Big System Moving Through US This Weekend

In the Midwest, a couple of systems moved through this week with the most showers coming Thursday night into Friday across the north as a mix of rain, freezing rain, and snow. A bigger system will move through on Sunday and Monday. Its cold front should produce widespread precipitation. Winds on the backside of the system should be very strong, ushering in much colder air that will lead to some significant lake-effect snow. A clipper moving through midweek should also bring some streaks of snow.

In the Northern Plains, isolated showers have been moving through all week with several disturbances moving through Canada. A larger storm will move through on Saturday, but only isolated showers are forecast into Sunday. A clipper may graze the region with snow in the middle of next week as well.

In the Central and Southern Plains, it was dry this week and record-high temperatures caused soil moisture to fall and drought to spread through more of the region. A front will move through with some limited showers this weekend, but drier conditions are forecast through next week as well. Drought is likely to spread to more areas next week, but the weather pattern could become a little more favorable for precipitation later next week or weekend.

In the Delta, a few spotty showers developed this week, but most areas stayed dry as soil moisture continues to fall, and drought continues to spread. A front will move through on Sunday with scattered showers, but not a lot of rain is forecast. Drier conditions continue to be worrisome for the region. Snowmelt and increased showers in the Midwest have led to a bump on the Mississippi River, but those levels should be falling next week.

In the Southeast, it was dry this week. A front will move through on Sunday night into Monday with scattered showers, but not a lot of rain is in the forecast. Dryness and drought continue to be a concern going into the new year.

In the Western U.S., multiple storms hit the coast this week and produced significant precipitation in California especially, but were widespread throughout the region this week, especially on Wednesday and Thursday. Another system continues to spread showers across the region Friday and Saturday before exiting. After a few dry days next week, showers are forecast to return to both the Southwest and Northwest later next week. Drought conditions and snowpack are improving overall, though drought conditions are still widespread outside of California.

John Baranick can be reached at john.baranick@dtn.com