Nat'l Weather (920pm) October 28 2004

[Jeb]

Storm system heads for the Plains and Upper Midwest

9:20 P.M. ET 10/28/2004

 

Tom Moore, Sr. Meteorologist, The Weather Channel

 

 

Midwest

Low pressure will intensify on Friday as it shifts from the north-central high Plains toward southeast Ontario. Wet weather will spread across northern Plains into the Upper Midwest while scattered thunderstorms will precede the warm front through Lower Michigan and the eastern Ohio Valley on Friday. Thunderstorms, some possibly severe, will accompany the cold front. An isolated tornado is possible, as well. Most of thes activity will be from the eastern Dakotas to Wisconsin. The next cold front will sweep across the region late Saturday through late Monday accompanied by locally heavy rain and thunderstorms from the central Plains and Mississippi Valley eastward. Temperatures will be 5 to 20 degrees above average across much of the region on Friday and range from near average to 10 degrees above average over the weekend. By Tuesday, temperatures will likely be at or below average region-wide.

 

West

The second significant storm in the last two weeks is finally moving away from the West, but more storm systems are on the way. As a result, the Southwest will quiet down, but the Northwest will remain quite active. Showers and mountain snow will linger in the northern and central Rockies Friday as heavier rains develop over eastern Wyoming. Showers will continue over Washington and western Oregon as the next storm approaches. A new cold front will race across the Northwest Saturday with rain and mountain snow from Washington, Oregon and northernmost California into the northern Rockies. On Sunday as the front sags southward through the Four Corners' states and exits into the Plains, snow showers will continue over the northern and central Rockies, showers will develop eastward over the central high Plains and showers and mountain snow will push into the southern Rockies. The next in the series of storms will hit the Northwest on Monday. Temperatures will remain below average right into the coming week.

 

South

On Friday, more thunderstorms will develop over parts of the Southeast in the vicinity of a stalled front while isolated thunderstorms erupt in the southern Plains ahead of the emerging western cold front. Temperatures will continue to run well above average, especially along the Gulf Coast into southern Texas where high temperatures will again reach into the upper 80s and lower 90s on Friday afternoon. From the southern Plains, the cold front will stall west to east across the South this weekend as it bumps into a stubborn high pressure ridge. Thunderstorms will be limited on Saturday but may become more numerous over the southern Plains by Sunday. On Monday into Tuesday, another cold front will sweep from Oklahoma and Texas to the Southeast Coast finally pushing the very warm temperatures down into Florida.

 

Northeast

As high pressure retreats eastward, showers will begin to invade western New York, western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia and western Virginia on Friday. The Northeast Corridor cities will enjoy another dry day. High temperatures will range from the 40s in Northern New England to the 60s south of the Mason-Dixon Line. One cold front will sweep through the region over the weekend with the bulk of the showers and thunderstorms moving through on Saturday and a second one may affect the region with wet weather on Election Day.