Nat'l Weather (9pm) October 22 2004

[Jeb]

Thunderstorms for the Great Lakes to the Tennessee Valley

9:09 P.M. ET 10/22/2004

 

Tom Moore, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel

 

 

 

West

A fairly modest cold front will streak eastward from the Pacific Northwest into the northern and central Plains Saturday while its southern tail will gradually stall out from northern California to Colorado by Sunday. Elevations above 4000 to 5500 feet from southern Cascades and the mountains of northern California to the Bitterroots and Tetons in the northern Rockies could pick up 3 to 8 inches of wind-driven snow by midday Saturday. Rain showers will develop all the way down to Reno and San Francisco before the day is over. A new potent storm will hit the West Coast late Monday and Tuesday. At the same time, tropical moisture feeding northward from Baja and northwest Mexico could rapidly increase showers and thunderstorms over parts of Arizona and New Mexico by Monday. These two moisture sources will give most of the West another strong dose of heavy rain and mountain snow Tuesday into Thursday.

 

Midwest

Low pressure will send rain and some strong thunderstorms eastward from the eastern Plains and Mississippi Valley into the western and central Great Lakes and Ohio Valley by late Saturday. The stronger thunderstorms will produce some damaging wind gusts, hail and isolated tornadoes. The front will exit the eastern Ohio Valley Sunday. Behind the first system, a new front will race across the Plains and Upper Midwest Sunday with a few showers and across the Great Lakes and into the Ohio Valley Monday. A stronger western storm could begin to affect the Midwest later Tuesday into Wednesday with more thunderstorms. Temperatures will trend back toward average or slightly below over the next few days.

 

South

Thunderstorms will shift eastward Saturday, extending from the Tennessee Valley to southern Texas. A few of the storms could have some gusty winds. The front will rapidly weaken on Sunday. Residual showers will then shift from the southern Appalachians into the Carolinas. A few thunderstorms will dot the Deep South Sunday as the front stalls from the central Georgia to eastern Texas. Above average temperatures that resulted in record heat around Houston this week will linger over eastern Texas and Louisiana well into the coming week. Showers and thunderstorms will mainly develop from the lower Mississippi Valley westward Monday through Thursday as a new storm takes shape over the West.

 

Northeast

A potent storm will intensify well off the East Coast this weekend while high pressure remains locked over eastern Canada, leaving the Northeast with some clouds and cool temperatures. The clouds may again give way to some sunshine in some parts of New York, New England and Mid-Atlantic on Saturday. It should be quite cool but dry for the first game of the World Series in Boston on Saturday evening. Looking ahead into the weekend, a weakening cold front will slide over New York State and the Mid-Atlantic later Sunday into Monday, spreading some showers into the region. The storm off the East Coast may increase the northeast winds over Southern New England by Monday. Clouds could remain a problem especially over coastal areas into the coming week. Temperatures will remain somewhat below average into Monday.