It is difficult to find a more comprehensive Weather Outlook anywhere else with the ability to get a local 10-day Forecast also.
This article focuses on what we are paying attention to in the next 48 to 72 hours. The article also includes weather maps for longer-term U.S. outlooks and a six-day World weather outlook which can be very useful for travelers.
First the NWS Short Range Forecast. The afternoon NWS text update can be found here but it is unlikely to have changed very much. The images in this article automatically update.
Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
Sat Mar 23 2024
Valid 12Z Sat Mar 23 2024 – 12Z Mon Mar 25 2024…Swath of Heavy Snow to impact portions of northern Vermont, New
Hampshire and Maine today……Significant Winter Storm likely across parts of the Northern Plains and
Upper Midwest; Severe Weather and Critical Fire Risk over Central/Southern
Plains on Sunday...…Excessive Rainfall concerns along DC to Boston urban corridor today…
A number of low pressure systems will produce unsettled weather across the
East and West Coasts today. In the East, a northern stream system will
bring heavy snow to interior Northeast/northern New England today. Winter
Storm Warnings are in effect from northeastern New York through Vermont,
New Hampshire and Maine where a swath of heavy snow will likely dump
between 6-12 inches with isolated higher amounts through tonight. To the
south, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to impact the rest
coastal Northeast down to the southern tip of Florida today. A
particularly heavy axis of rainfall is forecast to setup along the I-95
corridor from Washington DC to Boston today where a Slight Risk of
Excessive Rainfall leading to Flash Flooding is in effect (level 2/4).
Conditions improve across the East Coast on Sunday.Out West, a potent upper-level low will promote coastal scattered to
isolated thunderstorms and low elevation rain showers, while heavy snow
blankets the Sierra and Shasta Siskiyous today. Snow showers spread into
the Rockies this afternoon. Snowfall totals of 6-12 inches are expected
for the aforementioned areas by the end of the weekend. The upper trough
associated with the unsettled weather in the West will be responsible for
the development of a major winter storm over the Northern Plains and Upper
Midwest beginning today.An extensive and high impact storm system will produce widespread heavy
snow and gusty winds over the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest through
early next week. Heavy snow will likely spread across much of central and
eastern Montana tonight, then expand into the Northern Plains and Upper
Midwest on Sunday and continue into Monday. There is a high chance (>70%)
of at least eight inches of snow extending from portions of the Dakotas
and north-central Nebraska northeastward through Minnesota and into
northern Wisconsin. Heavy snow and gusty winds will produce areas of
blowing and drifting snow and possible blizzard conditions Sunday into
Monday. Hazardous travel and road closures are expected late Saturday into
early next week. Strong Winds and heavy, wet snow on trees and power lines
may result in tree damage and power outages. Blustery wind gusts in excess
of 50 mph on Sunday may result in power outages, blowing dust that results
in reduced visibility and damage to property.There are severe and fire weather concerns within the warm sector of this
dynamic system. There’s a Slight Risk of Severe Thunderstorms (level 2/5)
across parts of Kansas and Oklahoma on Saturday, where large hail and a
few tornadoes will be the main threats. Strong southwesterly flow
beginning today will support an elevated fire weather threat over far
western Texas. Rapid cyclogenesis and strengthening of the Plains winter
storm will lead to increased dry southwesterly flow into the
Central/Southern High Plains behind a well-defined dry line on Saturday.
These conditions will support a Critical Fire Weather threat on Saturday.
To get your local forecast plus active alerts and warnings click HERE and enter your city, state or zip code.
Above is a 72 hour animation of the forecast. Learn about wave patterns HERE.
Then, looking at the world and of course, the U.S. shows here also. Today we are looking at precipitation.
For those who may have missed the Seasonal Outlook article yesterday, here is a graphic that covers April and the three months April/May/June. But the Four Season Outlook is likely to have negative impacts for various parts of the U.S. so I recommend that you read the full article which you can access HERE.
But in terms of April and the three-month outlook, the below graphic provides a single graphic summary of the near term. It is the intermediate-term and long-term that is more concerning.
Please click on “Read More” below to access the full Daily Report issued today.
| Notices: What would you like to learn about? Please provide that to me via the comment section at the end of the article. |
Now more detail on the 48-Hour Forecast (It is a 48 to 72 Hour Forecast actually)
Daily weather maps. The Day 1 map updates twice a day and the Day 2 and 3 maps update only once a day. These maps update automatically. But if that does not happen, you can get updates by clicking HERE
TODAY (or late in the day the evening/overnight map will appear) (Key to surface fronts shown on maps and you will then also be able to insert a city name or zip code and get a local NWS forecast).
TOMORROW
NEXT DAY
This animation shows how things may play out over the next 60 hours. To update click here.
The NWS Climate Prediction Center’s: Watches, Warnings, and Advisories plus other information 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.
ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS
This tells us what is approaching the West Coast. Click HERE to update If I have not gotten around to doing the update. Here is some useful information about Atmospheric Rivers.
Below is the current five-day cumulative forecast of precipitation (Updates can be found HERE)
Ski SnowReports
New Feature – Ski Reports. It is difficult to find reports that auto-update on-screen (and they are very long) but these links will get you to them – If you have additional suggestions make them in the comments section after every Econcurrents Article and we may add those links. We will try to not have too much overlap as that can add to the confusion.
Snow Forecasts. And remember this shows natural snow. Ski resorts also make their own snow.
Day 1
Day 2
Additional snow information can be found here, here, here, and here. The second link provides animations.
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. These links may also be useful for those viewing this article on a cell phone or other small screen.
| Days 6 – 10 (shown in Row 1) | Days 8 – 14 (Shown in Row 2) | Weeks 3 and 4 (Shown in Row 3 but updates only on Fridays) |
| https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa. gov/products/predictions/610day/ | https://www.cpc.ncep .noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/ | https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/WK34/ |
Showing the actual maps. They should now update automatically. The Week 3 – 4 Outlook only updates on Fridays. So below is what I call the Intermediate-term outlook. On Fridays, it extends out 28 Days. That declines day by day so on Thursday it only looks out 22 days until the next day when the Week 3 – 4 Outlook is updated and this extends the outlook by one additional week.
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HAZARDS OUTLOOKS
Click here for the latest complete Day 3 -7 Hazards forecast which updates only on weekdays. Once a week probably Monday or Tuesday I will update the images. I provided the link for readers to get daily updates on weekdays. Use your own judgment to decide if you need to update these images. I update almost all the images Friday Night for the weekend edition of this Weather Report. So normally readers do not need to update these images but if the weather is changing quickly you may want to.
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
World Forecast [that website is has been intermittent so be patient]
Below are the Day 1 -3 and 4-6 forecasts for temperature and precipitation. Updates and much additional information can be obtained HERE
World Temperature Anomalies
World Accumulated Precipitation
This information is provided by the University of Maine. They draw upon many different sources. There is a lot of information available at the link provided. I have just provided two useful forecasts. There are probably over a hundred different forecasts available from this source.
Worldwide Tropical Forecast (This is a NOAA Product)
This graphic updates on Tuesdays) If it has not been updated, you can get the update by clicking here Readers will only have to do that if they are reading this article much later than the date of it being published.
Information on Tropical Storms can be found HERE. Western Pacific information can be found HERE.
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| I hope you found this article interesting and useful. |
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