AccuWeather says snow to snarl Thanksgiving preparations in Rockies, Midwest; Weather Channel predicts highs in 40s for Sioux Falls area
By Todd EppNov 23, 2020 | 9:39 AM
AccuWeather map, 11/23/20.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Right on the heels of a storm system bringing snow to parts of the Great Lakes into southeastern Canada, another storm will brew in the Rockies and Plains to start that week before heading eastward with a messy mix of precipitation.
“Upper-level energy will move through the West Monday. As it does, an area of low pressure will begin to form along the Front Range of the central Rockies by Monday night,” explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Jessica Storm.
Snow will break out Monday in the central Rockies as the system takes shape, and can become heavy at times. “Accumulating snow will pile up Colorado Rockies during Monday night,” Storm explained.
However, for the Sioux Falls area, the Weather Channel predicts rain Tuesday with highs from the low 40s to low 50s Tuesday through Saturday and little chance of precipitation.
A fresh 6-12 inches of snow is expected in much of the Colorado Rockies, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 24 inches.
“The fresh powder will be a welcome sight and will come just in time to ski resorts in the region,” Storm said. Many of the Colorado ski resorts are slated to open this week.
By Tuesday, the system will begin moving east across the Plains. As it does, snow and rain will spread eastward into the Plains. Snow will move out of the mountains and spread into the High Plains of eastern Colorado, western Nebraska and western Kansas late Monday night into Tuesday.
An inch or two of snow can come just in time for the Tuesday morning commute in Denver. Accumulating snow and slick roads will shift south along the Interstate-25 corridor through Tuesday morning, bringing a couple of inches to places like Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado, and even as far south as northern New Mexico.
As the storm develops and begins moving east, enough warm air will be drawn northward to keep accumulating snow out of most of the rest of the Plains. However, there will be a secondary area that sees some accumulating snow before likely changing to rain in the Upper Midwest.
“A second storm system moving across southwestern Canada will cut off the flow of truly Arctic air from this storm in the U.S., so there won’t be quite enough cold air available for a larger swath of accumulating snow across the nation’s midsection,” Storm said.
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“However, a previous storm system moving through the Northeast to end the weekend will deposit just enough cold air across the upper Midwest and western Great Lakes to lead to snow as precipitation arrives Tuesday,” Storm added.
Snow will be steady enough for a time Tuesday to bring a slushy 1-3 inches across a broad area from eastern Minnesota to Wisconsin, northern Illinois and central and northern Michigan. Travel will be tricky for a time Tuesday in places like Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Marquette and Traverse City, Michigan.
Even some northwestern Chicago suburbs could see a period of snow before dawn Tuesday that could coat some roadways and cause slippery conditions for the morning commute.
Most precipitation will change over to plain rain by Tuesday evening, but before doing so, a narrow stripe of moderate snow may develop bringing higher totals of 3 to perhaps 6 inches in a narrow corridor from parts of southern Minnesota to central Wisconsin and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Enough cold air may also hang on to prevent some parts of northern Wisconsin and Michigan from changing to rain.
To the south and east, drenching rain will shift across the central Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley Tuesday and Wednesday.
“There could be heavy enough rain locally to cause some ponding of water in low-lying and poor drainage areas, especially in any urban areas with leaves still clogging storm drains,” Storm said
“But overall, most will just see several hours of light to moderate rain, and then things will dry out again.”
However, well to the south, severe thunderstorms may fire up in portions of the southern Plains into the Mississippi Valley. By Thanksgiving, the storm will moving off of the East Coast, with a return to dry and mild weather for many.
(Jake Sojda, AccuWeather meteorologist, contributed this report. Todd Epp, KELO.com News, contributed to this report.)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Right on the heels of a storm system bringing snow to parts of the Great Lakes into southeastern Canada, another storm will brew in the Rockies and Plains to start that week before heading eastward with a messy mix of precipitation.
“Upper-level energy will move through the West Monday. As it does, an area of low pressure will begin to form along the Front Range of the central Rockies by Monday night,” explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Jessica Storm.
Snow will break out Monday in the central Rockies as the system takes shape, and can become heavy at times. “Accumulating snow will pile up Colorado Rockies during Monday night,” Storm explained.
However, for the Sioux Falls area, the Weather Channel predicts rain Tuesday with highs from the low 40s to low 50s Tuesday through Saturday and little chance of precipitation.
A fresh 6-12 inches of snow is expected in much of the Colorado Rockies, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 24 inches.
“The fresh powder will be a welcome sight and will come just in time to ski resorts in the region,” Storm said. Many of the Colorado ski resorts are slated to open this week.
By Tuesday, the system will begin moving east across the Plains. As it does, snow and rain will spread eastward into the Plains. Snow will move out of the mountains and spread into the High Plains of eastern Colorado, western Nebraska and western Kansas late Monday night into Tuesday.
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An inch or two of snow can come just in time for the Tuesday morning commute in Denver. Accumulating snow and slick roads will shift south along the Interstate-25 corridor through Tuesday morning, bringing a couple of inches to places like Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado, and even as far south as northern New Mexico.
As the storm develops and begins moving east, enough warm air will be drawn northward to keep accumulating snow out of most of the rest of the Plains. However, there will be a secondary area that sees some accumulating snow before likely changing to rain in the Upper Midwest.
“A second storm system moving across southwestern Canada will cut off the flow of truly Arctic air from this storm in the U.S., so there won’t be quite enough cold air available for a larger swath of accumulating snow across the nation’s midsection,” Storm said.
Related:
“However, a previous storm system moving through the Northeast to end the weekend will deposit just enough cold air across the upper Midwest and western Great Lakes to lead to snow as precipitation arrives Tuesday,” Storm added.
Snow will be steady enough for a time Tuesday to bring a slushy 1-3 inches across a broad area from eastern Minnesota to Wisconsin, northern Illinois and central and northern Michigan. Travel will be tricky for a time Tuesday in places like Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Marquette and Traverse City, Michigan.
Even some northwestern Chicago suburbs could see a period of snow before dawn Tuesday that could coat some roadways and cause slippery conditions for the morning commute.
Most precipitation will change over to plain rain by Tuesday evening, but before doing so, a narrow stripe of moderate snow may develop bringing higher totals of 3 to perhaps 6 inches in a narrow corridor from parts of southern Minnesota to central Wisconsin and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Enough cold air may also hang on to prevent some parts of northern Wisconsin and Michigan from changing to rain.
To the south and east, drenching rain will shift across the central Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley Tuesday and Wednesday.
“There could be heavy enough rain locally to cause some ponding of water in low-lying and poor drainage areas, especially in any urban areas with leaves still clogging storm drains,” Storm said
“But overall, most will just see several hours of light to moderate rain, and then things will dry out again.”
However, well to the south, severe thunderstorms may fire up in portions of the southern Plains into the Mississippi Valley. By Thanksgiving, the storm will moving off of the East Coast, with a return to dry and mild weather for many.
(Jake Sojda, AccuWeather meteorologist, contributed this report. Todd Epp, KELO.com News, contributed to this report.)