National Weather at 830pm February 15 2005

[Jeb]

Colder temperatures ahead for the Midwest and Northeast

8:34 P.M. ET 2/15/2005

 

Tom Moore, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel

 

 

 

Northeast

After a mild Tuesday, residents of the Northeast are in for some changes over the next couple of days. The transition will begin on Wednesday as rain changes to snow from west to east across Upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania. Snow may cause a few morning rush hour problems around Buffalo and Rochester. A larger blast of cold air will sweep into the region on Wednesday night and Thursday. On Wednesday, snowfall amounts probably will stay in the 2 to 4 inch range. On Thursday and Friday, lake-effect snow will develop, especailly east of Lake Ontario. Meanwhile, some of the major metro areas on the East Coast will see temperatures back down in the 30s by Friday.

 

Midwest

Winter has certainly been missing in action lately across the Upper Midwest. It looks like that will all change for the rest of the week as some polar air pushes into the region. Look for a little snow, overnight, around Chicago but parts of Lower Michigan may pick up four inches or more. Light snow is expected in cities like Cleveland and Detroit. A blast of cold air over Lake Superior will produce some significant lake-effect snow over parts of the Upper Peninsula late Wednesday and Wednesday night. Thursday will be a cold and blustery day across most of Michigan with lake-effect snow showers downwind of Lakes Superior and Michigan. Thursday will also feature snow showers across parts of northern Ohio and Indiana. Friday will feature more of the same. High temperatures on Thursday will range from the chilly single digits across northern Minnesota to the 40s across the Ohio Valley.

 

South

Much of the South experienced a warm Tuesday with many new record highs for the date. That will all change on Wednesday as cooler air invades the region. For example, Dallas-Ft. Worth reaches a record of 83 degrees on Tuesday but will only be in the 50s on Wednesday. Showers will fall across the southern Appalachians through the Carolinas. Highs across the region on Wednesday will range from near 50 in western Tennessee to the low 80s in southern Texas. Florida will remain mild with highs well up in the 70s. Thursday will be even colder across the Southeast.

 

West

A stalled area of low pressure off the coast of California will send waves of showers across northern and central sections of California on eastward into the Intermountain West. Areas that need the rain like the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies will be sunny on Wednesday. By Thursday, rain will slide down into the Southwest across areas that picked up so much rain last week. High temperatures on Wednesday will range from the 20s in the higher elevations of Wyoming and Colorado to the 70s in the Desert Southwest.