Pre-Christmas Snowfall Expected

While a rain storm is expected across the vast majority of the Midwest by Christmas Day, some light to moderate snow on Friday may help you get in the Holiday spirit. A system currently dropping heavy rain in the Las Vegas area will quickly charge northeast tomorrow. It will not have much to time to develop into a full blown winter storm, like many of these tracks can produce, but will still be capable of impacting travel Friday into Saturday. A general 2-4" of snow is expected from northeast Iowa through much of Wisconsin by late Friday evening.

However, there may end up being a narrow band of heavier snow that the weather computer models did not latch on to. With decent moisture streaming in from the south, and nothing to essentially block it, these systems have a tendency to surprise. Exactly where this heavier band of 5"+ sets up is hard to say, but the darkest swath on the map shows the most likely spot to see near a half of a foot. Again, most places will be in the 2-4" range, but a few cities may see more. Have a great Holiday Season! And travel safe!

Another Winter Storm to Hit the Midwest

A complex storm system is beginning to organize off the West Coast this afternoon. Its counter-clockwise flow around the center and open feed to tropical regions in the Pacific Ocean has been pulling moisture from the areas further southwest to the United states. This along with an eventual feed of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will provide ample moisture for our next winter storm to work with come Friday into the weekend. Heavy snow total will likely be seen through multiple states.

Unlike most systems that move through the Midwest and produce snow, this area of low pressure will drop the most snow from the warm front ahead of the actual center. As warm air is forced north and overruns the cold air already in place a lifting mechanism is created. Anytime you get lift in the atmosphere and moisture is in place, precipitation will likely follow, and in this case it will be cold enough for snow. The best place for this meteorological process will be from South Dakota through Lower Michigan

Much of the Midwest will get in on the accumulating snow, some areas will likely approach a foot of snow. The best chances for 10-12" will be across northern Lower Michigan back through eastern Wisconsin. Meanwhile near 6" of snow will set up further west. Most of this snow will be very light and fluffy, piling up quickly. It will not take too much to blow the snow around. As this system pulls away on Sunday, the coldest air in years will fill in behind. Check out the morning wind chills Sunday, forecasted from the GFS model. For more, follow on Twitter and Facebook!

Rounds of Snow, Coldest Air in Over a Year

An active pattern is beginning to unfold across much of the Midwest starting this weekend. A system will emerge from the Rocky mountain late Friday into Saturday ans head east across the country this weekend. Two rounds of snow are expected, with the initial round kicked off thanks to a warm front and a tightening temperature gradient through the Plains into the Upper Midwest. Then as the area of low pressure develops another, stronger, batch of snow is expected to develop to the northwest of the track.


This, all on the heals of the coldest air and potentially coldest departures from normal in over 18-21 months! So below for how cold it could get relative to normal next week below.

Over a 48 hours period, some hefty snow totals are possible. With the exact details still in question, exact snow totals are not responsible to forecast quite yet. The map on the right shows the best chance for a swath of a half foot of snow. Those who get in on both round of snow will have the best chance for 6"-10", and this is outlined in darker blue. With the multiple rounds and various dynamics coming into play with this event, the forecast is challenging.  Be sure to follow on Twitter and Facebook for more!

Some Light Snow Before Cold Air Dives Down

A weak storm system will bring the first round of accumulating snow for many across the Upper Midwest on Sunday. Generally 1-3" is expected for most areas that see persistent snow. With the more moderate snow coming during the afternoon for many, accumulation on roadways will be minimal south of I-90 as temperatures will be hovering right around freezing. Persistent bands of moderate snow may yield up to 3", maybe 4" of snow on grassy surfaces in southwestern Wisconsin. Total snow forecast by Monday morning below.