U.S. Weather/Crop Progress
Highlights:
- In the West, another round of Pacific storms is moving inland in the Northwest. Snow is expected at some higher elevations. The Sierra Nevada is also expecting blizzard conditions later in the week. Across the remainder of the West cool, dry weather prevails.
- In the Plains states, cold temperatures have returned briefly. Gusty winds are easing in the Northern Plains but continue in the Southern Plains.
- In the Corn Belt, a recent record-setting warm spell has ended. In the eastern Corn Belt, strong thunderstorms preceded cold temperatures, with high winds, hail, and tornadoes reported in some areas.
- In the South, brief heavy precipitation and thunderstorms are moving quickly across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. The thunderstorms are associated with a strong cold front that is bringing sharply colder temperatures and windy conditions.
Outlook:
A strong cold front will sweep toward the Atlantic Cost, accompanied by showers and gusty winds. Rain will linger, however, across the South, as a disturbance emerging from northern Mexico rides along the tail of the cold front.
Meanwhile, Western storms will expand and shift farther to the south and east, with high winds and blizzard conditions engulfing much of the Sierra Nevada from Thursday into the weekend. Storm-total snowfall in the northern and central Sierra Nevada could reach 5 to 10 feet.
Elsewhere, a short-lived cold spell across the nation’s mid-section will be replaced by above-normal temperatures, with readings rebounding to 80°F or higher during the weekend across the southern half of the Plains.
The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for March 4 – 8 calls for above-normal temperatures across the eastern half of the U.S., while colder-than-normal conditions will cover the northern High Plains and the West. Meanwhile, near- or above-normal precipitation can be expected nationwide, with the Southeast having the greatest likelihood of experiencing wet weather.
