Nat'l Weather (7pm) October 30 2004

[Jeb]

Windy storm exits Midwest to Northeast, New wet storm South

7:14 P.M. ET 10/30/2004

 

James Wilson, Sr. Meteorologist, The Weather Channel

 

 

Midwest

The howling winds with gusts from 30 to as high as 60 mph on Saturday will be a memory on Sunday as the powerful storm system exits the region into eastern Canada. It will be the calm after the storm for Halloween trick or treaters. The temperatures will cool down overnight but be right back to near average on Sunday. Enjoy the nice weather because on Monday a new storm that will gather steam in the South will organize and push rain into the forecast. Look for the rain and showers to continue on Election Day as the storm gathers energy and keeps it damp and cool.

 

Northeast

The Great Lakes wind machine storm will take a trek into eastern Canada on Sunday dragging a cold front behind it. This cold front will whip through and offer the region breezy to gusty winds after it passes. These pesky winds should persist into Sunday afternoon. This "cold" front will actually produce a warmer day in the Northeast Urban Corridor for Halloween. Why you ask? Saturday was a rather cloudy day as moist air glided over a warm front south of the area. Strong west winds moving down the lee slopes of the Appalachians behind the "cold" front will sweep away Saturday's stubborn low clouds and bring plenty of sunshine to the Urban Corridor. Highs will reach well into the 60s in Boston and New York. Pleasant, if windy, highs in the 70s can be expected over the Chesapeake Bay region. The only blemish on this otherwise nice Northeast Halloween is a risk for some wrap-around showers, some enhanced by Lake Ontario, over western New York and north country of New England.

 

South

October is ending on a warm note over much of the region. A persistent pattern of high pressure has camped over the Gulf Coast and Southeast the past 1-2 weeks. To illustrate how warm October has been, Houston has had 10 days this month with highs at least 90 degrees. Corpus Christi, Texas has been even warmer, reaching 90 degrees a whopping 17 days this month. To end the weekend there will be no exception to this toasty picture. A frontal boundary will stall, then lift northward through the Southern Plains over the next few days. Rain and thunderstorms will slowly spread eastward from Texas into Oklahoma and Arkansas on Sunday, then march eastward into the Lower Mississippi Valley on Monday. Heavy rainfall should be the main concern with this new frontal system. This new frontal system looks to hang over the Southeast on Election Day. Get out your umbrella you'll need it standing in line to vote.

 

West

This weekend, we'll watch a storm system spread snow from the Cascades into the northern and central Rockies. Snow levels in the Cascades will range from 3000 to 4000 feet, and generally from 4000 to 6000 feet in the Bitterroots and Tetons. Light snow should also spread into the Salt Lake Valley, where an inch of slushy snow is possible overnight. Another inch or two is possible here again Sunday, with higher amounts in the benches. High wind warnings have been needed for the Rocky Mountain Front Range of northern Montana, where gusts from 50 to 80 mph have occurred. Look for the gusty winds to continue from Montana to Colorado overnight into Sunday as the cold front plows south and east. This storm system looks poised to bring the first measurable snowfall of the season to Colorado's city of Denver late Sunday into early Monday. A strong cold front should nosedive down the High Plains Sunday afternoon. Snow should begin in the Denver-Boulder-Ft. Collins urban corridor Sunday night, continuing through at least the first half of Monday. Current indications suggest a couple of inches of wet snow are possible by the time all is said and done Monday in Denver. Heavier amounts will likely be pinned to the foothills and Palmer Divide south and southwest of downtown Denver. Strong north winds may keep temperatures from getting above freezing for the first day of November in the Mile High City. Not to be left out are the Wasatch and Colorado High Country, which should see several inches of new snow to please early-season skiers.