Heartland On Ice
A huge winter weather pattern is hammering across the United States, with a massive ice storm planted firmly across parts of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.
The entire system slashes right across the country, virtually from coast to coast. The bad news is that today is looking like a relatively mild day compared to what they are predicting for tomorrow.
Some lightning and thunder could accompany regions receiving ice, which would not be expected by most people. This occurs because a warm layer of air in the midlevels of the atmosphere will be sandwiched between two layers of cold air.
Meanwhile, the cold snap continues across the West and the northern tier of the nation, and this will allow for snow to blanket regions from northern Arizona to central Michigan. A large area is expected to have 1 to 3 inches of snow. Today, more snow is expected to fall in the Four Corners region, which was hit the hardest through Monday and Monday night.
Some drenching rain is also expected today. The corridor of heavy rain will encompass a large area from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. The air will be mild with a warm and moist flow out of the Gulf.
Pittsburgh, Pa., and Washington, D.C., will both reach into the 50s today, which is about 10 degrees above normal for both cities. The overnight lows will also be rather warm, and will not drop off too much from the daytime highs.
As the warm, moist air penetrates the East, many areas will be blanketed by a dense fog. Traffic will be slowed due to visibilities being greatly reduced. Remember to turn your headlights on and allow extra time on the roads this morning.
Ugly weather across much of the US for a while longer.
By feeblemind, Tuesday, 11 December , 2007 @ 10:34 am
3″ of new snow here to go on top of the 3″ we already had, with a little ice sandwiched in between. This winter is shaping up to be as bad as last year’s, when we had ice-glazed snow on the ground from Dec to March. Disheartening.