National Weather at 250pm January 6 2005

[Jeb]

More storminess for the West

2:52 P.M. ET 1/6/2005

 

M. Ressler, Sr. Meteorologist, The Weather Channel

 

 

West

One storm heading southward from British Columbia into the Pacific Northwest and a second storm sweeping into California from off the Pacific Ocean will bring very wet weather back to the West on Friday. Snow levels below 500 feet at times in western Washington will bring several inches of snow to Seattle. Snow levels down to 1000 feet in western Oregon will bring snow to the coastal range. Heavy rain, heavy snow and strong winds will focus on California. Rain to 2 inches or more will fall along the immediate coast on Friday between San Francisco and Los Angeles with higher amounts in the coastal mountains. Snow levels will range from 3000 in the northern California mountains to 5000 feet in the southern Sierra. Snow levels will start out at 5000 feet in the Southern California mountains and then rise. On Friday, parts of the Sierra could pick up several feet of snow by nightfall. Winds could gust as high as 60 to 70 mph in the mountains and as high as 50 mph around San Francisco and across the Central Valley. On Saturday, heavy rain will target Southern California in particular with possibly 4 inches along the coast and valleys with higher amounts into the mountains. Flooding will again become a serious concern. Wind-driven snow will continue to be measured foot on foot in the Sierra. Snow will move across the Great Basin and into the Rockies Friday and Saturday and numerous winter storm watches are already in effect. Mountain ranges like the Wasatch in Utah could be measuring the snow in feet this weekend. The wet pattern will continue into the coming week.

 

Northeast

One messy snow, sleet and freezing rain storm will exit New England Friday morning. The Northeast will then get a one day break before a new storm arrives on Saturday. The Mid-Atlantic will have another round of rain to start the weekend. A wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain, possibly changing to rain, will hit parts of Upstate New York and the central and southern portions of New England. The region will get another dry break on Sunday but new disturbances may brush the region Monday and Wednesday.

 

Midwest

The storm is over but snow and ice remain in the cold air from Kansas and Nebraska to Michigan and northern Ohio. On Friday, a new disturbance will cause a band of rain north of a stalled front in the Ohio Valley. On Saturday, the Plains and Midwest will be precipitation-free. On Sunday, snow will streak out across the northern Plains. In the coming week, the region will become wetter again. Temperatures will be on the rebound. By Sunday, only North Dakota will have high temperatures below average. The remainder of the region will have daytime temperatures 10 to 25 degrees above average. Temperatures across the snow and ice areas will range from the 40s in Iowa and Lower Michigan to the 60s in Kansas. The snow and ice will be quickly melting this weekend. The tree damage from the ice will take a lot longer to clean up.

 

South

A disturbance along a stalled front will bring heavy rain to the lower Mississippi Valley on Friday. Then some weakening showers will move east and fizzle out from the southern Appalachians to the northern Gulf Coast on Saturday. The South could be pretty much rain free Sunday and Monday with showers returning to the southern Plains and then the lower Mississippi Valley Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures will be 10 to 15 degrees above average in the Southeast on Friday. Over the weekend, warmth resurges. The entire region from the southern Plains to the Southeast will be 10 to 20 degrees above average which will mean 60s and 70s for all again by Sunday. High temperatures will be a few degrees warmer each day Monday through Wednesday except where cooler air will try to encroach across northwest Oklahoma and western Texas.