A storm from the Pacific Ocean will gain strength and threaten the heartland with high winds, severe thunderstorms and blizzard conditions as it crosses the United States during the middle of next week.
While a series of storms will continue to roll in from the Pacific Ocean and onshore along the West Coast into next week, one particularly potent storm is scheduled to arrive in Northern California and southern Oregon early next week.
As this storm crosses the country, it will pack a punch in many areas with strong winds, but also the potential for heavy snow in some locations, severe thunderstorms and perhaps even aggravated flooding.
The high winds with the storm will threaten to break tree limbs, trigger power outages, cause minor property damage and flip over high-profile vehicles. Gusts could top 70 mph in some locations.
At the very least, the storm will significantly impact ground and air travel over a 2,800-mile-long swath from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast.
Western US impacts
Enough rain may fall on parts of Northern California and southern Oregon to northern Utah and southern Idaho to trigger flash flooding from later Monday to Tuesday. Snow is likely to be limited to the high country and generally above the passes.
High winds from a fierce storm on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, snapped a tree that broke the top of a wall at an apartment complex in Sparks, Nevada. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner).
The storm will begin to kick up winds from Southern California to southern Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado on Tuesday into Wednesday.
The high winds may be especially troublesome over the passes and wide-open flat locations. Winds may be strong enough to kick up dust in dry areas which can be an added concern for motorists.
As the storm reaches the central Rockies, the likelihood of heavy snow will increase.
"There is the risk of heavy snow and blizzard conditions from southeastern Montana to Colorado, with the greatest of these conditions from eastern Wyoming to southwestern South Dakota, the Nebraska Panhandle and the Colorado Rockies from later Tuesday night, Wednesday and into Wednesday night," according to AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Michaela Heeren.
Worst of storm to target central US
The storm is forecast to get even stronger as it pushes east of the Rockies and onto the Plains.
While it may not be quite as intense as the historic bomb cyclone from the middle of March, another memorable high wind event is likely to evolve.
A large swath of strong winds with gusts frequenting between 40 and 60 mph is likely to shift from the eastern slopes of the Rockies beginning around Tuesday night or Wednesday to the Great Lakes region Thursday.
Winds may be strong enough for a long enough period to push Great Lakes waters and lead to lakeshore flooding.
Initially, the storm may struggle with grabbing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. However, as the storm continues to move along, enough moisture is likely to wrap around the storm to spread a swath of wind-driven rain and several inches of snow eastward across the North Central states.
The speed of the arrival of Gulf moisture may be a key player in the extent and nature of severe thunderstorms such as determining whether straight-line wind gusts versus tornadoes are more likely.
There is the potential for enough rain to fall with the storm over a narrow swath to aggravate flooding over parts of the central Plains from portions of Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.
Storm may be past its peak in the eastern US
While the worst of the storm is likely to affect the Central states, impacts in the Northeast will still range from rain and thunderstorms to gusty winds, some snow and even big temperature swings from one day to the next at the end of next week.
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In the Southeast, impacts may be reduced to a single line of showers and gusty thunderstorms.
Keep in mind with the storm likely to cause severe travel problems in the heartland, there is the potential of some flight delays and cancellations due to aircraft and crews being displaced.
More significant storms likely as April progresses
The big storm forecast for next week may not be the last of its kind in terms of intensity this April.
The overall weather pattern is looking to be quite dynamic as storms line up over the Pacific Ocean with eyes for the U.S. and southern Canada much of the month.
"With the jet stream suppressed southward as much as it is now and likely to be in the weeks ahead, the pattern will be busy with storms," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
"Warmups are likely to be brief, while many areas from the West to the Plains, Midwest and Northeast may experience many more days with below-average temperatures rather than above-average [temperatures] through most of the month," Pastelok said.
The pattern may also yield outbreaks of severe weather over the Southern states and part of the Midwest. Flooding will also be a concern in these areas.
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