US Temps to Plunge 30 Degrees

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Significant winter storm forecast for the Southern Plains: NWS

High temperatures are forecast to plunge up to 30 degrees below average for this time of year in many areas across Ohio Valley, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic,  as a blast of Arctic air hits the U.S.

UPDATE: At least 6 people have been killed across the country in storm-related incidents, and dozens more injured in traffic accidents in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas, as of 06:00UTC on Sunday.

Blast of Arctic air is forecast to move into the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast as an “anomalous upper level low will slowly track eastward over the next couple of days, from its current position over southern California, to near the Texas panhandle by Monday afternoon. This system will encounter a bitter cold airmass which is currently in place over a good portion of the country, east of the Rockies. Higher elevation heavy snow is expected from the mountains of New Mexico into southern Colorado with light to moderate snowfall for remaining lower elevations,” said the national weather Service (NWS).

U.S. Weather Hazmap for Sunday, November 24, 2013. Source: NWS/CRH. Map enhanced by FIRE-EARTH Blog.

Sleet and freezing rain is forecast for southwestern Texas, with snow across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles … wintry mixture will spread northeastward through the day on Saturday and Sunday with storm total ice accumulations between 0.25 and 0.5 inches possible for locations in the northern Texas Hill Country. … ice and sleet accumulations should spread into the Dallas/Fort-Worth Metroplex … light snow/sleet across central and western Oklahoma.

More than a foot of snow is expected through they day Sunday in the U.P. of Michigan and six inches or more for northwestern Pennsylvania into western New York as well as localized areas in central New York.

Temperatures will be up to 30 degrees below average for this time of year on Sunday with the exception of Florida and the North Central U.S., said NWS.