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Heat Wave Expands to the East Coast; Flash Flooding Likely in the Central Plains into the Midwest; Severe Thunderstorms in the Northeast

Dangerous, prolonged heat is ongoing in the Mid-South to Mid-Mississippi Valley and heat expands into the Northeast for a brief period today. Widely scattered instances of flash flooding due to heavy rains are forecast from northeast Kansas to much of Indiana. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of New England, northern Mid-Atlantic, and North Dakota. Read More >

Overview

On Jan 3rd, 2019, a compact but vigorous southern stream closed low moved across west Texas and slowed down as it approached the Red River Valley. This allowed plentiful moisture and lift to wrap around the system as it strengthened. Cold air on the backside of the low interacted with increasing moisture to produce a persistent band of snow across the far eastern Texas Panhandle. The heavier snow (6 to 8 inches) fell from Higgins to Canadian to Wheeler to near and west of Wellington. However, areas along and west of Borger to Amarillo stayed high and dry with just a few mid level clouds.

 

Fig 1: Mid-level water vapor imagery from GOES 16 shows the low pressure system as it moves east along the Red River Valley.

 

Fig 2: GOES 16 CIRA Geocolor reveals snow over the eastern Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma as the sun rises on Jan 4th.

 

 

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