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 300 PM EST Mon Jan 20 2025 Valid 00Z Tue Jan 21 2025 - 00Z Thu Jan 23 2025 ...Dangerously cold temperatures and wind chill values to linger for much of the South and eastern third of the nation through mid-week... ...Rare winter storm to bring heavy snow as well as areas of sleet and freezing rain to the Gulf Coast and Southeast with widespread impacts... ...Extremely Critical Risk of Fire Weather for southern California will continue into Tuesday... A bitterly cold arctic airmass is currently in place for locations east of the Rockies with well below average temperatures extending from the High Plains to the East Coast. Wind chill values of 40 to 55 degrees below zero will linger within the core of the coldest air from the northern Plains into the Upper Mississippi Valley through Tuesday morning. Wind chill values that are below zero will affect a broad portion of the lower 48 extending from the southern High Plains into the Ohio River Valley and northern Mid-Atlantic region with wind chills in the teens and single digits possible for portions of the Gulf Coast. These extreme cold conditions will pose a risk of hypothermia to individuals not dressed appropriately as well pose potential for frozen pipes and damage to sensitive vegetation. While much warmer temperatures are forecast for the northern Plains tomorrow, the cold temperatures will continue from the Midwest to the southern Plains to the East Coast tomorrow and Wednesday. High temperatures for these regions on Tuesday are expected to be 20 to 30 degrees below mid-January averages and lows will drop below freezing for all locations east of the Rockies except for central and southern Florida. With the cold air in place, wintry precipitation is expected to overspread south-central Texas to the central Gulf Coast tonight as an upper level disturbance passes over the southern Plains. Snow or a snow/sleet mix is likely for cities from San Antonio to Houston and New Orleans to Albany, GA while freezing rain falls on South Texas and portions of southern Georgia and northern Florida as the unusual winter storm tracks east on Tuesday/Tuesday night. A narrow stripe of 4 to 6 inches will be possible from southeastern Texas into southern Louisiana. Light accumulations of snow are expected from the Florida Panhandle to the beaches of the Carolinas. This winter storm is likely to result in major travel disruptions, including significant traffic impacts on area highways, power outages as well as flight delays/cancellations for these areas that are not accustomed to impactful winter weather. Conditions will begin to warm for the western U.S. into the middle of the week but the continued dry conditions and dangerous Santa Ana winds will contribute to Extremely Critical fire weather conditions for southern California through the remainder of today into at least Tuesday morning. Winds for coastal locations could gust into the 50-70 mph range while wind gusts to near 100 mph will be possible in the mountains and foothills. While some improvement is possible later on Tuesday, conditions will remain dangerous with additional rounds of gusty offshore winds which will continue through Wednesday. Elsewhere, bands of heavy lake effect snow will continue the next couple of days for favorable downwind locations of the Great Lakes with persistent northwesterly flow in place.
To get your local forecast plus active alerts and warnings click HERE and enter your city, state or zip code. If the Hazards Outlook is not updated click here but remember it does not update during the weekend.
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. |
