VÓRTICE CICLÔNICO CAUSA NEVE E CHUVA NOS ESTADOS UNIDOS

Imagem DO DIA 14.12.2015  mostra intenso Vórtice Ciclônico sobre os EUA onde causa fortes chuvas e neve.

 nbcnews.com   

Rain, Snow, Wind Batter West While Record Warmth Lingers in East

by ELISHA FIELDSTADT and M. ALEX JOHNSON 

Heavy snow, downpours, twisters and record-breaking warmth — the country saw it all over the weekend.

A storm in Southern California on Friday that dropped 6 inches of snow at higher elevations created rain, hail and thunderstorms elsewhere. The winter weather will continue to blanket the Northwest and the Rockies with snow while trapping a weeklong deluge of rain on the West Coast forecasters said Sunday night.

"It's going to pull down some much cooler air and work its way across the country," said Bonnie Schneider, a forecaster for The Weather Channel.

Sunday's snow targeting Oregon, Washington and the Rockies could linger until Monday, while total snowfall could approach 2 feet in the Cascades and the Siskiyous and more than a foot in parts of the northern Rockies.

Significant accumulations are also expected in some lower elevations in parts of Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah, hasn't seen "snow like this in years," Schneider said — not since 13.3 inches fell on the city in a couple of days in January 2013, forecasters said.

The snow will then move east into the northern and central Plains states by Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service, which said it should reach the northern Plains, the Upper Mississippi Valley and the northern Great Lakes by Wednesday.

Another storm system that brought at least one tornado to Texas Saturday, leaving 50 homes damaged, was winding down, but the Southwest was still at small risk of seeing some tornado activity, said Greg Forbes, a tornado expert for The Weather Channel. The destructive tornado registered as an EF-2, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

Meanwhile, a good part of the country was seeing anything but typical holiday weather. Arctic air that has been locked up in Canada isn't budging, making for record-high temperatures from the South through the Plains and into the Northeast. Temperatures in those regions soared to 15 to 30 degrees above average.

Preliminary data show that at least 574 record daily highs were tied or broken across the U.S. during the first 10 days of December, and that number will rise drastically when temperatures from Friday through Sunday are documented, meteorologists said.

Islip, New York, where the average high for December is 44 degrees, saw the mercury hit 68 degrees Saturday, and record highs were set at New York's LaGuardia Airport, where the thermometer read 66 degrees, as well as at JFK Airport and in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which both saw spring-like weather, NBC New York reported.

"It's roasting," said Niall Traynor, who was in New York on business with two co-workers from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His colleague Mack Murtagh said the trio hadn't expected the balmy weather.

"We kind of packed for 0 degrees [celsius], and now all our clothes are too hot ... and without buying something else, we're kind of stuck — so we have to just walk around really hot all day," Murtagh said.

Arshad Shahadat, who sells paintings on the street near Rockefeller Center, said he didn't mind the uncharacteristic weather because he is selling substantially more this Christmas season than any other year. "I like the warm," he said.

Many revelers who took part in New York's Santa Con on Saturday took advantage of the Christmas-in-July temperatures, donning un-Santa-like shirt sleeves, shorts and tropical wear.

accuweather.com

Record Alaska Storm to Help Return Cold, Lake-Effect Snow to Midwest, Eastern US

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

December 14, 2015; 3:52 AM ET

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The record-tying strongest storm to impact Alaska will be responsible for ushering one of the coldest air masses so far this season into the Midwest and eastern United States.

The powerful storm strengthened over the weekend across the Bering Sea, tying the record for the strongest storm to ever impact the region.

On Saturday night, the Ocean Prediction Center analyzed the central area of low pressure to be 924 millibars (27.29 inches of Hg) over the Bering Sea. That matches the central pressure of ex-Super Typhoon Nuri from a little over a year ago.

This storm, however, did not set the lowest pressure level recorded on Alaskan soil. According to the National Weather Service in Anchorage, that record stands at 925 millibars (27.32 inches of Hg) at Dutch Harbor in 1977.

"The intensity of a storm is measured by the central pressure, with the lower pressure equating to a stronger system," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.

Wave heights were in excess of 40 feet in the Bering Sea, while winds gusted to 122 mph at Adak Island, Alaska, on Saturday night.

RELATED:
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While the storm has reached its peak and will not break the record, it will remain noteworthy as it opens the door for cold air to once again pour into the Midwest and eastern United States.

"A piece of the storm that's been pummeling Alaska will break off and dive southeastward across Canada by midweek," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson. "This piece will help the jet stream dig southward and finally allow chilly air to invade the eastern United States late this week."

The impending cold could rival November cold shots for the lowest temperature readings so far this season from Friday into this weekend. Brisk winds will create even lower AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures.

The core of the cold will focus on the Upper Midwest with temperatures likely to be held below freezing for at least two consecutive days from Chicago to Minneapolis and Fargo, North Dakota. For the latter city, temperatures may not climb out of the teens.

While residents will be turning up the heat and reaching for winter jackets, the impending cold is not anything unusual for December.

"Even though it will feel much colder than the balmy temperatures of late, afternoon high temperatures will still be near average at the height of the chill this weekend," stated Thompson.

"From New York City to Washington, D.C., every day so far this month has been above-average temperature-wise."

New York City was among the many locations that registered a record high over the weekend.

With the cold will come opportunities for snow, which will be a boost for ski resorts and those wanting to further get into the holiday spirit.

"The air [flowing over the unusually warm Great Lakes] will be more than cold enough to produce lake-effect snow," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Samuhel. "The lake-effect snow looks to be most widespread Friday afternoon and night with some snow continuing with the northwest flow on Saturday."

However, Samuhel does not expect this lake-effect to be a long duration event with extreme totals.

"The snow bands will likely shift around a lot as winds go from southwesterly during the day [on Friday] to northwesterly at night," said Samuhel. "So, while there will be heavy snow within the bands, it will not sit over one location very long."

Snow showers will also stream into Appalachian Mountains. Snow will likely struggle to fall east of the mountains, unless a storm takes shape along the coast as the cold air arrives. Even then, the better opportunity for snow would be in New England than the mid-Atlantic.

While it will finally feel like December next weekend, residents should not get used to that with yet another surge of warmth in store for Christmas week.

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