Some wild weather is likely in the United States during the next couple of weeks. While the Northeast is experiencing a quiet January thaw early this week, a slow-moving storm is drenching the South Central U.S.. Several inches of rain are likely in the next three days near Houston, TX. Some rain is a welcome sight in those areas, but it may be too much, too soon for areas impacted by a drought. Some flash flooding is likely.
The storm will eventually move north through the Midwest as the leading edge of near-record warmth that will spread from the Midwest to the East Coast. At the same time, Arctic air will be plunging into the Rockies, and snow is likely from Utah to Minnesota by late in the week.
By this weekend, the Rockies and part of the Western United States will be experiencing temperatures that are more than 25° F colder than normal, while in the East the temperature soars to 25°+ F warmer than normal. Record cold and record high temperatures could be set on either side of the country. The temperature during Saturday evening’s NFL game in Denver may be in the low teens, while the temperature for Sunday evening’s Patriots-Texans game in Foxboro may be in the low 50s.
Early next week, the January thaw will end in the Eastern U.S., and much colder weather will follow. Some models are indicating a swing from record-warm to record-cold weather in parts of the Northeast between late this weekend and the middle of next week. The cold plunge may also be accompanied by some wintry weather if a storm develops along the Arctic boundary.
While this current mild stretch gives us a nice respite from a bitter chilly, all indications are that this winter is far from over, and the coldest is yet to come. This shift from a January thaw to a cold snap has been discussed in the Long Range Forecast for the past week. If you’re interested in accessing the Long Range Forecast and many more added features, consider joining Right Weather Pro for just $39.99/yr.
