Weather Forecast: Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, Next Day, Five Days, for the U.S. and the World with links for longer-term forecasts: posted February 1, 2023

Updated at 3:54 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Here is what we are paying attention to in the next 48 to 72 hours. This article also includes World weather forecasts.

It also includes links for longer-term outlooks and sometimes (like today) we show the maps that one finds if one clicks on those links. But we can not update all of those maps each day so look at the date and the duration of the period of time involved. If you want a more up-to-date map, click on the provided link which may be located in a table of links. If the date in the title of the article is not today’s date. just go to Econcurrents.com and look for today’s weather article.

We start with the U.S. Information.

Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
255 PM EST Wed Feb 01 2023

Valid 00Z Thu Feb 02 2023 – 00Z Sat Feb 04 2023

…Prolonged and significant ice storm continues across much of the
southern Plains and Mid-South…

…Heavy rain and scattered flash floods possible across parts of the Deep
South and Southeast on Thursday…

…Bitter cold and dangerous wind chills to enter the northern Plains and
Upper Midwest on Thursday before sweeping into the Northeast by Friday…

First, the 48-Hour Forecast (It is a 48 to 72 Hour Forecast actually)

Daily weather maps. I try to keep the below three maps updated. The Day 1 map updates twice a day and the Day 2 and 3 maps update only once a day. I will be doing the updating during the period described in the title of the article but if you happen to read this article later, you can get updates by clicking HERE.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, EVENING AND OVERNIGHT

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

This animation shows how things may play out over the next 60 hours. To update click here.

ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS

Continuation of the NWS Short Range Forecast (It is updated by NWS twice a day and these updates can be found here. We post at least one of those updates daily, sometimes both. The Highlights are shown in the lede paragraph of this article.

An ice storm already leading to widespread, significant travel impacts
across the Southern Plains and Mid-South continues as warm, moist air
aloft flows northward from the Gulf over a shallow layer of freezing
temperatures at the surface. Additional ice accretions of 0.1 to 0.25″ are
forecast through Thursday morning from west Texas northeastward through
the ArkLaTex and into the Mid-South, with some locally higher totals of
0.5″ possible. This will bring storm total ice accretions to over 0.5″ for
many locations which will raise the risk for significant tree damage and
power outages, in addition to icy, dangerous roads. Sleet may also mix in
at times with the freezing rain which will increase the chances for icing
on the roadways. Travelers should be sure to check the latest road
conditions as many local roadways and interstates are slow going or
closed.

To the east of the ice storm, a warm front will push northward along the
central Gulf Coast during the day Thursday as upper-level energy
approaches from the west, leading to the development of widespread showers
and thunderstorms for the Southeast. A more concentrated complex of storms
along and to the north of the front are forecast to produce a swath of
1-2″ of rain from northeastern Louisiana northeastward through central
Mississippi, northern Alabama, and into northern Georgia. A Slight Risk of
Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) is in effect as some locally heavier rain
rates of 1″ per hour, on top of very wet antecedent conditions, may lead
to a few scattered instances of flash flooding.

While temperatures begin to moderate for the Southern Plains/Mid-South on
Thursday and Friday, another blast of arctic air will push southward with
a cold front from Canada into the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Highs
Thursday will be in the single digits and teens, with some below zero
highs near the Canadian border. The front will sweep through the Great
Lakes and off the coast of the Northeast by Friday morning, with
temperatures plummeting in its wake. Highs on Friday will range from the
20s and 30s along the coast/I-95 corridor to the single digits and teens
for the the Interior Northeast and Great Lakes/Midwest. Portions of
Upstate New York and locations near the Canadian border in New England
will remain below zero. Of even more concern, gusty northwesterly winds
will lead to wind chills between -40 to -50 degrees for portions of
Upstate New York and New England, with the potential of even colder wind
chills of -60 for interior Maine, matching some of the coldest wind chills
observed in decades. In addition to the cold temperatures, post-frontal
flow over the Great Lakes will lead to some moderate to heavy lake-effect
snow showers, particularly for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan along Lake
Superior and in New York east of Lakes Erie and Ontario.

Elsewhere, high temperatures will remain above average and quite pleasant
for the Florida Peninsula to end the work week, with highs in the mid-70s
to mid-80s. The High Plains are also in for a warm-up Friday as
downsloping winds push highs into the 40s and 50s. A storm system
approaching the Pacific coast early Friday will bring the chance for some
light to moderate rain showers for lower elevation/coastal locations, as
well as a few inches of snow for higher elevations in the Cascades and
Sierra. Highs will remain around average for most of the West, with 30s
and 40s for the Rockies and Great Basin, 50s for the Pacific Northwest and
northern California, and 60s to low 70s for southern California and the
Desert Southwest.

Below is the current five-day cumulative forecast of precipitation (Updates can be found HERE)

Now we look at Intermediate-Term “Outlook” maps for three time periods. Days 6 – 10, Days 8 – 14, and Weeks 3 and 4.  An outlook differs from a forecast based on how NOAA uses these terms in that an “outlook” presents information as deviation from normal and the likelihood of these deviations.

Below are the links to obtain updates and additional information. They are particularly useful if you happen to be reading this article significantly later than when it was published. I always try to provide readers with the source of the information in my articles.

Temperature month to date can be found at https://hprcc.unl.edu/products/maps/acis/MonthTDeptUS.png

Precipitation month to date can be found at  https://hprcc.unl.edu/products/maps/acis /MonthPNormUS.png

Worldwide Tropical Forecast (This is a NOAA Product)