The weather system that provided a rainy respite for firefighters in California continued its roll across the nation Wednesday, and was forecast to spread rain, snow and ice along a 2,600-mile stretch from the Southwest to Northeast by the weekend, meteorologists say.
The main threats Wednesday include snow squalls in the Northeast and severe weather in the Great Plains.
This time Florida and other areas of the Gulf Coast appear likely to avoid frozen precipitation, a week after a record snowstorm blasted the Southeast.
But “locally heavy snow” and snow squalls were forecast for the Great Lakes and Northeast through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
“Even in areas where there is not enough snow to accumulate or cause slippery travel, the bursts of snow will be ill-timed with morning, and perhaps late afternoon commutes,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
Flooding rain and severe thunderstorms could slam the South Central U.S. and Mississippi Valley from Wednesday into Thursday, forecasters warned.
The storm brought an inch of rain to parts of Southern California and several inches of snow over the region’s mountains Sunday into Monday. Accumulating snow is possible from northern Arizona to Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, beginning as early as Wednesday, AccuWeather said.
Farther south, up to 6 inches of rain could bring flooding and travel issues from central Texas to western Kentucky. By the end of the week, New York City will be one of the major metro areas that could see drenching rain or ice and snow, AccuWeather warned, adding that Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., could see several hours of heavy rain that could cause travel delays.
On Wednesday in the Northeast, the National Weather Service warned that snow squalls could cause intense bursts of heavy snow with gusty winds, resulting in periods of low visibility and dangerous driving conditions.
AccuWeather meteorologist Alyssa Glenny said that “after a period of steady snow moved across New York state and New England Tuesday night, spreading a swath of 1-3 inches of fresh accumulation, snow showers and squalls will tend to bubble up across the Northeast through Wednesday afternoon.”
Accumulating snow is expected from the eastern Great Lakes through interior New England, with the heaviest snow likely downwind of Lakes Ontario and Erie and in the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, the weather service said.
A few strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible across parts of the southern Great Plains both Wednesday and Thursday, the Storm Prediction Center said.
The potential for thunderstorms packing significant hail and powerful wind gusts will shift from central Texas on Wednesday to southeastern Texas on Thursday, AccuWeather said.
Snow here, snow there, snow everywhere:US gets snow in all 50 states.
After a week of record-breaking cold temperatures and historic snowfall, Florida weather is back to normal. The Pensacola area is forecast to see high temperatures around 69 degrees on Wednesday before warming up to 70 on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
From Jan. 19-25, Pensacola’s average temperature was 33.8 degrees, which is 17.3 degrees below the average temperature for the same time frame, according to the weather service. A week ago Pensacola was slammed with 5 inches of snow, breaking the state record. Some nearby areas saw up to 10 inches.
Tallahassee and Jacksonville will see temperatures in the 70s throughout the week, and Jacksonville will have highs in the low 80s, according to AccuWeather. Central Florida and South Florida will have warm weather in the high 70s and low 80s throughout the week.
− Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal
AccuWeather, summarizing January temperatures observed so far, said the Northeast and I-95 corridor are tracking several degrees below the historical averages given the recent cold conditions that have gripped the region. Overall, Washington, D.C., is trending nearly 6 degrees below its historical averages, Philadelphia is around 5 degrees below, and New York City is around 4 degrees below, AccuWeather reported.
But while the Gulf Coast and parts of the South are still rebounding from a historic snowfall, the Northeast has seen relatively little snow so far this season.
“Cities like Philadelphia have only reported 4.9 inches of snow since Oct. 1, which is roughly 50% of the historical average snowfall during that time frame,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.
As the weather system that finally brought substantial rain to Southern California moves slowly east, battle-scarred residents may be wondering how long they’re safe from the kind of wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles County neighborhoods this month. The approximate answer: Maybe a week?
That doesn’t mean such devastating infernos will return in early February, only that the weekend’s precipitation wasn’t strong enough to fully soak the drought-stricken region and eliminate fire danger.
“This might keep things down for a week or so,” AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva said. “They didn’t get an extreme amount of rain. It will help to douse the fires, but in a week or so it’s just going to be dry again.’’ Read more here.
− Jorge L. Ortiz
More:Rain is only a break from LA wildfire danger: ‘Keep things down for a week’
There was some good weather news: Much of the Central, Eastern and Southeastern U.S. were experiencing a warmup, and temperatures were returning to levels at or above average for the season after multiple weeks of bitter cold. It has been so cold in the South that much of the region was slammed with a rare snowstorm last week.
South digs out from brutal storm:Florida cities still more frigid than Alaska
“Sandwiched between the Southwest and Northeast corners of the nation, much of the Central and Eastern U.S. will experience well above average temperatures through Thursday,” wrote Weather Prediction Center meteorologist Deirdre Dolan. She said some high temperatures in the north-Central U.S. could be 15-25 degrees above normal and could break records.