Major storm to erupt over central, eastern US next week

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

November 25,2016; 9:54PM,EST

 

 

As November comes to a close, a potent storm will deliver snow, drenching rain, surging warmth and thunderstorms to the central and eastern parts of the nation.
The same storm will bring significant rain and mountain snow to California and other parts of the Southwest this weekend.

Rain to drench Southern, Eastern states
Widespread drenching rain will stretch from parts of the South to the Northeast.
While rain is likely to skip over increasingly dry areas of the southern High Plains, rainfall is likely from portions of the Gulf Coast to the southern Appalachians, the mid-Atlantic and southern New England.

"Rain may fall fast enough to cause incidents of flash and urban flooding," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Andrew Mussoline said.
"However, rainfall from the storm should help with fighting fires in the South and could make a significant dent in the overall drought in both the South and the Northeast," Mussoline said.
Enough rain could fall over parts of the South to help extinguish the dozens of wildfires in the region.
One pulse of rain will erupt from the western Gulf Coast to the western Great Lakes area from Sunday to Monday.
This area of drenching rain will slice eastward from the central Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley, Appalachians and eastern Great Lakes area spanning Monday and Monday night.
The first batch of rain will soak much of New England on Tuesday.
A second batch of rain may fall along the upper Gulf coast and expand quickly northeastward over much of the Atlantic Seaboard on Wednesday.
Wintry travel ahead for northern Plains
After bringing snow to the mountains in the Southwest through Sunday, snow will take aim farther to the northeast next week.
From Monday to Tuesday, periods of snow will blanket the northern Plains, Mussoline said.

"Snow will combine with gusty winds and travel delays across the Dakotas," Mussoline said.
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Warmth to surge northward
Since the main storm will track well to the north over the Plains, temperatures will surge to well-above-average levels over much of the Central and Eastern states for a time next week.
Temperatures may climb well into the 60s over the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic and into the 70s over much of the South.
A day or two with highs well into the 50s is possible around the Great Lakes to southern New England.
Storm could spark severe weather in South
The strong storm system could spawn a couple rounds of severe weather in the South.
Whether or not a tornado outbreak occurs is unclear.
According to the National Storm Prediction Center (SPC), the number of confirmed tornadoes to date across the nation is 843, compared to the prior three-year average of 949 at the end of November.
As a result of the anticipated change in weather pattern, "people should be on guard for the possibility of severe thunderstorms during the early and middle part of the week," Mussoline said.
The first potential round of storms could occur Monday over parts of Texas and shift eastward across the Gulf Coast states on Tuesday. A second batch of storms could develop on Tuesday and roll eastward in a similar fashion on Wednesday.
"Some of the storms may be capable of producing winds strong enough to cause property damage and downpours heavy enough to blind motorists," Mussoline said.
Another major storm system may take shape over the Southwest states next weekend.
That storm could linger in the Southwest for several days or roll across the Central and Eastern states during the first full week of December.