A busy weather pattern ahead across the Heartland

Weather

A busy weather pattern ahead across the Heartland

For the remainder of Monday, a storm system near the Pacific Coast will provide the first meaningful precipitation of the season across parts of southern California, helping to end the 2020 wildfire season.

Dry weather will return by Tuesday across southern California and the Southwest, but locally heavy precipitation will develop from the southern Plains into the Great Lakes region. Showers will spread into the East by mid-week, with precipitation lingering into New Year’s Day (Friday) in many areas from the Mississippi Valley eastward.

Five-day precipitation totals could reach 2 to 4 inches or more in a large area stretching from the Gulf Coast into the Ohio and middle Mississippi Valleys.

In addition, heavy snow should occur in two waves—initially from the central Rockies into the upper Midwest, followed by late-week snow from the southeastern Plains into the Great Lakes region and northern New England.

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for near- or above-normal temperatures nationwide, except for cooler-than-normal conditions in parts of southern California and the Southwest.

Meanwhile, near- or below-normal precipitation throughout the southern and eastern U.S., as well as the Midwest, should contrast with wetter-than-normal weather in northern and central California, the Great Basin, and the nation’s northern tier from the Pacific Northwest to the Dakotas.

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