Nat'l Weather (9:20pm) October 14 2004

[Jeb]

Stormy Pattern Favors Rain and Wind Midwest to East

9:20 P.M. ET 10/14/2004

 

James Wilson and Brandon Noriega, Meteorologists, The Weather Channel

 

 

 

Northeast

A fairly potent low-pressure area and cold front from out of the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys will swing into the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast on Friday. As this system is pulled northward, it will be absorbed into an even bigger storm evolving over the Great Lakes. A band of moderate to heavy rain accented with gusty winds and a few claps of thunder will sweep from the Virginias to New York and southwest New England on Friday. Lighter showers over the remainder of New England will turn heavier Friday night into early Saturday. A few strong gusty thunderstorms are forecast for coastal sections of the Delmarva Peninsula and New Jersey on Friday. Temperatures out ahead of the storm will be near average for the most part on Friday then dropping slightly on Saturday. Highs on Friday will range in the 60s from Down East Maine to New York City, with the 50s along the US/Canadian border into western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Look for temperatures to fall into the 50s for much of the Northeast on Saturday with gusty winds and lingering showers from the mountains westward as the broad area of low pressure over Michigan intensifies.

 

South

As thunderstorms exit the Carolinas during the morning and push southward over the Florida Peninsula during the day, the Southeast will clear on Friday with the vigorous storm taking aim on the Great Lakes and Northeast. Gusty west to northwest winds will help scour the clouds out of the Southeast on Friday. Friday morning lows will range from the 30s in Arkansas with the 40s as far south as from San Antonio, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama. Highs on Friday will stay in the 60s for much of the Southeast (50s eastern Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains, 70s eastern North Carolina and 70s and 80s Florida Peninsula) but with sunny skies and drier air it will feel warmer then Thursday. Out ahead of the next cold front and under mostly sunny skies, high temperatures across the southern Plains will warm into the 70s and 80s. With more clear skies overnight, Saturday morning temperatures will drop back into the mid to upper 40s as far south as the Florida Panhandle. If warm weather with low humidity is what you crave head to central or south Florida.

 

Midwest

A large vigorous low will strengthen over Michigan into the weekend. This will result in the weather from the Upper Midwest to the Ohio River Valley turning gray and dreary with plenty of clouds, showers and strong gusty winds. High temperatures on Friday will run between 10 and 15 degrees below average with the 40s from the Dakotas east into Upper Michigan, the 50s from Nebraska to Ohio and 60s from Kansas to Missouri. By later Friday into Saturday morning, the air will be cold enough for some snow from northern Minnesota into western Upper Michigan. By Sunday, a new system will already be making a move from the northern Rockies into the northern Plains, bringing some snow to parts of North Dakota and northern Minnesota while Michigan gets of brief chance to dry out.

 

West

Most of the West will enjoy another day of bountiful sunshine and warm temperatures on Friday. The exception will be a band of showers across Montana and Wyoming and chilly temperatures over the northern high Plains. Also one more day of continued warmth will not be welcomed news for fire fighters battling the smoky blazes in the central Sierra. However the winds of change are blowing and will bring a change to the weather by Saturday. The strong ridge of high pressure aloft that has dominated the Western weather will begin to weaken and break down on Friday. This will allow the offshore winds in California to decrease and allow the high temperatures to begin to fall back toward more average readings. There are two upper-level storms that will affect the West over the weekend. The Pacific Northwest will start to fell the affects of one storm on late Friday as showers move onshore into northwest Washington. The second system will move eastward into the central and southern sections of California by Saturday firmly re-establishing a cloudy and potentially drizzly marine layer and then into the Four Corners' Sunday possibly sparking a few showers from eastern Nevada into the central and southern Rockies. Meanwhile, the storm system from out of the Pacific Northwest will increase showers and mountain snow from Washington and Oregon to Montana and Wyoming over the weekend.