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 (up to four weeks) 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 after about 4 p.m. New York time but it is unlikely to have changed very much from the morning update. The images in this article automatically update.
Short Range Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
Sat Jan 04 2025
Valid 12Z Sat Jan 04 2025 – 12Z Mon Jan 06 2025…Heavy snow from the Central Plains to the Ohio Valley on Sunday; Heavy
lake-effect snow downwind from Lake Ontario on Saturday……Moderate to heavy snow from the Northern High Plains to the Central
Plains on Saturday; 0.25 inches of freezing rain over parts of the Middle
Mississippi/Ohio Valley on Sunday……There is an Enhanced Risk (level 2/5) of severe thunderstorms over
parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley on Sunday…On Saturday, low pressure over the Southern High Plains will move eastward
to the Ohio Valley by Monday. The storm will create disruptive winter
weather from Saturday to Monday. The major winter storm will bring
significant disruptions to the Central Plains by late Saturday, spreading
to the Ohio Valley on Sunday. Severe travel delays are likely, with the
storm reaching the Mid-Atlantic by Sunday night into Monday. On Saturday,
the storm will produce moderate to heavy snow from the Northern High
Plains to the Central Plains.Moreover, widespread heavy snow will accompany the storm. Heavy snowfall
is expected across areas from central Kansas to Ohio, especially along and
north of Interstate 70, with a 60-90% chance of at least 8 inches of snow
on Sunday. For some, this could be the heaviest snowfall in over a decade.
Additionally, moderate to heavy snow will develop over parts of the
northern Mid-Atlantic overnight Sunday into Monday.In addition, blizzard conditions will develop over the Central Plains.
Wind gusts over 35 mph combined with heavy snow will create blizzard
conditions by Sunday morning. Whiteout conditions will make travel
extremely hazardous, with impassable roads and a high risk of motorists
becoming stranded.Furthermore, significant icing/freezing rain for Middle Mississippi/Ohio
Valleys. Sleet and freezing rain are expected from eastern Kansas and the
Ozarks to the Ohio Valley. Dangerous travel is anticipated, with tree
damage and power outages likely in areas with over a quarter-inch of ice
accumulation. Overnight Sunday, the storm will produce additional icing in
the Central Appalachians.On Sunday, as the front crosses the Southern Plains and moves into the
Lower Mississippi Valley, severe thunderstorms will develop over parts of
the Lower Mississippi Valley. Therefore, the SPC has issued an Enhanced
Risk (level 3/5) of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Lower
Mississippi Valley from Sunday through Monday morning. The hazards
associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe
thunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes.Meanwhile, cold air moving over the Great Lakes and upper-level energy
over the Great Lakes and Northeast will create heavy lake-effect snow
downwind from Lake Ontario through Sunday morning. In addition, moderate
lake-effect snow will develop downwind from the Upper Great Lakes and Lake
Erie through Sunday morning. Furthermore, light upslope snow will develop
over parts of the Central Appalachians on Saturday. On Sunday, the
lake-effect snow will become light over most of the Lakes, while moderate
to heavy snow will continue downwind from Lake Ontario. Light to moderate
snow will develop over parts of the Northeast.Furthermore, weak onshore flow and multiple weakening fronts move onshore
over the Northwest. The system will produce coastal rain and
higher-elevation snow over parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern
California through Monday.
To get your local forecast plus active alerts and warnings click HERE and enter your city, state or zip code.
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.
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
We have a new animation of the forecast which shows how things may play out over the next 60 hours. To update click ANIMATION. Doing so will get you to the dashboard. You can then step through the animation or hit LOOP on the upper right of the display. You will have to hit the back arrow ← at the top left on your computer to get back into this article. It is a little more trouble than before but I think NOAA scrapped the animation routine I was using so we have to keep up with “progress”.
The NWS Climate Prediction Center’s: Watches, Warnings, and Advisories plus other information can be found HERE. That takes you to the NWC Severe Weather Site. From there you can select among many categories of information. Remember to hit the back arrow ← at the top left of your screen to return to 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
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. Note that unless there is an out-of-season storm the below images will not update until the National Hurricane Center starts their seasonal update of these maps on June 1. I include them simply because there can be an out-of-season event in which case it should show up in these maps.
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| I hope you found this article interesting and useful. |
