A major winter storm will bring snow, low temperatures, strong winds, and rain to parts of the U.S. as millions plan to fly early for Thanksgiving.
The first major winter storm of the season is the second of two expected this week.
On Monday, the first storm system caused severe weather across the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley, including many Severe Thunderstorms and Tornado Warnings in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
The Texas Denton County Office of Emergency Management said that severe winds pushed over two tractor-trailers on Interstate 35, including one that hit a pickup truck in Denton.
Emergency personnel halted the southbound interstate while investigating the incident. As severe weather hit early Monday morning in Weatherford, Oklahoma, a video showed powerful gusts and copious rain.
As the storm system advances north this week, arctic air will combine with it, causing extensive snow in the Dakotas and maybe Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The Dakotas could get 50-60 mph wind gusts on Tuesday as the system moves west.
The FOX Forecast Center warned that Interstate 29 from Fargo to Sioux Falls and Interstate 94 from Fargo to Bismarck might be dangerous when rain turns to snow.
As cooler air surrounds the storm system on Wednesday, Minneapolis, Green Bay, and Milwaukee will be on alert for snow showers.
The FOX Forecast Center predicts that the second storm might have a wider impact, especially since people will travel before Thanksgiving.
A strong low-pressure system will soon be built in the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes. This new low will intensify over the Great Lakes later this week, threatening severe winds in the eastern U.S.
The storm is likely to move toward the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by the end of the week, bringing cold air that could sustain a huge snow band in the Ohio Valley.
The Appalachian Mountains will receive the coldest air from the south.
The FOX Forecast Center predicts snowfall across the Ohio Valley, northern mid-Atlantic, and interior Northeast from the end of the week into the weekend. However, experts indicated the amount of cold air for snow is still undetermined.
The National Weather Service has issued Winter Storm Watches for eastern West Virginia and western Maryland Panhandle mountains from Thursday afternoon to Saturday evening.
Lake-effect snow is possible, but the FOX Forecast Center says it depends on the low-pressure system. The air may be too warm for lake-effect snow.
Weather in the Northeast at the end of the week and into the weekend might impede aviation and road travel during Thanksgiving travel week.
Due to record-dry conditions, the FOX Forecast Center doesn’t predict flash flooding in the Northeast despite heavy rain.
However, it brings much-needed rain, which will assist fight wildfires. From California to Washington, a severe bomb cyclone connected with a massive atmospheric river might cause floods this week.
Meteorologists call “bomb cyclone” “bombogenesis” or “explosive cyclogenesis.” A storm system’s central pressure decreases 24 millibars within 24 hours.
The FOX Forecast Center predicts a large moisture influx on Tuesday night and into the weekend.