Key Highlights
- “They’re all related to each other – different parts of the country will be receiving different effects from this storm.”Snow and strengthening winds spread Sunday across the upper midwest, where the NWS warned of whiteout conditions and possible blizzard conditions that could make travel impossible in some areas.
- Snowfall totals were expected to exceed a foot across parts of the upper Great Lakes, with up to 2ft (60cm) possible along the south shore of Lake Superior. Southern California cleans up after the wettest recent Christmas seasonRead moreIn the south, meteorologists warned of severe thunderstorms expected to signal the arrival of a sharp cold front – sometimes referred to as a “Blue Norther” – bringing a sudden plunge in temperatures and strong north winds that will end days of record warmth around the region. The snowy holiday season in the upper midwest and north-east comes as springlike warmth continues in much of the nation’s midsection and south, where record high temperatures had Santa sweating in recent days. The high temperature in Atlanta is forecast to be around 72F (22C) on Sunday, continuing a warming trend after climbing to 78F (about 26C) to shatter the city’s record high temperature for Christmas Eve, the NWS said.
- Numerous other record high temperatures were seen across the south and midwest on the days after Christmas. But that record heat is quickly coming to an end, forecasters say. A cold front is expected to bring rain to much of the south late Sunday night into Monday, bringing much colder weather by Tuesday.
- The abrupt change will drop the low temperature in Atlanta to 25F (-3.9C) by early Tuesday morning.
- The colder temperatures in the south are expected to continue through New Year’s Day. In Dallas, Sunday temperatures in the lower 80s (upper 20s C) could drop down to the mid 40s (single digits Celsius).
