- Another major storm is looming in the United States this week.
- Heavy snow, wind, flooding rain and severe weather could hit many of the same parts of the central and eastern United States that were just affected by another storm.
- The coldest Arctic air of the season will be pulled south into the country in the wake of this storm.
A widespread storm system will sweep through this week from the west into the central and eastern states with a second round of snow, strong winds, severe thunderstorms and heavy rain, just days after a different storm hit many of the same areas.
The snowy aspect of this upcoming storm has been named Winter Storm Gerry by the Weather Channel.
Here's where this new storm is now: This system is spreading snow and some rain at lower elevations across the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.
Jerry has already swept across the Northwest, knocking out power in parts of Oregon and Washington, and prompting the first blizzard warning for mountain areas there since 2012. Stevens Pass, Washington, picked up 29 inches of snow in the 30 hours through evening. Tuesday.
The storm brought 103 mph winds to a ridge in Pinnacle, Montana, and a 97 mph gust near Mount Hood, Oregon, on Tuesday.
A range of winter weather advisories, including some blizzard warnings, are in effect in the West, as shown in the map below. The peak of this latest storm will continue in the west until Wednesday. Travel can sometimes become dangerous, if not impossible, over parts of the mountains, especially in areas where blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect.
The peak effects on the central and eastern states will be on Friday and Saturday: Low pressure will move into the Plains states on Thursday, with snow in the cold air and the potential for some severe thunderstorms.
The storm is expected to intensify Friday in the Mississippi Valley, then head toward the Great Lakes and eastern Canada by Friday night and Saturday.
Like the first storm this week, it will draw deep moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and interact with cold air over the Plains and Midwest.
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Here's an overview of what to expect in each area followed by an early look at the snowfall forecast.
Plains, Midwest, and Great Lakes: A band of heavy snowfall with strong gusts of cold air will likely lie north of the storm tracks, from the central Plains into the Midwest and the Great Lakes. This may include some of the same areas hit by the first storm this week.
the South: Severe storms are possible from East Texas to the Lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday night, and that threat could spread to parts of Southeastern states on Friday, including some of the same areas that experienced severe weather early this week. Damaging winds and tornadoes are possible. Heavy rains may also contribute to flooding in parts of the region.
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the Northeast: The Interstate 95 corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C., will likely see another round of heavy rain. Inland areas of the Northeast may start out with snow or a wintry mix before quickly turning to rain. Flooding is possible in parts of the area, especially in locations where the ground is already saturated from heavy rain that fell earlier this week on snow from last weekend's winter storm. This system will also be accompanied by strong winds.
Here's an early look at how much snow to expect: It's too early to make a specific snowfall forecast, but our general forecast below shows locally moderate to heavy accumulations (6 inches or more) possible at least from parts of the Midwest to the Great Lakes. Keep in mind that the area currently expected to see heavy snow may change in future updates until the storm's path becomes more certain.
This will be followed by the coldest air of the season: In the wake of this storm, bitterly cold Arctic air will descend south across the Plains and Midwest starting late this week. That could bring temperatures below zero at least as far south as Kansas by the end of this week. The cold air is then expected to flow eastward over the next week across the Ohio Valley and Southeast.
For the latest daily forecast charts of highs and lows, click here.
Jonathan Erdmann is a senior meteorologist at Weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He studied physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then completed a master's degree working with dual polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and strange weather are his favorite subjects. Contact him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook And the sky is blue.
The Weather Company's primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment, and the importance of science in our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
