pay special attention to the weather whether we are traveling ourselves or have family and friends visiting from other parts of the country.

A very potent storm has remained off the West Coast during this week, dubbed a "bomb cyclone" because of how rapidly it deepened earlier in the week. The upper-level trough of low pressure responsible for the storm has not really moved much either, pounding the coastline from British Columbia down to northern California throughout the week. The southern end has taken a particularly hard thump of heavy precipitation which has caused flooding and strong winds.

This storm will eventually move through the interior West on Monday and Tuesday, causing valley rains and mountain snows, hitting important airport hubs such as San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Denver that could cause flight delays. The storm center moves into the Central and Southern Plains on Wednesday. Forecasts have the storm continuing almost due east, going through Kansas, Oklahoma eastward through the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys late on Wednesday into Thanksgiving Day, then through Virginia and the East Coast on Thursday into Friday.

Cold air pooling in the Canadian Prairies may be a source of some mixed precipitation on the northern edge of the storm system. Depending on how cold that air is and the timing of when it comes in, it could cause a band of light to moderate snow that stretches from Kansas to southern New England. Major cities currently in the path include Kansas City, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York City. Exact locations and amounts are yet to be determined, but this zone does have some potential for seeing moderate to major impacts depending on the development of the storm.

After the storm passes through, the cold air will start to rush in. Areas that find rain could face a risk of freezing as the arctic air moves through, causing additional travel hazards after the storm has passed. That potential is always tricky, but will be something to watch as the storm nears. Northern areas of the country will certainly feel the bite of the arctic cold as temperatures fall 20 degrees below normal with highs possibly not reaching above 20 degrees Fahrenheit in places like Minneapolis, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Fargo, North Dakota, by the weekend, and only slightly warmer from Oklahoma City to Detroit to Boston. The colder air rushing over the Great Lakes will lead to lake-effect snow that could be heavy in those areas as well.

You can find more information about the extent and depth of the potential cold from DTN Meteorologist Teresa Wells here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

To find more weather conditions and your local forecast from DTN, head over to https://www.dtnpf.com/…

John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com

(c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.