This week will see the clash of two storm systems over the Midwest and the Great Lakes, bringing heavy snow.
According to the National Weather Service's (NWS) short range forecast, from today until Wednesday, an "energetic" storm system will move across the southwest, spreading areas of showers and thunderstorms across the south of the U.S. The low pressure system, which has already entered the southern High Plains affecting New Mexico and the Midsouth, will bring severe storms to the eastern Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma overnight. Further north, the central Rockies are expected to be hit by snowfall overnight, though it will taper as the night goes on.
Today, the storm will move east, bringing showers and thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast states and into the Ohio Valley, according to NWS. As the Midwest has already seen rainfall over the past weeks, there is potential for flash flooding this evening in parts of the southeast of the U.S. due to locally heavy rainfall rates.
The warm front of the storm will then lift northward through tonight and into tomorrow morning, with the Mid Atlantic and the northeast of the U.S. forecast showers. According to NWS, a swath of wintry mix is possible across northern New England tomorrow morning, potentially affecting the morning commute.
Wintry weather will hit the Midwest and the Great Lakes today and tomorrow, according to NWS, growing from an initially narrow area into a more "pronounced band" of moderate snow. The storm will then intensify tomorrow morning, bringing heavy snow. The weather service forecasts that snowfall accumulations in these areas could range between six to 12 inches with some locally higher totals possible.
Because of this, winter storm watches have been issued for Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Along with the heavy snowfall, wind speed will increase as will the intensity along the northern and western flanks of the storm tomorrow night, leading to blustery conditions and reducing visibility. Residents in the Great Lakes of the U.S. should expect snow and gusty winds to continue into Wednesday, while colder and drier
conditions will filter down the backside of the storm across the Midwest and
into the south central U.S.
Meanwhile, another low pressure system has already impacted the northwest of the U.S., bringing showers and mountain snow. According to NWS, the Olympics and Cascades will receive more mountain snow while the valleys and coastal areas will see rain.
However, the storm system will bring periods of snow further east into the northern Plains as it reaches the northern High Plains early this morning. Light snow and a surge of colder air will spread through the south through the central High Plains tonight through to tomorrow.
By Wednesday, high pressure will push the two systems further to the east, bringing calmer conditions to the west of the U.S.
