Temperatures Rebound in the Plains With Clippers in the North

A strong system entered the Midwest on Sunday, leading to blizzard conditions and pockets of heavy snow from Minnesota into northern Iowa and Wisconsin. Strong thunderstorms also accompanied this system, with large hail and a few tornadoes in Illinois. Later this week, multiple quick-moving clipper systems will slide through the Midwest, leading to some portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and northern Ohio seeing at least 1-2 inches of snow with each round. Locally higher amounts over four inches are possible downwind of the Great Lakes. Temperatures will also fluctuate as these clipper systems move through, diving below average Wednesday and Thursday before rebounding closer to average by Saturday.

Strong winds and light snow led to blizzard conditions in the eastern Dakotas on Sunday with temperatures plummeting below zero degrees Fahrenheit Monday morning. Clipper systems from southern Canada will tag the northeast Plains Tuesday-Thursday, providing a few inches of snow. After a cold start to the week on Monday, temperatures should rise above average for much of the Northern Plains Tuesday. The northwest Plains will maintain above-average temperatures throughout the rest of the week, but the eastern Dakotas could see more variability as temperatures dip below average at times with the clipper systems moving through. By this weekend, high temperatures could approach the 40s or 50s in the Dakotas with a risk for spotty freezing rain on Sunday.

Low temperatures Monday morning dropped into teens and 20s across Kansas, Oklahoma and West Texas. After the recent warmth last week, some winter wheat came out of dormancy, making it more vulnerable to winter kill. Luckily, the cold isn’t expected to last long as high temperatures start rebounding above average after the middle of this week. Highs could reach back into the 50s and 60s in the Southern Plains late this week. Precipitation will largely swing around the Central and Southern Plains throughout the week, besides a few light rain showers in the Southern Plains on Friday. Conditions could remain largely dry for the upcoming weekend as well.

River levels along the Mississippi have been critically low with limited precipitation. Little relief is expected this week, but a quick-moving system will provide less than 0.5 inches to eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, and western Mississippi on Friday. After cooler temperatures on Monday and Tuesday, temperatures will start trending warmer Wednesday. Most of the Mississippi Delta could see temperatures rise 4-8 degrees F above average by Sunday.

A cold front worked its way across the Southeast Sunday into Monday, but precipitation remained relatively light. Most of Alabama and Georgia saw less than 0.2 inches of rain. Dry conditions return Tuesday through Thursday along with cooler temperatures. Portions of southern Alabama and Georgia could see temperatures dip 12-14 degrees F below average. The next system to move through the Southeast will occur Friday through Saturday. A few areas could see rainfall totals exceed one inch, but it will be spotty with rainfall totals closer to 0.25-0.5 inches favored for much of Alabama and Georgia.

Precipitation across the West was spotty over the weekend and conditions are expected to remain largely dry through Tuesday. By Wednesday, another system will start to enter California and parts of the Desert Southwest. Heavy rain could impact southern California with 1.5-2.5 inches forecast near the Los Angeles metro. Additional waves of precipitation will come crashing into the West Coast late this week into the upcoming weekend as an upper-air trough develops. Snow totals will likely exceed 12 inches across portions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains Friday into Saturday. Temperatures will likely remain above average for much of the western United States throughout the week with temperatures rising above 10 degrees F in the Rockies.

Teresa Wells can be reached at teresa.wells@dtn.com