Developing storm to stir up major changes in the Rockies and Plains
A massive storm will be a major weathermaker across the entire country this week, and AccuWeather forecasters say that it will unleash a range of impacts including drenching rain, potent thunderstorms and even some snow.
"The coast-to-coast storm will bring rain to parts of the Northwest through Tuesday night, then reorganize over the High Plains Wednesday night and Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg explained.
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Across the Rocky Mountains, a dramatic temperature drop can occur into midweek as this feature enters the region. Cities such as Denver will experience a temperature roller coaster throughout the week. Following a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday afternoon, daytime temperatures may be no better than the lower 50s on Thursday and Friday.
Many locations across Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana will feel the brunt of the tumbling temperatures from early to late week. Some locations can observe high temperatures plunging from the 70s and 80s into the 40s and 50s over the course of a few days, with a slight rebound likely for most areas of the interior West by the weekend.
Residents in Casper, Wyoming, are forecast to experience some of the most dramatic swings in the weather. After highs in the mid-70s for the region early this week, clouds will move in Wednesday and temperatures will begin a downward spiral, resulting in the potential for a slushy snowfall across the area. Daytime highs by Thursday may only creep up into the lower 40s.
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"Rain is going to change to snow in the higher elevations in Wyoming and northern Colorado Wednesday night; this snow will continue to mix with rain throughout the day as the storm strengthens across the central Plains on Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys said. "This snow and rain mixture will expand across southern Wyoming and into western Nebraska and southwestern South Dakota late Thursday into Thursday night."
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Forecasters say that any accumulation that occurs across the Western states will mainly be on non-paved surfaces, especially outside of the higher terrain.
From Wednesday to Thursday, this feature will emerge into the Plains, spreading rain and thunderstorms across the center of the country.
Severe weather can even fire up as early as Wednesday night across southeastern South Dakota, central and eastern Nebraska and southern Iowa as the storm advances eastward, with the primary threats being gusty winds and hail.
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Wet conditions will expand from northeastern Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota into southern Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan on Thursday. As the core of the storm's energy transfers into the central Plains, another zone of severe storms can erupt over eastern Nebraska and Kansas, southern Iowa and northern Missouri from Thursday to Thursday evening, with the potential for storms to extend as far south as northeastern Oklahoma.
Thursday's main severe weather concerns will be large hail, flooding downpours and localized damaging wind gusts. However, forecasters warn that a rogue tornado or two cannot yet be ruled out given the energetic setup.
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"This event is going to bring a soaking rain for areas that really need the rain across central and eastern Nebraska into Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin Thursday into Friday," Roys said.
While the rain will benefit areas facing severe to extreme drought, it could create some short-term issues for farmers who are harvesting their crops.
The heavy rain and storms developing across the Plains may cause localized urban-style flooding issues, particularly across Minnesota and Wisconsin, especially where leaves clog storm drains.
On the other hand, it may leave more to be desired regarding alleviating low water conditions on the Lower Mississippi River.
The ground will absorb some of the rain that falls, but some rain will work into the upper portion of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "There should be a short-term, probably minor, positive response with river levels over the next week or two that will gradually work downstream.
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Much more rain is needed on a regular basis to ease the drought and to get navigation back to average pace on the Mississippi, Sosnowski added.
By Friday, the storm is expected to transition over parts of the Midwest and bring disruptions from areas of Minnesota to Indiana. Motorists and airline passengers traveling through metro areas like Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit may experience slowdowns through Friday night as downpours spread across the region.
Forecasters warn that at least the first half of the weekend is likely to be damp, yet again, across parts of the Northeast. Residents across parts of the mid-Atlantic states and New England haven't been able to catch a break recently concerning dreary and damp weekends, and unfortunately, conditions this weekend may not break the ongoing streak.
"The incoming rain this weekend would mark the sixth consecutive weekend with some measurable rain in the New York City area," Lundberg said.
On the heels of the cross-country storm, there can be a shot of cool air to follow behind it across the Plains. That cooler flow of air is likely to push southward and eastward later this weekend into early next week.
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