Rounds of rain, snow to slow travel in Western US into next week (up to 2 feet of snow)

[mountaineer]

Rounds of rain, snow to slow travel in Western US into next week
By Alex Sosnowski for Accuweather.com
Nov. 7, 2015

A large storm is poised to roll into the West with rain, snow and travel disruptions during the second week of November.

The new storm follows the first widespread mountain snow of the season in the West, with totals of 1 to 2 feet of snow on part of the Sierra Nevada, Colorado Rockies and portions of northern Nevada, during the first week of November.

Motorists heading over the passes from Washington to northern California, Montana and Colorado may run into accumulating snow with a slow and slippery drive with the new storm. Snow is likely to reach the metro areas of Salt Lake City and Denver and could make roads slushy.

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Ken Clark, "There is more good news on the way for part of the drought-stricken West starting this weekend and continuing into next week."

The storm will continue to build the snowpack in the high country and soak the soil at lower elevations of the West.

The Pacific storm will first send a moderate amount of rain southward along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and northern California through Saturday. A soaking is in store for Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Crescent City, California.

About an inch of rain will fall along the Washington and Oregon coasts near sea level with locally higher amounts. Enough rain could fall with low visibility to cause flight delays in Seattle this weekend.

Into Monday, the storm will strengthen and move southward along the Pacific coast. Rounds of rain will ramp up and expand inland, while snow levels will lower from north to south over the Cascades.

The high country in the Cascades could pick up 6-12 inches of snow from the storm. Snow is likely to reach down to the passes in Washington and Oregon. Slushy areas may develop along Interstate 90 through Snoqualmie Pass. ...

Rest of story, with maps

[PzLdr]

Damn that global warming!

[mountaineer]

Tornadoes possible in Arkansas, Missouri, other states
The Associated Press via AOL
KEN MILLER
 Nov 8th 2015 7:36PM

 A storm brewing in the Pacific Ocean has forecasters warning of possible severe weather, including tornadoes, in the nation's midsection on Wednesday, with Arkansas and Missouri the most likely targets.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said Sunday that the fast-moving storm is currently expected to collide with moisture and humidity rising from the Gulf of Mexico, creating unstable weather conditions that could lead to tornadoes as strong as EF3, which include winds of 136-165 mph and are capable of severe damage.

"It's a pretty potent system," SPC meteorologist John Hart said.

Hart said Sunday that it is difficult to predict with precision exactly where the systems might meet.

"If the system slows down it would be in the Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas area. Then, if it sped up it, might be all east of the Mississippi (River) on Wednesday," Hart said. "But everything right now is pointing to that Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky area."

An SPC map on Sunday showed the most threatened areas include most of Arkansas and Missouri and portions of southern Illinois, western Kentucky, western Tennessee and northwestern Mississippi.

Cities in the most threatened area include Little Rock, Arkansas; St. Louis; Memphis, Tennessee; Jackson, Tennessee; and St. Charles, Missouri. Among the cities the map shows facing a lesser threat are Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Nashville, Tennessee.

Strong tornadoes in mid-November are not common, but are not unheard of, Hart said.

"People in that area should be paying attention," he said.