Renewed Lake Effect Snowstorm to Impact the Great Lakes as Winter Season Draws Near

A lake effect snowstorm will strike the Great Lakes region and the Northeast US once again, while a heavy snowfall events will envelop the Western US as the winter season draws near. US weather authorities say different low pressure systems are responsible for the looming threat.

Prior to December, the US has experienced a mixture of inclement weather, severe weather, and even winterlike weather conditions such as the lake effect snowstorm in the Northeast, cold front, and atmospheric river in the West.

US Weather Forecast

lake effect snow — Photo by John Normile/Getty Images

The Weather Prediction Center (WPC), which operates under the National Weather Service (NWS), on Wednesday, November 30, issued its latest short-range weather forecast valid from Thursday, December 1, to Saturday, December 3. Under the forecast, heavy coastal rain and mountain snow will occur across the American West.

In particular, a Pacific Ocean storm, with a cold front trail sweeping across the West, will move throughout the Pacific Northwest, causing renewed heavy snow over the Northern Rockies and the Sierra. High winds are expected on the High Plains before the weekend, as well as the continuance of the heavy lake effect snow in the Great Lakes.

NWS Meteorologist Paul Ziegenfelder stated that heavy snow will develop over the Mississippi Valley and the Upper Great Lakes, which also forced authorities to issue winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories over the region, as cited by USA Today.

Also Read : Single Digit Wind Chills, Lake Effect Snow Challenge Commuters with Slippery Roads for Parts of Midwest US

Lower Pressure System

Multiple low pressure systems will be responsible for the adverse weather conditions throughout the remainder of the week. In the coastal Northeast, a departing low pressure system will cause strong winds and rain showers to the region while cold air will generate light snow showers over interior areas of New England, the NWS says.

In the West, another low pressure, under a tilted upper trough, will make its way across the region in the next few days. The period will see moderate to heavy rain, heavy snow, and scattered thunderstorms. A separate system will also arrive over the Northwest on Friday, December 2, paving the way for an unsettled weather during the weekend.

Unlike high pressure systems, a low pressure system suck air into because mother nature wants to have equilibrium. These air absorption leaves areas with less pressure, which is different in other areas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

South-Central US Tornadoes

The latest NWS weather forecast came after a severe weather outbreak occurred in the south-central US when powerful thunderstorms and several tornadoes struck the region on Tuesday, November 29.

Fueled by record-breaking heat, tornadoes went on a rampage in Alabama and Mississippi, leaving a total of more than 50,000 customers without power, The Guardian reports.

In Mississippi, tornadoes reportedly damaged houses and destroyed a fire station, as well as trapped people in a grocery store and ripped off the roof of an apartment complex. In Alabama, two people died when a tree fell into their mobile home, according to local authorities, as cited by the UK newspaper.