Extreme Weather This Week Around the Nation

Extreme weather will be the theme across the nation this week. Some of it extremely nice, some not so much. Florida, much of the East Coast and northern third of the nation will be in the “nice” category. The West Coast, Southern Plains and lower Mississippi River Valley are about to get rocked with some extremely not-so-nice weather.  This is all thanks to a pattern that will include a rare storm system in Mexico and an unusual jet stream placement for this time of year.

Extreme weather across much of the nation expected this week. Some of it extremely nice, some of it really bad. pic.twitter.com/pO4JPRe6u6

— Jeff Huffman (@HuffmanHeadsUp) March 6, 2016

The Extremely Nice

Let’s start in sunny Florida. The state that will certainly live up to that billing this week. A ridge of high pressure aloft will develop Monday and Tuesday, then be anchored over the state for many days. As a result, temperatures are expected to be well above normal for at least the next five days. Daytime highs will exceed 80° in many inland areas starting Tuesday, lasting through the weekend in most spots. A few cities in central and south Florida may even hit 90° for the first time this year by Thursday or Friday. Rain will be non-existent in most areas until Friday, when an approaching cold front could trigger showers and thunderstorms in the panhandle. The front will then likely knock down temperatures and spread some rain across the rest of the peninsula over the coming weekend.

Unusual warmth will also be the theme up and down the East Coast, in the Great Lakes and Northern Plains. The jet stream, often the separator of cold and warm air masses, will be unusually far to the north and allow for near-record warmth to be achieved in dozens of cities by mid-week. Some of the warmest weather, compared to normal, will be felt in states like North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin...areas that typically get jealous of states like Florida this time of year. The annual northward migration of snowbirds may begin early this year if this pattern holds.

The Extremely Not-So-Nice

Projected rainfall in the next seven days.

Significant snow could fall this week on the mountaintops deep into Mexico. The country, not New Mexico the state. Meanwhile, further north and east, repeating heavy rains and severe weather will be the story much of the week in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri. Some locations could receive as much as a foot of rain over the next seven days and flooding will be a growing concern throughout the week. This is all thanks to an area of low pressure that will wander through northern Mexico and Texas for days. The storm system will be unusually strong and quite rare in how far south it moves for this time of year.

Out west, the barrage of Pacific storms enhanced by the current El Nino will continue through the first part of the week. However, the storm track will shift a bit south of where it has been recently. Areas of southern California that have been rather dry lately will finally see some beneficial precipitation, both in the form of valley rain and mountain snow. The storm track will shift back north, however, by week’s end, taking most of the precipitation back with it to northern California, parts of Oregon and Washington.

No matter if you’re staying put or doing some traveling this week, you can pull up the latest 10-Day Outlook for any city in the country below.

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